Gringo Justice

"[_Gringo Justice_] is a seminal work that will, no doubt, prompt further discussion and investigation. Mirande's primary point of contention is that Anglo-American courts, police, the media, and the social sciences have presented negative images of Chicano society, particularly its barrio youth, through the use of a subtle but powerful technique called the mobilization of bias. The technique directs the emphasis away from the exploitation and subordination of the Chicano toward the problems and inadequacies of the barrio by portraying Chicanos as violent and criminal. . . . The end result is a double standard of justice in which one system is applied to Anglo-American society, another to Chicano. When Chicanos internalize the negative images and begin to blame themselves and their culture for their subordination, the mobilization of bias has come full circle. . . . [Mirande's] treatment of the technique of mobilization of bias and the role of the gangs in Chicano society and his ideas concerning theoretical perspectives for studying the Chicano are both provocative and compelling." --Journal of American Ethnic History

Alfredo Mirande is professor of sociology and chair of ethnic studies at the University of California, Riverside. He is the author of The Stanford Law Chronicles: Doin’ Time on the Farm (2005) and Chicano Experience: An Alternative Perspective (1985), both published by the University of Notre Dame Press.