Tokenism in Criminology and Criminal Justice Departments: Problems and Solutions

Abstract

In this article, I argue that criminology and criminal justice programs exhibit racial “tokenism,” in that the majority of such programs employ no more than one Black tenured/tenure track professor. This tokenism creates a plethora of problems that undermine the contributions of Black faculty and prevent them from achieving their full potential. I use my own experiences to illustrate these issues. I conclude with potential solutions to the problems identified.