The New Jim Crow - SFBA Book Club

Audiobook

Published April 13, 2012 by Recorded Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-4640-4825-8
Audible ASIN:: B007QW236E

(1 review)

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 …

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.

14 editions

Nano Book Review reviewed The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Lawyers know how to present an argument

5 stars

A long and detailed account of racist systems of control in America, with a strong focus on the current one, mass incarceration. Michelle makes a solid and even-handed case for calling mass incarceration the new Jim Crow, all while acknowledging and explaining the important differences. Read the tenth anniversary edition, which comments on the events since the book's first publication, it's well worth it.

Subjects

Administration of Criminal justice
Race relations
Race discrimination
African American prisoners
New York Times bestseller
nyt:paperback_nonfiction=2012-01-14
Discrimination in criminal justice administration
Prisoners
Rassendiskriminierung
Social conditions
Strafjustiz
African American men
African Americans
Rasdiskriminering
Umschulungswerkstätten für Siedler und Auswanderer
Afro-amerikanska fångar
Criminal Law
LAW
United states, race relations
Criminal justice, administration of
African americans, social conditions
Prisoners, united states
Racism in criminology
Mass incarceration
Racism in criminal justice administration
Legal status, laws
Segregation
History
Racisme en criminologie
Justice pénale
Administration
Discrimination dans l'administration de la justice pénale
Prisonniers noirs américains
Hommes noirs américains
Conditions sociales
Noirs américains
Ségrégation
Histoire
Relations raciales
General
LAW / Criminal Law / General
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Civil Rights
Condiciones sociales
Relaciones raciales
Presos
Afronorteamericanos
Discriminación racial
Justicia penal, Administración de la
Discrimination in criminal justice administration -- United States
Criminal justice, Administration of -- United States
Race discrimination -- United States
African American men -- Social conditions
Justicia penal, Administración de la -- Estados Unidos
Presos -- Estados Unidos
Discriminación racial -- Estados Unidos
Afronorteamericanos -- Condiciones sociales
United States -- Race relations
Estados Unidos -- Relaciones raciales
African american prisoners
Criminal justice, administration of--united states
Race discrimination--united states
African americans
African americans--united states
Hv9950 .a437 2010
364.973
Administration of criminal justice
New york times bestseller
Nyt:paperback_nonfiction=2012-01-14
African american men
Umschulungswerkstätten für siedler und auswanderer
Criminal law
Law