The discussion is based on informal interviews of 20 black female inmates and an analysis of background information. It notes that black women do commit crimes, but that racism has a significant influence on the extent to which black women are stopped, searched, cautioned, charged, prosecuted, held in custody, or taken to mental hospitals. Despite extensive initiatives to combat racism and discrimination in government agencies and the criminal justice system, further efforts are needed. Police need additional training, monitoring, working methods, and awareness of race and gender issues, because discrimination at the start of the criminal justice process may be compounded by further unequal handling at later stages. Improvements are also needed during case processing, in corrections, and in services after release. Among needed actions are recognition by top administrators that racism and sex discrimination exists, training and information emphasizing the perceptions and cultures of minority groups, and recognition of the multiple disadvantages experienced by black women, understanding that black women's lives may differ from middle-class values of white women. Footnotes and index