11/17 post - New Jim Crow

The New Jim Crow

After reading the beginning of The New Jim Crow and the message Michelle Alexander was conveying, something else specific stood out to me, the fact that her husband, a federal prosecutor, does not share her views on the criminal justice system. This lead me to think about rivaling views to the points Alexander eloquently raised but not came to mind. Having already read The New Jim Crow in leisure last year I was already exposed to her points and found it increasingly difficult to think of anything substantial to rival the points made throughout her book.  The statistics alone are staggering, 750 out of 100,000 incarcerated in America today. One of every three black men in Washington will spend time incarcerated. These are just a few of the initial points Alexander makes to begin her dismantlement of the claim that there is no longer racial caste in America.  Publicly successful black figures do not take away from the hardships and subservient lives black males are subjected to through incarceration and the limited options available through re-immersion. I cannot think of anything substantive that can refute the claims made by Alexander.

One thing I am confused about is how mass incarceration, zero-tolerance policy, and harsh sentencing were not viewed as top priorities for human rights organizations. Obviously something has to be noticed before it can become a recognized issue but why did it take so long? Fighting the opposition of policies such as affirmative action is important but not nearly enough to achieve an egalitarian society. How did mass incarceration become so well disguised, allowing for the further subjugation of blacks in America?  Large portions of the black community are legally denied housing, jobs, benefits, the right to vote, and this all happened right beneath our eyes in a society where it is supposedly socially taboo to be a racist.