James Forman, Jr.

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James Forman, Jr. – Life, Work, and Influence

Learn about James Forman, Jr. — his biography, legal career, scholarship on race and criminal justice, founding of the Maya Angelou School, and impact as a public defender and educator.

Introduction

James Robert Lumumba Forman, Jr. (born June 22, 1967) is an American lawyer, legal scholar, and public intellectual. He has taught and written extensively about race, criminal justice, mass incarceration, and public education. His 2017 book Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and solidified his reputation as a leading critic of the American penal system. He also co-founded the Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., aimed at providing educational opportunities for youth involved with the justice system.

Early Life & Family Background

James Forman, Jr. was born in New York City, to James Forman, Sr. (a prominent civil rights activist) and Constancia “Dinky” Romilly, daughter of Jessica Mitford.

Though his parents never married, both were active in his upbringing. After their separation when he was a child, he lived mainly with his mother in New York while spending summers and visits with his father.

Romilly moved with her sons to Atlanta so they could grow up in an African American community. Forman later reflected that this helped shape his racial identity and permitted him to grow in an environment where “everybody was black” — eliminating the sense of being the “only one.”

He attended Hunter College High School (in New York) early on, then moved and later attended Roosevelt High School in Atlanta.

Education

• Undergraduate: Brown University, A.B. earned in 1988

• Law School: Yale Law School, J.D. awarded in 1992

Legal & Academic Career

Clerkships & Early Work

After law school, Forman clerked for Judge William Albert Norris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (term in 1993).

Public Defender Service

Rather than join the Department of Justice or a civil rights organization, Forman chose to become a public defender in Washington, D.C. in 1994.

Through his work, he encountered systemic problems around poverty, education, race, and how clients were treated by the legal system — experiences that influenced his later scholarship.

Teaching & Scholarly Work

In 2003, Forman joined the Georgetown University law faculty as a professor, teaching courses in criminal justice and related topics.

Later, in 2011 he joined Yale Law School, where he holds the J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law title. Criminal Law, Race, Class, and Punishment, and a seminar called Inside Out: Issues in Criminal Justice that pairs law students with incarcerated persons in spaces like prisons to foster dialogue.

Forman also contributes essays and opinion pieces in outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic, and The Washington Post.

Maya Angelou School & Educational Advocacy

In 1997, Forman co-founded (with David Domenici) the Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.

Over time the Maya Angelou organization expanded to include campuses inside juvenile detention centers and transition programs for formerly incarcerated youth, offering education, counseling, and job training.

This school initiative reflects Forman’s belief that many people prosecuted or incarcerated had earlier been failed by educational systems and social services.

Major Publication: Locking Up Our Own

Forman published Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America in 2017.

The book won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.

In the book and in public commentary, Forman argues that to reform mass incarceration, we must reckon with the complicity and internal tensions within Black political and civic leadership — not just villainize external systems.

Awards, Honors & Recognition

• Member of the Board of Trustees at the Council on Criminal Justice.

• Elected to the American Philosophical Society (2023).

• Appointed the W. Haywood Burns Chair at CUNY School of Law (2024).

Key Themes & Legacy

1. Bridging theory and practice
   Forman has both defended clients in practice and written deeply about the systems that shape those lives. This dual lens enriches his criticism and proposals.

2. Race, agency, and accountability
   He challenges narratives that cast Black communities only as victims, highlighting internal debates and tensions over crime, punishment, and responsibility.

3. Education as intervention
   His work in founding the Maya Angelou School underscores his belief in prevention and the provision of alternatives to incarceration.

4. Reforming mass incarceration
   Through scholarship and public advocacy, Forman pushes for systemic change in policing, sentencing, prison practices, and reintegration.

5. Mentorship & pedagogy
   His Inside Out course model reflects a teaching philosophy rooted in engagement, inclusion, and transforming how law students see justice.

Selected Quotes & Thought Provocations

• “When we think about our criminal justice system, I don’t think we can imagine choices in isolation … only until we look at the system as a whole will we understand the damage it’s doing to people’s lives.” — about Locking Up Our Own

• He has described his time as a public defender as deeply fulfilling but also frustrating because of client needs unmet by nonlegal systems (education, housing, mental health)

Conclusion

James Forman, Jr. exemplifies the role of the scholar-practitioner: someone who not only critiques the law but has walked its corridors as defender, educator, and change agent. His work forces us to grapple with uncomfortable truths about race, power, and accountability — and offers a roadmap for more humane and just criminal justice reform.