Introduction Michelle Alexanders’ book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, explores the emergence of a new racial caste system in the United States, mass incarceration. She explores mass incarceration as a form of racial control that functions in contemporary society, even as it operates under the principle of colorblindness, which is a central theme within the book. Another central theme that Alexander discusses throughout the course of her book is the societal misconception that progress has been made and that racial disparities no longer exist within American institutions. This book thoroughly examines the connections between the racial history of the United States and the new racial caste system. Theme One …show more content…
But, Barack Obama was seen by the American public as an “exception,” as he separated himself from his racial identity to seem more acceptable to the U.S. voters (Carter & Dowe, 2015). This is harmful because it portrays the idea that in order to be successful as a Black American, one must fully submit to white society and create an identity that is palatable to the racist culture of the United States. Because of this, Obama’s election can not be used as evidence of true progress being made in American society. Though the racial caste system seemingly ended after the Jim Crow era, it simply took a different form. There are many similarities between Jim Crow and mass incarceration, like legalized discrimination and segregation. Black communities in America are fragmented due to mass incarceration and being physically segregated not only into prisons, but into low-income, environmentally dangerous …show more content…
Learning about relevant history and how certain things came to be is a significant part of gaining a better critical understanding of certain types of oppression in contemporary society. For example, a thorough understanding of the War on Drugs is necessary to understand how mass incarceration currently functions in American society. I feel as though this is something that I have personally been lacking in my efforts to become more educated about the different forms of oppression impacting minority communities, as I tend to push the historical contexts of these issues of oppression to the side. This book has shown me just how crucial it is to be historically aware, as this awareness plays a key role in understanding how to be an informed, useful advocate. Connected to my prior lack of historical context, I had not understood mass incarceration to be a form of social control or a caste system before reading The New Jim Crow. Lastly, throughout this book, Alexander acknowledges a struggle that I have been experiencing while preparing for my future in the social work
“The New Jim Crow” is an article by Michelle Alexander, published by the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law. Michelle is a professor at the Ohio State Moritz college of criminal law as well as a civil rights advocate. Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law is part of the world’s top education system, is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is a long-time member of the American Law association. The goal of “The New Jim Crow” is to inform the public about the issues of race in our
This essay will be focusing on the incarceration and war on drug of black community and minority in the United State. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander discuss who the war on drug effect minority in American. What will be discuss in this paper or the question I will be answering are How has the War in Drugs impacted low-income people and communities of color, particularly African Americans? How has the Drug War disenfranchised a large segment of the American population? How have race and class
Although the Jim Crow laws are not so common, many African Americans are still arrested for very minor crimes. They remain disfranchised and marginalized and trapped by criminal justice that has named them felons and refuted them their rights to be free of lawful employment and discrimination and also education and other public benefits that other citizens enjoy. There is exists discernment in voting rights, employment, education and housing when it comes to privileges. In the, ‘the new Jim crow’ mass incarceration
Michelle Alexander presents three compelling arguments in The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. First, American society is repeating the outrages of the early Jim Crow laws, which imposed racial segregation on the bogus principle of separate but equal; second, our country has a widespread dilemma of increasing mass incarceration numbers, and, finally, that our modern so-called “colorblind” era thwarts multitudes of people from understanding or acknowledging that racist
Reflection Reading my first book for this class, I was really looking forward to it. The book, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, is an interesting book because it touches base on mass incarceration and the caste system. Figuring out that society is on a war on drugs and racism in the justice system is upsetting, and yet interesting. Michelle does a really nice job in organizing the book and presenting the plot. The fact that this book informs and explains arguments, what is happening with
The purpose of this essay is to elaborate and clarify James Baldwin’s book The Fire Next Time. Some examples that are related to his argument are given to strengthen the point. The examples are taken from the articles about ‘White People Commit the Most Heinous Crimes, So Why Is America Terrified of Black Men?’ and the book New Jim Crow. In The Fire Next Time, Baldwin talks about how white people view themselves as a savior rather than slaves owner. Here, white people think that they are doing something
Zain Jaffer 3-7-17 Period:#4 Paine Synthesis Essay In the summer of 2015 when Donald Trump first announced his candidacy for the presidency, he stated that “when Mexico sends its people...they’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” Since 2015 what was once a political joke has become a horrifying reality, as millions of Americans have joined Trump on his bandwagon of bigotry carrying him all the way to the highest office in the land. When political leaders who are meant to
influence one’s experience or how the country operates. However, in spite of the monumental achievements this country has undergone in an attempt to create a post-racial society, racism and discrimination have not been destroyed, they have simply taken a new form. Racism still exists in the United States through our Criminal Justice System which unfairly targets African American and Latino
Essay 1 Many people claim that racism no longer exists; however, the minorities’ struggle with injustice is ubiquitous. Since there is a mass incarceration of African Americans, it is believed that African Americans are the cause of the severe increase of crimes. This belief has been sent out implicitly by the ruling class through the media. The media send out coded messages that are framed in abstract neutral language that play on white resentment that targets minorities. Disproportionate arrest
ESSAY 3 Perhaps the most common argument against mass incarceration is the cost. Weisberg and Petersilia explain a “cost-benefit” rationality surrounding mass incarceration. The public still wants to incapacitate and punish violent offenders, but are becoming more lenient towards non-violent drug offenders. This is because the societal cost to imprison non-violent offenders has reached a threshold that is no longer fully tolerated. This is due to the actual cost of the current prison system to taxpayers