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

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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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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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Without our past our future will never be concord.

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"The New Jim Crow" provides an explanation that absolutely rings true for problems I was aware of (the disproportionate number of African Americans in prison, and harsher sentences for "black" drugs vs. "white" drugs), but lacked an understanding of the underlying causes. The culture and the politics that created the the injustices African-Americans in the U.S. currently face are finely detailed here. Alexander explains clearly how the new racial caste system developed, how it works, and why it works. It is truly eye-opening.

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Favorite may not be the right word to use for my relationship to this book. Most important book I read this year would be a more apt description. I work with chronically street homeless men and women and read this to get a perspective I didn't have on some of the issues that contribute to their circumstances. What I got was an education about a level of injustice that astounded and disheartened me. I may not agree with all of Michelle Alexander's conclusions, but the indisputable facts she cites will give even the most hardened cynic real pause for thought. Read this book and find out what the Supreme Court has done in your name!

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In a well-researched, thoroughly documented volume, Michelle Alexander reveals the blatant, appalling racism of our dysfunctional justice system. This is essential reading for anyone who cares about fairness and equal treatment under the law.

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Michelle Alexander's rigorous and systematic exposure of our criminally unjust system of "justice" belongs at the top of every legislator's reading list and is a must-read volume for all those who would understand this nation. Superb.