Inmates in Charge - by Walter Beamon Hardcover

Book Synopsis

Inmates in Charge: Top-Level Leadership, Lacking Vision, Corrupt, & Couldn't Be Trusted is a compelling memoir of an African American chaplain's journey in the US Air Force Chaplaincy, exposing racism within leadership. The author highlights his career in 1975 as one of just 26 African American chaplains on active duty in the entire Air Force Chaplaincy. The leadership at the top levels of the Air Force Chaplaincy is referred to as "the inmates in charge" by the author and other African American chaplains serving along with him, reflecting their mentality of superiority and control over African American chaplains. This belief system, profoundly ingrained and perpetuated over generations, manifests in acts that reinforce racial subservience.

Review Quotes

"Libraries and readers looking for exposés on leadership, racism, military processes and engrained attitudes (especially collections appealing to Black patrons interested in military chaplain roles) will find Inmates in Charge a revealing, eye-opening experience."

"Chaplain Colonel, USAF (Retired) Reverend Walter Beamon's book exposes a historical and insightful journey into the spiritual, controversial, and patriotic environment of African American Chaplains in the USAF. It promises to be a valuable reference tool. A must-read for any library. I'm eagerly awaiting its publication."