The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

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Judith Armatta, January 19, 2012 (view all comments by Judith Armatta)
The New Jim Crow is a wake-up call to anyone who cares about racial justice and equality. Alexander uncovers the invisible Jim Crow system of mass incarceration (disproportionately of Black and Latino men) that replaced the old Jim Crow system of segregation. One in three black men aged 20 to 29 are under control of the criminal justice system. They constitute nearly half of the 2 million incarcerated citizens. Another 5 million people are on parole or probation. Alexander argues that "criminals" constitute a permanent underclass, facing lifelong discrimination in jobs, housing, public benefits, education, voting, etc. Alexander writes, "The stigma of criminality functions in much the same way that the stigma of race once did. It justifies a legal, social, and economic boundary between "us" and "them." Once that boundary is created, almost anything is sanctioned against the outcasts. In a call to awareness and action, Alexander reminds us of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s warning that "racial caste systems do not require racial hostility or overt bigotry to thrive. They need only racial indifference." If we don't heed the call we repeat the guilty acquiescence of past generations in slavery and Jim Crow segregation.

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Sandra Miller, January 1, 2012 (view all comments by Sandra Miller)
If you want to believe that the war on drugs is working, if you think that everyone gets a fair deal under the law and you absolutely do not want to hear anything to the contrary, well, don't read this book. If you have a sense that something isn't right with our justice system, the privatization of our prisons, right up to the Supreme Court then get a group together and read this book, discuss what you've read, spread the word, and find out what you can do to stop the mass incarceration of people of color, especially men. Ms. Alexander has done her homework well and writes a compelling review of what is happening across our country, and in your neighborhood. You may not agree with each of her conclusions, but the hard facts alone will frighten you. I'd love to say this is a "good" read, but I can't. It is an important read.

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sheilagriffin44, June 12, 2011 (view all comments by sheilagriffin44)
Without our past our future will never be concord.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9781595581037

Author:

Alexander, Michelle

Publisher:

New Press

Subject:

Criminal Law - General

Subject:

United States Race relations.

Subject:

Criminal justice, administration of

Subject:

Criminology

Subject:

Penology

Subject:

Discrimination & Racism

Subject:

Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General

Subject:

Criminal Law

Subject:

Crime-Prisons and Prisoners

Edition Description:

Trade Cloth

Publication Date:

20100131

Binding:

HARDCOVER

Language:

English

Pages:

304

Dimensions:

9.25 x 6.13 in 20.4 oz