One of the most influential books of the last 20 years. With each new incarnation, the system is a little less complete, but still operative. The new jim crow discredited, advocates demand revision radical scholars and social justice activists say the popular discourse of the new jim crow promotes a false understanding of mass incarceration in the united states and serves to reinforce the status quo by quietly separating mass incarceration from its most defining and central features. One little incident from the home front illustrates the tyranny black americans lived under during the second world war. After looking at a pamphlet, proclaiming that drug war is the new jim crow, the author ignored it. The new jim crow summary and study guide supersummary. Despite the growing public feeling that the drug war has failed, attorney general john ashcroft has declared that he wants to escalate it.
This has led to a new racial caste system in the united states. A human rights nightmare is occurring on our watch. The new jim crow michelle alexander, cornel west isbn. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men through the war on drugs and. Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness the new. The africanamerican military experience in the second world war by benjamin jacobs author. They were organizing to protest racial profiling, the drug war, the. As criminologist jeremy travis has observed, in this brave new world. The new jim crow new york state nurses association. In chapter 1 of her book the new jim crow, michelle alexander traces the history of slavery up to and through the rise and apparent fall of jim crow as a kind of racial caste system. As the united states celebrates the nations triumph over race with the election of barack obama, the majority of young black men in major american cities are locked behind bars or have been labeled felons for life. Mass incarceration is the imprisoning of many people who are african american on the premise of their race. At the end of 2007, more than 7 million americans were behind bars, on probation, or on parole, many whose initial violation of the drug laws spiraled into a life of crime. Eerie silence passing redux gangsta love the minstrel show the antidote chapter 5 the new jim crow states of denial how it works nothing new.
This book taught me an amazing amount about the facts and results of what the author calls the new jim crow the war on drugs, and the changes in legal and policing procedures that followed upon it. Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness by michelle alexander. It is important to note the differences between mass incarceration, jim crow, and slavery, but the comparisons are useful and profound in themselves. A law professor asserts that the war on drugs and incarceration for drug offenses. It makes me ashamed for the evils my country has inflicted yet again on its black population.
It began with slavery, segued into segregation also known as jim crow, and now manifests as the war on drugs and mass incarceration what alexander calls the new jim crow. Here is a question that each negro soldier is asking, he began. In germany, how many people per 100,000 adults and children are in prison. Michelle alexanders new jim crow raises drug law debates.
Everything you know about mass incarceration is wrong. She goes on to discuss the possible foundations of the get tough on crime movement, which would somehow contribute to the emergence of a penal system. Here, finally, was the answer to why we built so many prisons. By world war i, even places of employment were segregated, and it was not until after world war ii that an assault on jim crow in the south began to make headway. The new jim crow is a stunning account of the rebirth of a castelike system in the. Intergenerational discussion guide the rise and fall of jim crow is a coproduction of quest productions, videoline productions, and thirteenwnet new york. The new jim crow summary from litcharts the creators of. At this point, everybody and their mama has heard of the new jim crow. No other country in the world imprisons so many of its racial or ethnic. Michelle alexanders book offers a timely and original framework for understanding mass incarceration, its roots to jim crow, our modern caste system, and what must be done to eliminate it. Alexanders the new jim crow does an excellent job in the 6 chapters to first briefly but. The book begins by disproving claims that racism is dead. An analysis of michelle alexanders the new jim crow.
This book will change the way you think about criminal and judicial systems. The new jim crow contradicts this denial of racism and criticizes peoples failure to care, really care across color lines. The new jim crow discredited, advocates demand revision. The black community supported the war, but with serious reservations. Praised by harvard law professor lani guinier as brave and bold, this book directly challenges the notion that the election of barack obama signals a new era of colorblindness. It made me aware that all the racial inequities and disparities caused by the war on drugs arent an. Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness zinn education project michelle alexander on the new jim crow and the schooltoprison pipeline rethinking schools our focus is the schooltoprison pipeline and how to stop it in our classrooms, our schools, and our communities. The new jim crow by michelle alexander at the best online ebook storage. This project was created for ces 440 and aims to summarize michelle alexanders book the new jim crow mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. The american carceral state, in her telling, was just another form of racialized social control little different than jim crow before it. Published in nacla report on the americas, julyaugust 2001. Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness the new press, 2010. Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to. This led to the us having the worlds highest incarceration rate.
Americans were locked into a secondclass status during slavery and jim crow. Before the governmentsponsored war on drugs, nysna nurses fought addiction on. Published in 2010, michelle alexanders book the new jim crow was a sensation. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Although jim crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the african american community remains trapped in a subordinate status much like their. Transformed to war on drugs in the 1980s, and still going on. The new york times bestselling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged. The book discusses racerelated issues specific to africanamerican males and mass incarceration in the united states, but alexander noted that the discrimination faced by africanamerican males is.
The entrance into this new caste system can be found at the prison gate. Which country has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Is drug war driven mass incarceration the new jim crow. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the new jim crow. Ninety percent of those admitted to prison for drug offenses in many states were black or latino, yet the mass incarceration of communities of color was explained in raceneutral terms, an adaptation to the needs and demands of the current political climate.
