ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book shows that black women is based on the belief that they are marginalised in both society and in criminological research. It focuses on the problems that the theory and practice of criminal justice pose for the marginalised. The book argues that the pattern of relative presence and relative absence is symptomatic of marginalisation which needs to be properly understood in order to be overcome. It suggests that the race and class relations of black women are shared by black men and that their gender and class relations are shared, to some extent, by white women. The book also shows that it is equally necessary to see the social relations of black women concurrently, as B. T. Dill implies, instead of looking at their race, class, gender, or culture separately as if these do not operate in articulation.
