Black Feminist Authors You Should Know: Ending The Criminalization of Black Women & Girls.
- Kera Riddick
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Women are the fastest-growing incarcerated population in the United States—and among women in jails, 44 percent are Black. Mass incarceration is often addressed through the lens of its impact on men, but women face unique systemic risks that heighten their likelihood of incarceration like unmet mental health needs, foster care placement, and gender-based violence. Disrupting the cycle of incarceration requires a fundamental shift within the criminal legal system and how police, communities, and institutions like schools respond to Black women and girls. Public safety models must prioritize healing and care—not punishment— when individuals experience harm.
For decades, Black feminist scholars, organizers, and directly impacted leaders have been documenting how misogynoir, racism, sexism, and the criminal legal system intersect in the lives of Black women and girls. Misogynoir, a term coined by Northwestern associate professor Moya Bailey, describes the unique form of oppression that Black women experience where racism and sexism combine to produce targeted discrimination and violence.
Through research, storytelling, advocacy, and lived experience, these authors examine how these systems operate—and how community-led practices can create pathways toward justice and healing.
In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we’ve compiled a list of books by Black women whose work deepens our understanding of how Black women and girls are criminalized—and how liberation becomes possible when justice is healing-centered, gender-responsive, culturally affirming, trauma-informed, and rooted in community-led practices.
Dr. Beth E. Richie
Arrested Justice offers a powerful call to action, alongside a critique of the lack of public policy available to protect Black women and girls as Richie compellingly brings into focus the complex interplay of sexuality, class, age, gender violence, and criminalization. A foundational text in Black feminist criminology, Dr. Beth Richie’s Arrested Justice exposes the devastating ways the criminal legal system punishes Black women who survive violence. By centering the experiences of Black women survivors, Arrested Justice calls for a justice framework that prioritizes safety, healing, and accountability.
2. Dr. Donna Hylton
Dr. Donna Hylton, founder and CEO of A Little Piece of Light, memoir is a deeply moving story of survival, incarceration, and transformation. After experiencing abuse and entering prison as a teenager, Hylton spent decades navigating the harsh realities of incarceration before emerging as a powerful advocate for formerly incarcerated women.
A Little Piece of Light illustrates how trauma, systemic neglect, and violence shape the pathways that bring many Black women into the criminal legal system. Today, Dr. Hylton’s leadership in reentry and survivor advocacy embodies what healing-centered justice can look like when directly impacted women lead the way.
3. Susan Burton
Susan Burton’s journey from incarceration to national leadership is one of the most powerful stories of community-led transformation. After cycling in and out of prison due to addiction and trauma, Burton founded A New Way of Life, a groundbreaking reentry organization that provides housing, support, and healing for formerly incarcerated women.
Becoming Ms. Burton shows how systems that punish trauma, addiction and poverty perpetuate incarceration—and how compassion, community support, and second chances can create lasting change. Burton’s work reflects the type of care-centered reentry models that are essential to ending the criminalization of Black women and girls.
4. Dr. Monique Couvson
Dr. Monique Couvson Pushout examines how Black girls are disproportionately disciplined, policed, and pushed out of schools through suspensions, arrests, and discriminatory policies.
By highlighting the role of adultification, gender bias, and racial stereotypes, she reveals how schools can become the first entry point into the criminal legal system for many Black girls. Pushout challenges educators, policymakers, and communities to build environments where Black girls are supported rather than punished—a critical step toward disrupting the school-to-confinement pipeline. We also recommend giving Dr. Couvson’s latest book a read: Girls, Unlimited: How to Invest in Our Daughters with More Than Money
5. Tarana Burke
Tarana Burke, founder of the Me Too movement, co-founder and Chief Vision Officer of me too International, shares the deeply personal story behind a global call for survivor justice. In Unbound, Burke reflects on her own experiences with sexual violence and the community-rooted vision that shaped her advocacy.
Her work reminds readers that survivor justice must center healing, dignity, and collective care—especially for Black women and girls whose experiences of violence are often ignored or dismissed. Burke’s story underscores the importance of believing survivors and creating systems that respond to trauma with support instead of punishment.
6. Cyntoia Brown-Long
Cyntoia Brown-Long’s memoir offers a deeply personal account of surviving trafficking, abuse, and incarceration as a teenager. Sentenced to life in prison at 16 for killing a man who had exploited her, Brown’s case became a national conversation about how the legal system fails to recognize Black girls as victims.
Free Cyntoia sheds light on the ways the criminal legal system often punishes young survivors instead of protecting them. Brown’s story underscores the urgent need for justice systems that recognize trauma, exploitation, and the humanity of Black girls.
7. Andrea J. Ritchie
Andrea Ritchie’s groundbreaking research exposes a reality that is often erased from conversations about policing: Black women and girls are also victims of police violence.
Invisible No More documents cases of police brutality, sexual violence by law enforcement, and the ways Black women are criminalized for surviving abuse. By naming and documenting these harms, Ritchie’s work expands the national conversation about policing and reminds us that justice must include the safety and dignity of Black women and girls.
8. Mariame Kaba and Shira Hassan
While many justice systems rely on punishment, Fumbling Toward Repair offers tools for something radically different: community accountability. This workbook provides practical guidance for addressing harm without relying on policing or incarceration.
Rooted in abolitionist principles, the book encourages communities to build their own pathways to safety and healing. These approaches reflect the kinds of community-led solutions that are necessary to reduce the criminalization and systemic harm of Black women and girls.
9. Kristin Henning
Legal scholar Kristin Henning explores how stereotypes and racial bias shape the policing of Black youth. The Rage of Innocence examines how normal adolescent behavior—from speaking up to showing emotion—is often interpreted as threatening when exhibited by Black children.
Henning’s research highlights the devastating impact of these assumptions on Black youth, particularly Black girls whose anger or trauma responses are frequently misunderstood. Her work challenges systems to recognize the humanity and developmental needs of Black children.
In this powerful research project, Nishaun T. Battle centers the voices of Black girls directly impacted by discipline, policing, and surveillance in their communities. Through storytelling and community-based research, the report reveals how Black girls experience punishment across schools, neighborhoods, and legal systems.
By documenting their resilience and leadership, the work invites readers to imagine justice systems that actually support Black girls’ growth, safety, and freedom.
Why These Stories Matter
The stories and research shared by these authors reveal an important truth: the criminalization of Black women and girls—and the outsized impact of gender-based violence—is systemic and deeply rooted in history.
But they also reveal that Black women are architects of liberation. Through scholarship, advocacy, organizing, and storytelling, they are building the frameworks for justice rooted in healing, dignity, and community care.
At the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, we are building a society that respects and honors the humanity of Black women and girls. We invite you into this work by encouraging you to engage with the work of Black feminist authors.
