Quotes from James Garbarino

The initial trauma of a young child may go underground but it will return to haunt us.

Even Americans with open hearts and goodwill struggle with the psychological and cultural impact of racism, with the way it distorts our thoughts and feelings. I know I am part of that struggle, remaining vigilant so that the racism that seeps into me as an American does not shape and control my thoughts and reactions to people and events.

The options appear to be especially narrow for males who carry a profound sadness—and accompanying rage—in a culture that teaches boys that "it is better to be mad than to be sad." Sometimes this leads to horrific choices.

Making good choices is a matter of life and death when you grow up in environments predisposed to violence, crime, and social failure, environments loaded with risk factors and often barren of developmental resources, where what you and your parents bring to the equation is crucial in an unforgiving way.

But unless we can see the humanity in their often inhumane actions, we will never understand them, and understanding them is the key to begin making a safer, less violent society.

Race and ethnicity constitute the ugly fog that hangs over everything in the criminal justice system—indeed everything in American history.