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Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World

Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World

by Dorothy Roberts

Basic Books ·2022 ·384 pages
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About This Book

An award-winning scholar exposes the foundational racism of the child welfare system and calls for radical change Many believe the child welfare system protects children from abuse. But as Torn Apart uncovers, this system is designed to punish Black families. Drawing on decades of research, legal scholar and sociologist Dorothy Roberts reveals that the child welfare system is better understood as a "family policing system" that collaborates with law enforcement and prisons to oppress Black communities. Child protection investigations ensnare a majority of Black children, putting their families under intense state surveillance and regulation. Black children are disproportionately likely to be torn from their families and placed in foster care, driving many to juvenile detention and imprisonment. The only way to stop the destruction caused by family policing, Torn Apart argues, is to abolish the child welfare system and liberate Black communities.


Reviews

"A searing look at racial injustice in the U.S."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Punctuated with poignant cases of systemic horrors, the compelling narrative delivers data-rich analysis that reflects decades of research, observation, and advocacy for Black children and mothers ..."

Thomas J. Davis· Library Journal Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"A compelling argument that will hopefully prove useful to policymakers, activists, and concerned citizens."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"This kind of rhetoric, on display throughout Torn Apart, makes it hard to take Ms."

Naomi Schaefer Riley· The Wall Street Journal Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

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