ABOUT THE BOOK On the 50th anniversary of the Black Panther Party; Pearlman’s new book American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton compares the explosive state of American race relations in 1968 to race relations today with insights from key participants and observers of the internationally-watched Oakland; California death-penalty trial that launched the Panther Party and transformed the American jury “of one’s peers†to the diverse cross-section we often take for granted today. The book includes comments from Newton prosecutor Lowell Jensen; pioneering black jury foreman David Harper and TV journalist Belva Davis; as well as from Huey Newton’s older brother Melvin Newton; former Panthers Kathleen Cleaver; David Hillliard and Emory Douglas. It also includes comments from civil rights experts including Bryan Stevenson; Barry Scheck and John Burris. This book complements the nonprofit documentary project of the same name for which Pearlman is co-producer/co-director on behalf of Arc of Justice Productions; Inc. [www.americanjusticeontrial.com]. The nation is currently reeling from multiple shocks in July 2016. First; in early July; came yet two more videotaped incidents of police shooting to death black arrestees followed by a horrific sniper attack on Dallas policemen who were monitoring one of many Black Lives Matter protest rallies. Then came; on July 17; 2016; another attack on Baton Rouge police. The carnage and proliferation of demonstrations and hostile reactions in the aftermath of these shocking events have drawn renewed national focus to fractured police-community relations in cities across country; the very issue that gave rise to the Black Panther Party a half century ago. The two incidents did start out in similar ways. In the early morning of October 28; 1967; Oakland policeman John Frey stopped the car Newton was driving to write a ticket for an unpaid traffic fine. A shootout ensued that left Officer Frey dead and Newton and a back-up officer seriously wounded. Newton claimed to have been unarmed and the victim of an abusive arrest; no gun belonging to Newton was found. His death penalty trial the following summer drew international attention to whether any black man could get a fair trial in America. This book scrutinizes the 1968 Newton trial and its context and poses the same questions President Obama and others have recently addressed: what has changed in this country in the last half century and what has not? How do we best move forward?ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lise Pearlman appeared in Stanley Nelson’s acclaimed 2015 film “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution†as the country’s leading expert on the 1968 Huey Newton death penalty trial. Her first history book; The Sky’s The Limit: People v. Newton; The Real Trial of the 20th Century? [Regent Press 2012] won awards in the categories of law; history and multiculturalism. Pearlman was an undergraduate in the first class that included women at Yale University when Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale was tried for murder in New Haven. She then moved to the Bay Area where she attended Berkeley Law School and then clerked for California Chief Justice Donald White before practicing law in Oakland. From 1989-1995; she served as the first Presiding Judge of the California State Bar Court. Pearlman has spent almost all of her adult life in Oakland where the Newton trial took place and where she still resides.
#141770 in Books 2003-07-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.56 x .80 x 6.44l; 1.08 #File Name: 1585442623200 pages
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. The Keen Eye of ExperienceBy Gordon CuculluColonel Jim Young has developed a keen analytical eye for things Korean developed over a multi-decade career of study; friendship and focus on this fascinating but enigmatic country. Young uses the vehicle of autobiography to detail some of the high points in the modern developmental history of South Korea and along the way opens the curtain to an insider's view of US governmental machinations. The Colonel had an uncanny way of being involved over many years with key events in US-Korean relations such as threatened troop withdrawals under President Carter; assassination of President Park; the death of dictator Kim Il-sung in North Korea; the murder of US Army officers and many; many other events. Final chapters discuss nuclear North Korea and the complexity of the tense situation there.This book offers the reader a fresh insight to events and analysis not seen elsewhere. It is written for a non-technical audience but is valuable for the cognoscenti as well. I recommend 'Eye on Korea' most enthusiastically to every concerned person who wonders what the future holds for America in the vital but tumultuous environment of the Korean Peninsula.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Readable Modern HistoryBy Matthew V. SmithEye on Korea is a tremendous contribution to modern Korean history. It is a very easy and entertaining read. It will appeal to those who know nothing about Korea; and to those of us who have lived or travelled there extensively. There is little to no jargon; things that would not be familiar to the average reader are explained quickly and clearly.I have spent the better part of my adult life in Korea or working with Koreans. I was surprised and delighted by the things I learned by Eye on Korea. It filled many gaps in my understanding of how things went down in the late 70's and 80's. It was full of names; places and events that I recognized; but had never before had a coherent picture of how they all related. Eye on Korea provides that coherence.If I am forced to complain about anything; it would be the brevity. I would have enjoyed a couple hundred more pages. It's evident from what Col. Young tells us--and from what he doesn't tell us--that he knows enough to fill volume upon volume.This is a MUST BUY for anyone interested in Modern Korea or Korean-US relations.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A must read for military and civilian personnel interested in ...By John M BarrA must read for military and civilian personnel interested in Korea. As a former army intelligence officer; who served in Korea; I found Colonel Young's insider views on historical events in which he participated very interesting.
