“Because it bothers me, and I couldn’t sleep.  And I kept thinking about it…” –Lieutenant Columbo, police detective

This is an introduction to a new book The Dialectic & the Detective: The Arab Spring and Regime Change in Libya Julian Samboma. The book is not an ode to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, nor is it a lament for his passing.  Despite his anti-imperialist trappings, Gaddafi was a self-serving dictator.  He called himself a socialist, but stifled the self-activity of his people.  He called himself a Pan-Africanist, but was a racist.  

Blacks are being incarcerated at disturbingly high rates for seemingly minor infractions in the United States. The cost of posting bail is often relatively exorbitant for indigent blacks, who end up remaining in jail, as their rights are further infringed on. Despite the disproportionately high incidence of black arrests, African Americans do not necessarily violate the law more than other ethnic groups, but may in fact, be victims of over-policing and prejudice exhibited by rogue members of law enforcement. Having more black lawyers may save black men from jail.