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132 Michelle Alexander: The New Jim Crow

“The New Jim Crow” exposes how the War on Drugs and mass incarceration policies have perpetuated racial oppression in America.

Duration: 13 hours
14 minutes
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Michelle Alexander: The New Jim Crow

Summary

"The New Jim Crow" is a groundbreaking book that explores how the United States' War on Drugs and mass incarceration policies have created a system of racial control and oppression that has disproportionately affected Black and Brown communities. Drawing on extensive research and legal analysis, Michelle Alexander argues that the criminal justice system has been used as a tool for social control, perpetuating racial discrimination and inequality in new and insidious ways. Despite the veneer of colorblindness, Alexander demonstrates how policies such as mandatory minimum sentences, three-strikes laws, and the expansion of the prison-industrial complex have created a new form of Jim Crow, where millions of people of color are locked up, denied basic rights, and relegated to second-class citizenship. Ultimately, "The New Jim Crow" challenges readers to confront the deep-seated racial bias and systemic inequality that underlies the American criminal justice system.

About

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

Author: Michelle Alexander

Publishing Year: 2019

Publisher: The New Press

Length in hours: 13 hours and 14 minutes

5 main ideas

  1. The War on Drugs and mass incarceration policies have created a new form of racial control and oppression in America.
  2. The criminal justice system perpetuates racial discrimination and inequality, even as it claims to be colorblind.
  3. Policies such as mandatory minimum sentences and three-strikes laws have led to the disproportionate incarceration of people of color.
  4. The prison-industrial complex has created powerful economic and political incentives for maintaining high levels of incarceration.
  5. To address these issues, we must confront the deep-seated racial bias and systemic inequality that underlies the American criminal justice system.
Michelle Alexander: The New Jim Crow

5 funny quotes

  1. "If you think we live in a post-racial society, you haven't been paying attention."
  2. "The War on Drugs: because sometimes a War on People of Color is too obvious."
  3. "The only color that matters in our criminal justice system is the color of your skin."
  4. "If you're Black or Brown in America, you're guilty until proven innocent."
  5. "Mass incarceration: because who needs schools and hospitals when you can have more prisons?"

5 thought-provoking quotes​

  1. "We have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it."
  2. "We have not come nearly as far as we like to think we have."
  3. "We must face the fact that racial caste in America has been, and continues to be, a defining feature of our society."
  4. "The rise of mass incarceration represents a stunningly comprehensive and well-disguised system of racialized social control."
  5. "In the era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt. So we don't. Rather than rely on race, we use our criminal justice system to label people of color 'criminals' and then engage in all the practices we supposedly left behind."

5 dilemmas

  1. Balancing the need for public safety with the danger of over-criminalization and mass incarceration.
  2. Addressing the racial bias and discrimination inherent in the criminal justice system, while avoiding accusations of reverse discrimination or "playing the race card."
  3. Finding ways to hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct and discrimination, without alienating police and their supporters.
  4. Addressing the economic and political incentives for maintaining high levels of incarceration, including the influence of private prison companies and prison contractors.
  5. Addressing the systemic issues that contribute to crime and poverty in communities of color, such as lack of access to education, employment, and social services.

5 examples

  1. Mandatory minimum sentences: Laws that require a minimum sentence for certain crimes, such as drug offenses, leading to disproportionately long sentences for people of color.
  2. Three-strikes laws: Laws that require a mandatory life sentence for a third felony, even if it is a minor offense, leading to the incarceration of many people of color for nonviolent crimes.
  3. The prison-industrial complex: The network of government and private entities that profit from mass incarceration, including private prisons, prison contractors, and suppliers of goods and services to prisons.
  4. Stop-and-frisk: A police tactic that allows officers to stop and search people based on their appearance, often leading to racial profiling and discrimination.
  5. School-to-prison pipeline: The system that funnels students from schools, especially those in low-income communities of color, into the criminal justice system through zero-tolerance policies, harsh disciplinary measures, and police presence in schools.

Referenced books

  1. "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption" by Bryan Stevenson
  2. "Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II" by Douglas A. Blackmon
  3. "Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America" by Viet Thanh Nguyen
  4. "The Wretched of the Earth" by Frantz Fanon
  5. "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison" by Michel Foucault

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"Mass incarceration: because who needs schools and hospitals when you can have more prisons?"

Michelle Alexander: The New Jim Crow

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