Summary Of The New Jim Crow By Michelle Alexander

The book, The New Jim Crow written was written by Michelle Alexander. It was published on January 5, 2010 and is 312 pages long. It is a nonfiction book that talks about the re-introduction of the caste-like system that has already resulted in millions of African Americans being locked in jail. During the Civil Rights Era, African Americans were put into a second class status that rejected all of the rights that blacks had previously won in the Civil Rights Movement. This book talks about many situations where blacks in today’s society are treated almost the same as they were over 50 years ago. Alexander says that even though it used to be acceptable to discriminate against African Americans, it’s no longer socially acceptable to use race

The main theme that is known throughout the book is that mass incarceration of blacks is essentially the “New Jim Crow” because it works to capture mostly African Americans and because of its similarity to the old caste systems of race. It’s also evident that once you do time in a correctional facilities an African American, all of the old discriminations like housing discrimination, employment discrimination, denial to further your education, and exclusion of jury service are suddenly legal again. When joined with the actuality that whites are more likely to commit drug related crimes than blacks, the issue shows a clear message from Alexander. The main targets of race can be spotted mainly by race.This eventually leads Alexander to be convinced that mass incarceration is "a stunningly comprehensive and well-disguised system of racialized social control that functions in a manner strikingly similar to Jim Crow.” In Michelle Alexander’s book, she argues that mass incarceration is a huge form of racialized social control. While most agree with her that many more black men are put in prison than white men, some also agree that discrimination can arise in public situations, not just in prison. Based on my own experience in public school and in my community, I have seen just how other people of color are discriminated in society too. Alexander concentrates her main points on the racism and discrimination of blacks more than any

There are many times where you read a book and may not have fully gotten a hold of the story line or main point, but in this book, Alexander cuts right to the point and vividly expresses her thoughts. This book is very convincing to some because it contains facts that support Alexander’s motive. The author makes a great point when she talks about how arguments that have been put out in support of racism and discrimination have changed in the past 50 years, but the fallout of that has pretty much remained the same. She uses strong examples to explain to you that this world is not changing and this caste system is still a huge problem in the United States today. For example, she talks about how blacks are more predisposed to get arrested for the same things that whites will do. Stereotypes and prejudice all contribute to the ideas like “all blacks are drug dealers” or “all blacks are murderers” and these ideas can force people to think that they are more dangerous and therefore should be arrested for things that aren't even close to as dangerous as what white people are doing. Some studies even show that people of all colors use and sell drugs at very similar rates. The motive for arresting someone shouldn't be based off of their skin color, but for the amount of danger they are putting people