New Jim Crow, The

Since this book first came out a decade ago, it's important to read the preface and the forward for the updates.

The author's thesis is that "The system of mass incarceration created a legal framework by which the rights and benefits of citizenship are routinely stripped away from millions of U.S. citizens labeled "criminals" and "felons" until they mirror...those of non-citizen immigrants within the United States."

It seems obvious to me that that is exactly what has happened, though I'm not sure that I'm convinced that there was a master plan for this. The fact is, it happened, it's happening, and it will take major change to put an end to this horrible crisis.

Alexander gives us a history lesson, a tour of the outrageously discriminatory laws of the past, and argues that each time one of these was overturned, powerful whites found a new way of discriminating against African Americans. She outlines the laws that boxed people of color into poor neighborhoods and ghettos, and how police, seeking funding from the federal government, kept their arrests high during The War on Drugs. The easiest way to do this was to turn these poor neighborhoods into occupied territories. She points out that the "colorblind" laws are simply a new way of not talking about race, rendering the issue invisible.

Alexander is highly critical of many politicians, and not just republicans. She is critical of both former presidents Clinton and Obama for adding on to the problem. (I will admit that it's hard for me to read criticism of Obama. It's not my most objective quality.)

Overall, I found Michelle Alexander's book to be highly informative and eye-opening. The one criticism I have is the amount of repetition.

I'm very glad to have read this! Right now, I am concerned that too many people do not understand what is really meant by defunding the police.