This book review is by Roman Johnson, a 12th grade student at Middle College High School located on the campus of Southwest Tennessee Community College. He will graduate in May with a high school diploma and an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. His principal Ms. Michelle Brantley and his parents are Ronnie and Rhonda Johnson. (Courtesy photo)

Demico Boothe is a Memphian. In his new book he eloquently addresses why so many black men are being incarcerated in prisons across America. He explains that U.S. politicians and the American government allow the “prison industrial complex” to use prisoners as cheap labor. The companies within this complex system also benefit because the federal government pays them for a variety of services. These companies therefore profit from the mass incarceration of black men.                                           

Speaking from personal experience he describes some unfortunate circumstances.  He says black men are often targeted and perceived as criminals because of stereotypes on TV, and in the movies and newspapers. This hurts self-perceptions and what society thinks about black men. Boothe also talks about his own experience as a drug dealer and life behind bars. He reveals how poverty, an inferior education and limited job opportunities lead to a life of crime. 

Boothe admits he made bad choices along the way. But, during his 12-year-jail sentence he raised his mind and changed his thinking by reading and studying a variety of books. It is this transformed thinking that freed Boothe from his emotional and spiritual jail cell. Currently, he is a mentor of incarcerated youth.