publications

books

1. Michael Leo Owens, Prisoners of Democracy: Dignity and Carceral Citizenship’s End (in progress)

2. Tom Clark, Adam N. Glynn, and Michael Leo Owens, Deadly Force: Police Shootings in Urban America (Princeton University Press, forthcoming Spring 2025), 328 pp.

“Police shootings get media attention, but less careful academic study. This remarkable, extremely readable book is an exception: it’s an important read for policing scholars, policymakers, and the general public. The product of extremely hard work and rigorous social science, it is full of findings both fascinating and troubling.” - Barry Friedman, The Policing Project, New York University School of Law & author of Unwarranted; Policing without Permission

“Deadly Force provides a rare look into the dynamics of police shootings across US cities. Through a volley of public information requests about both fatal and nonfatal shootings, the authors build a novel database that reveals when and where the police shoot and how to measure the racial bias in these shootings. In the process, the book illustrates the woefully inadequate public documentation around fatal force, concluding with a plea for more government transparency.” - Michelle Phelps, University of Minnesota & author of The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America

“This book presents the largest, most comprehensive, and best study to date of police shootings in urban America. Anyone concerned with racial equity, police training, the sociology or politics of policing, government transparency, or the health of American democracy should read this book.” - Frank R. Baumgartner, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill & author of Suspect Citizens: What 20 Million Traffic Stops Tell Us about Policing and Race

“In this incredibly readable and meticulously analyzed account Clark, Glynn, and Owens detail the frequency and pattern of police shootings in America. With findings that both confirm and complicate prior understandings, the dataset they have arduously collected will serve as the new definitive source on this deeply important topic.” - Jessica Trounstine, Vanderbilt University & author of Segregation by Design: Local Politics and Inequality in American Cities

3. Michael Leo Owens, God & Government in the Ghetto: The Politics of Church-State Collaboration in Black America (University of Chicago Press, 2007), 304 pp.

“God and Government in the Ghetto is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the political significance of contemporary African-American churches. Without a hint of sentimentality or nostalgia for an idealized ‘black church,’ Owens lays bare the contributions, challenges, and contradictions inherent in collaborative efforts among black churches and state structures. It is a refreshing analysis and a timely contribution in a critical moment.” - Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Princeton University & author of In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America

“Owens provides a theoretically rich study that considers how activist black churches collaborate with local governments, demonstrating how collaboration can create a ‘third wave’ of church-based activism in black communities today. God and Government in the Ghetto documents this alternative form of activism like no other study has done before. It is an important scholarly work that will inform policymakers and practitioners alike.” - Fredrick C. Harris, Columbia University & author of Something Within: Religion in African American Political Activism

“This exceptional book will be crucial for those of us who study black politics. In this era of strange alliances between the Republican right and black Christian fundamentalists, research that illuminates how the formerly contentious and confrontational black church has adapted to certain political realities has cutting-edge relevancy.” - Andrea Simpson, University of Richmond & author of The Tie That Binds: Identity and Political Attitudes in the Post-Civil Rights Generation