A study of how cultural anxieties about race and gender influence our beliefs about crime and how crime is reported, through a series of case studies from the early nineteenth centruy to the present.

Are all victims white? Are all villains black? White Victims, Black Villains traces how race and gender have combined in news media narratives about crime and violence in US culture. The book argues that the criminalization of African Americans in US culture has been most consistently and effectively legitimized by news media deeply invested in protecting and maintaining white supremacy. An illuminating, and often shocking text, White Victims, Black Villains should be read by anyone interested in race and politics.