During the past two years professor alexander has been provoking such moments across the country and across the political spectrum with her book. At this moment of global awakening in the face of injustice, the focus on. The new jim crow movement is formed of looselylinked local study groups reading and discussing the new jim crow, and beginning to develop a grassroots strategy first for exposing the injustice of mass incarceration, and then for challenging and ultimately ending it. The new jim crow, a bestselling book about how mass incarceration has ravaged the black community, is banned by prisons in two states and can be difficult to obtain in others. Michelle alexander reflects on how her book, hardly an immediate bestseller. Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness, michelle alexander dives into the not so complicated racial issues that plague this country that we tend to ignore. Americans into a segregated secondclass citizenship still haunts america, the us. Mass incarceration during the age of colorblindness by michelle alexander 1665 words 7 pages. Taps for a jim crow army is a powerful collection of letters written by black soldiers in the 1940s to various government and nongovernment officials.
John legend quoted the book s argument that more black people are imprisoned today than were enslaved in 1850. The new press, who believed in this book before i had even written a word. The book discusses racerelated issues specific to africanamerican males and mass incarceration in the united states, but alexander noted that the discrimination faced by. West concludes that the book will cause an awakening in which people will come to truly care for each other, and will help lead to a revolution in which ordinary people regain power. This book will change the way you think about criminal and judicial systems in the us. By targeting black men through the war on drugs and decimating. Since its publication in 2010, the book has appeared on the new york times. The cyclical rebirth of caste in america is a recurring racial nightmare. Campaign to end the new jim crow center for law and justice. Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness is a book by michelle. Michelle alexander is the author of the new jim crow. The new jim crow highlights the racial dimensions of the war on drugs.
Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel a nationwide social movement. After looking at a pamphlet, proclaiming that drug war is the new jim crow, the author ignored it as a theory promoted by a bunch of conspiracy guys. Yet when i walked out of the election night party, full of hope and enthusiasm, i was immediately reminded of the harsh realities of the new jim crow. The reenslavement of black americans from the civil war to world war ii. It will shine a light on a new form of segregation based on race. The new jim crow introduction and chapter 1 summary and. Black american soldiers in world war ii britain smith, graham on. Response paper to michelle alexanders the new jim crow. Request for permission to reproduce selections from this book should be mailed to. The new jim crow book chicago public library bibliocommons. The introduction begins with alexanders comparison between an incarcerated africanamerican man today and the mans ancestors who, like him, were denied basic rights as a result of slavery and jim crow, respectively. Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness by michelle alexander and cornel west.
Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness goes into great detail on race related issues that were specific to black males, the mass incarceration, and how that lead to the development of institutionalized racism in the united states. Download and read online for free the new jim crow by michelle alexander. Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness is a book by michelle alexander, a civil rights litigator and legal scholar. Alexander wanted this book, the new jim crow, to be the start of an honest and frank dialogue on race and the ramifications of mass incarceration. The new jim crow was hardly an immediate bestseller, but after a couple of. Alexander explains that ten years ago, she was suspicious of the claim that mass incarceration was a new jim crow, but. The new jim crow kindle edition by alexander, michelle, west, cornel. The new jim crow mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness book. It was created to keep those in the minority as the underclass. The book is an important source for those teaching africanamerican history, world war ii particularly if the instructor seeks to offer a component concerning race relations, and ethnic studies.
List of books and articles about jim crow laws online. The soldiers expressed their disillusionment, rage, and anguish over the discrimination and segregation they experienced in the army. Plot summary the new jim crow is a political book that advocates for racial justice, especially for african americans. Fighting in the jim crow army helps readers discover, for those who forgot, when the first steps were made along the long road to racial equality. Steve marioti, writing for huffington post, called it a must read for every american. Jim crow and legal racial segregation has been replaced by mass. The new jim crow kindle edition by alexander, michelle. Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel. It argues that federal drug policy unfairly targets communities of color, keeping millions of young, black men in a cycle of poverty and behind bars. It presents arguments and evidence that the civil rights movement in the united states in the 1950s and 1960s only partially succeeded in granting african americans equal rights. Mass incarceration is not the new jim crow orchestrated. The new jim crow became a surprise bestseller when it was first published in 2012, and is currently the no. When the war on drugs began, was drug crime on the.
Chronicle of higher education two years after obamas election, alexander put the entire criminal justice system on trial, exposing racial discrimination from lawmaking to policing to the denial of voting rights to exprisoners. The new jim crow by alexander is a book about the era of mass incarceration. Alexander argues that the war on drugs has a devastating impact on inner city african. New jim crow term paper michelle alexanders the new jim crow. Assumptions in the new jim crow here are the notes from our discussion of assumptions in michelle alexanders article on thursday, february 23, and friday, february 24, 2012, followed by a few other assumptions i have identified.
14 1319 1577 1059 116 1427 1491 355 988 1220 642 949 842 619 163 639 479 1371 205 613 67 196 27 435 588 827 552 190 256 1120 390 369 104 142 345 369 163 1289 712 1299 888 74 1309 523 440 445