The New Jim Crow

Image credit: www.newjimcrow.com

Recently, for a policy class I was taking, I had to read Michelle Alexander's, The New Jim Crow. Alexander served as the director of the Racial Justice Project for the ACLU of Northern California and is currently an associate law professor at The Ohio State University. Her book, "examines the mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness." She discusses the history of Jim Crow, the U.S. justice system, the correlation between the two, the racial caste system, and the façade of colorblindness. The description on the back of the book includes the following insight,"...This book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness...we have not ended the racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it. By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S.  criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control- relegating millions to a permanent second-class status- even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness."
Before reading this book, I had always known that there was a problem with the mass incarceration of people of color (particularly, African American males) but I could have never imagined the full extent, nor do I think I could do it justice by trying to sum it up in a few short paragraphs. However, after reading this book, there are a couple of reactions I would like to highlight. First, I would like to point out that this mass incarceration is, in my opinion, an epidemic. Second, I would like to point out that we have (either consciously or subconsciously) created, through policies (both with legislation as well as implementation) and institutions, a self-sustaining system that constantly allows statistics to come into fruition.

As I was mulling over my thoughts, I came across a fellow student's blog post, entitled: Labeled Criminal: The Limits of Integration for Ex-offenders. I thought that her writing was a wonderful continuation of what Michelle Alexander expresses in her book. In her post, Hillary explores the experiences of ex-offenders and how those experiences "impact the vitality of communities". She takes what's going on systematically and describes its effects on culture. She writes, "Together, the experiences of offenders show how the stigma associated with a criminal record limits social participation and integration. This ostracization hinders the ability for many ex-offenders to successfully engage in their environment as community members. This gap in integration has implications for the community, as the existence of people who are so systematically denoted as “the other” or “strangers” indicates the existence of social strife.  Such people are less apt to provide support in the protection, well-being, or growth of the community because their segregation from the social fabric disengages them from buy-in." I really appreciate her insight and the connection she makes between system and culture and how the two are causal of each other. 

She brings up an important aspect of socialization which also happens to be the topic of discussion in an article from the New York Times entitled, A Poverty of the Mind by Orlando Patterson. In his piece, he discusses how, "SEVERAL recent studies have garnered wide attention for reconfirming the tragic disconnection of millions of black youths from the American mainstream. But they also highlighted another crisis: the failure of social scientists to adequately explain the problem, and their inability to come up with any effective strategy to deal with it." Patterson discusses many different problems attributed to African Americans and the assumptions that accompany them without much effort to find a solution. He also discusses how this ignorance is contributing to our failing inner-cities. He urges us to not sit by and subconsciously perpetuate a cycle that is so engrained in us that we assume it to be a certainty (something Alexander also brings up)- he encourages us to ask questions, to get to the root of the issues, to find out why things are the way they are- especially those of us in the field of Social Science. Patterson closes with, "The tragedy unfolding in our inner cities is a time-slice of a deep historical process that runs far back through the cataracts and deluge of our racist past. Most black Americans have by now, miraculously, escaped its consequences. The disconnected fifth languishing in the ghettos is the remains. Too much is at stake for us to fail to understand the plight of these young men. For them, and for the rest of us." His sentiments are similar to those of Alexander with regards to understanding that some issues are deep-seated and that we need to question things that we know to be certain (once again, either consciously or subconsciously). 

One of the most powerful quotes from Alexander's book, in my opinion, is when she says, "There was no contradiction in the bold claim made by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence that 'all men are created equal' if Africans were never really people. Racism operated as a deeply held belief system based on 'truths' beyond question or doubt." Just digest that for a second. Maybe, one more second. 

Now, in response I have some questions (for both myself and you): what are the assumed truths that are effecting your community? What are you doing to question those certainties? Do you see systematic disparities effecting your community's culture? Do you think that the two can be separated or do they go hand-in-hand? When attempting to bring remedy to a situation, do you try to find the root of the problem or do you chop at the branches? Do you believe that we have a racial caste system? Do you think that these issues are related or that they are caused by different things?

In addition to the above resources mentioned, you might also be interested in the following:
Child Welfare Policy and Practice: Rethinking the History of our Certainties is an article that explores those assumed truths and certainties that frame our policies and mindsets. 
The Stop Mass Incarceration Network according to its website, "is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a project of the Alliance for Global Justice. The Stop Mass Incarceration Network is building a movement to stop the injustice of mass incarceration and police brutality; and the racially biased policies and practices of the police, the courts and the U.S. legal system; and to support the rights of prisoners and the formerly incarcerated."
The Sentencing Project according to its website, "was founded in 1986 to provide defense lawyers with sentencing advocacy training and to reduce the reliance on incarceration. Since that time, The Sentencing Project has become a leader in the effort to bring national attention to disturbing trends and inequities in the criminal justice system with a successful formula that includes the publication of groundbreaking research, aggressive media campaigns and strategic advocacy for policy reform."