Criminal Justice System In The New Jim Crow By Michelle Alexander

The New Jim Crow
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander is a thorough and thought provoking analysis of mass incarceration in America. Through this book Alexander explores the dynamics of the criminal justice system and the propaganda that enables it which have led to the establishment and maintenance of a racial undercaste system that has been perpetuated by a felony criminal record. Within this book Alexander provides a history of the disenfranchisement of the black male from the overt racism of slavery and Jim Crow to the colorblind drug and sentencing policies of the 20th and 21st century.
The purpose of this book is to educate. The facts of what mass incarceration has done particularly to African American communities are astounding

The U.S. criminal justice system functions as a system of racial control, even though it abides by the principle of color blindness. I found the book riveting. The historical background the author provided put the issue into context.
As an African American I am well aware of the danger black males face every time they step outside just because of their race whether criminal or not. However to the extent that the system has been racialized under the guise of color blindness was previously unknown. What’s worse is that at all levels from the stop and frisk to sentencing questions regarding the constitutionality to these practices has been effectively dismissed by the Supreme Court leaving any means to restrict/revoke/amend these practices next to impossible. When Alexander calls for a social movement as a way to make effective change I completely agree with her. As she stated the cases that make it to the Supreme Court are those when the defendant has actually been involved in some sort of criminal activity. However the African American and other minority groups are affected by these policies on a large scale daily as well as society as a