Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration

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Pages: 3

In the book “The New Jim Crow: mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander’s puts a spotlight directly on what perhaps is one of our greatest national shame’s: the phenomenal rates of incarceration for the people of color in the United States. This is a fact that our nation has been hesitant to face. She powerfully makes the argument that the incarceration industry in the 21st century has become to the resemblance of what Jim Crow segregation was to the 20th century- a system that sabotages American principles of justice, while reinforcing social diversity. The first chapter gives a background history of the rise, fall and the affiliation between the first two racial caste systems in the United States- slavery and Jim …show more content…
The chapters following provide a close examination of the system of mass incarceration that has arisen over the past three decades, exploring each stage of process (investigation, criminalization, prosecution, sentencing). Also the chapters look at the many consequences accompanying a felony conviction and how and why each of these had carried out to damage African Americans. This book also explores how the caste system Alexander identifies is different and not so different from Jim Crows, the many political and economic efforts now devoted in preserving it, and how it has been rendered practically impervious to challenge through prosecution. The book proceeds to conclude with an argument that while many particular improvements will be needed to change this system, nothing close to a social movement that changes public approval of the current system can solve this dilemma and it also presents several assessments and ideas for the civil rights movement found on examination of