Title: Crossroads: Conflicted Journey of a New Jersey State Trooper
Author: Dr. Vincent Lucas Martin
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 9781984540829
Pages: 300
Genre: Biography
Reviewed by: Dan MacIntosh

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Crossroads: Conflicted Journey of a New Jersey State Trooper by Dr. Vincent Lucas Martin details one man’s battle to fight against racial injustice in the New Jersey State Police Force. It was a conflict Martin took all the way to the New Jersey Supreme Court and won. It’s a fascinating story that may frustrate you as you read it because racism continues to be such an ugly blight on our country. It’s equally encouraging, though, as it exemplifies how persistence oftentimes pays off. With that said, however, it’s Martin’s whole life story which makes this book so compelling.

The way Martin describes his life, beginning with his sometimes-troubled upbringing in New Jersey, invites the reader to truly care about him. He has a way of bringing the details of his childhood to life and make us feel like we know him. Although encounters with racism were also a part of this upbringing, so too were his first jobs. He details a scary incident, for example, where he was robbed while working at a car wash. He also writes about working at a pizza place where he earns the chance to create pizzas. It’s also heartening to read about Martin’s relationship with his mother. He realized that her Southern upraising gave her a different perspective on life. When Martin spent time in the South, he recognized many of these societal differences firsthand.

What makes Martin’s story especially troubling is that it all occurred within a law enforcement realm. These, after all, are supposed to be the good guys. They’re the ones responsible for others playing by the rules. However, the old boy network, which had developed an unspoken policy of keeping women and minorities from being promoted within the department, was somehow allowed to exist outside the law.

Many times, when you read stories about whistleblowers, such as Martin, there are foreshadowing moments that lead you to believe this individual was destined to play David to a giant. Not so much so with Martin. Although he had some troubling encounters growing up, as do most minority citizens, there weren’t what you might call pivotal turning points that would be predictors of latter actions. No, Martin lived a relatively normal life. He didn’t seem to be destined to be a crusader. Circumstances changed all that, though.

This lack of signaling is significant and further supports his case. Let’s face it, there are some people in this world who are always on the lookout for somebody doing them wrong. They’re just waiting for someone, somewhere to confirm their suspicions about humanity’s evil nature. Martin doesn’t strike one as being one of these kinds of people. Instead, he comes off as a normal guy, with normal ambitions of getting ahead in life. Even from the beginning, he realized he had a natural ability to ferret out criminal behavior. Martin was placed in the internal investigative unit specifically because he had these special, insightful skills. What he saw there, though, chilled him to the bone.

He noticed how the processes were instituted in such a way that they slowed down investigations and protected guilty parties. Martin was good at his job, highly educated and simply expected to be rewarded for his skills and hard work. Therefore, when he began to come up against a corrupt system, he wasn’t completely surprised – he was not naïve in that way – but he was shocked at the audacity of being kept down and seeing other discriminatory practices go unpunished.

The only conclusion one can draw from Martin’s story, is that if these bad things can happen to him, they can likely happen to anyone. That’s the sad truth of this book, and a truth that absolutely needs to be made known. This is a beautiful and thought- provoking book with an important message for all of humankind. It is a historical reminder of the damage caused by hate. It is a reminder to never let history repeat itself. It is a reminder to always stand for what is morally and ethically right, and never to accept inhumanity.