Review by Archaeoptery -- Guilty When Black by Carol Mersch

[Archaeoptery]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Guilty When Black" by Carol Mersch.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Guilty When Black by Carol Mersch, is about something that prompted her to know more about. They found Miashah guilty of murdering two kids and is going to jail. The deal is Miashah is not responsible for that, instead poor conditions within the apartment lead to a fire. This fire then led to the deaths of Noni and Nylah. Miashah and her family faced a lengthy road of so-called justice. They hid evidence from her and covered it up without showing the Jury for judgment. Her family struggled to view several matters affecting the case, but they are thwarted from seeing them. The reason for everything was discrimination. Miashah is a black female who was residing in run-down conditions.

The part I liked is that Mersch spent five years gathering the whole true tragedy. Guilty When Black is a well-detailed event of what Miashah went through. She and her family had to go through because the police and the judge could not let go of the fact that Miashah is black. Most of the things Marsch wrote about were somewhat unfamiliar to me. The incarceration rates in the US in a whole I know about while the novel covered Oklahoma more. The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre is the first I read about and the fact that people decided to bury it. Hopefully, soon people will recover all the bodies and see them lay to rest.

The ending I would claim is my favorite part of the entire novel. While sadly Marsch could not obtain the justice she deserves, I am pleased that Judge Home could help other families that face the same thing. She is the first black female and supports black family’s desire justice for the deaths of family members.

I would rate this as 4 out of 4 stars as I had no dislikes about the book. There were only a couple of errors that I could identify. This novel is an eye-opener that takes place in an extremely recent time period. Mersch did well in her investigation and listed her sources in the notes chapter at the end of the novel.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves history. Marsch covered a historical event and then several other cases within the past years. Anyone who is speculate about the justice system and how race plays into that I would also recommend this too. There is a theme of abuse, racial slurs and rape that Mersch touched on that I advise against letting kids read.

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Guilty When Black
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