12 books to help you fight the system

Author Michelle Alexander (screencap via YouTube)

12. The New Jim Crow

Author, scholar, and civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander argues that mass incarceration is “the New Jim Crow”. Given that the number of incarcerated people has increased significantly over the past few decades, and that a striking number of those people are African-American men, she has a point.

In The New Jim Crow, Alexander also argues that the problem springs from multiple sources. Not only is mass incarceration of black men a byproduct of societal ills such as poverty and poor educational systems, but it is the result of deliberate policies. These structures are a “comprehensive and well-disguised system of racialized control that functions in a manner strikingly similar to Jim Crow.” The War on Drugs has disproportionately affected black communities, and zero-tolerance laws have contributed enormously to the rising incarceration rate.

The New Jim Crow is noted especially for its rigorous research. Alexander presents reams of statistics and legal rulings that illustrate the dire situation. Moreover, Michelle Alexander writes powerfully about the inherent racial injustice in both the criminal justice system and American society in general. Ultimately, however, she is unable to offer concrete solutions.

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Instead, The New Jim Crow was written in order to prompt a national discussion “about the role of the criminal justice system in creating and perpetuating racial hierarchy in the United States.”