Jaclyn Seigel Doctor Morales PHM2121 30 April 2015 “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” By Michelle Alexander; An Evaluation In “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness” by Michelle Alexander, Alexander explains her opinion on mass incarceration and “The War on Drugs.” Even though “The War on Drugs” took few steps forward to eliminating drug abuse, Michelle Alexander’s book explains how this has created more problems rather than solutions. Alexander focuses on how African American communities have become more vulnerable to the arrests. Authorities will target these communities even though this is not where the crime is happening. Lastly, many people are labeled ‘felons’ for life, even …show more content…
The caste system locks people up behind bars, literally and fundamentally, and creates a new life; essentially, for many men and women in low-income black communities. During the Reagan Administration, “The War on Drugs” began. Overall, this lead to mass incarceration and African Americans were targeted even though a majority of the drug abusers were white. Since then, mass incarceration has become a prevalent issue in today’s society. Michelle Alexander does a phenomenal job at presenting her …show more content…
Alexander focuses on how African American communities have become more vulnerable to the arrests. Authorities will target these communities even though this is not where the crime is happening. Lastly, many people are labeled ‘felons’ for life, even though they have only committed one victimless crime. Michelle Alexander summarizes her opinion by saying, “We have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it.” Even though America has taken many small steps to move forward from segregation, black individuals are locked up behind bars and will struggle for the rest of their lives to escape from the ‘felon’ title. “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander has showcased her opinion, and ultimately stretched my opinion. I can confidently say that I agree with Michelle Alexander’s opinion and conclusion of “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration of