Ratings76
Average rating4.6
This work argues that the War on Drugs and policies that deny convicted felons equal access to employment, housing, education, and public benefits create a permanent under caste based largely on race.As the United States celebrates the nation's "triumph over race" with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or have been labeled felons for life. Although Jim Crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the African American community remains trapped in a subordinate status - much like their grandparents before them. In this incisive critique, former litigator-turned-legal-scholar Michelle Alexander provocatively argues that we have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness. The New Jim Crow challenges the civil rights community - and all of us - to place mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America.
Reviews with the most likes.
Phenomenal and a foundational work for the current era of activism around criminal justice reform and racial inequality. If some of the history or analysis here seems basic/obvious/whatever, it's because this book changed the conversation about these issues. I'm ashamed I hadn't read it until just now, especially since I'm a defense attorney and this is the environment that I work in every day. This book is crucial and so important to understanding where we are and how we got here. If possible, read the 10th anniversary edition, which has an updated foreword from the author about developments since the original publication.
This book is powerful and will shake up your perspective on racial justice, colorblindness, affirmative action, and the age of Obama. Hands down this is one of the best books on the subject of justice and the War on Drugs that I've read in a long time (Chasing the Scream, focusing on the War on Drugs and Just Mercy, focusing on the death penalty and incarceration, are other must reads).
Everyone interested in social justice should read this.