In The New Jim Crow, author Michele Alexander suggests that mass imprisonment of African Americans in the late 20th and early 21st centuries established a totally new racial caste system. This new system was strikingly oppressive and this novel explores the topic of racial injustice in America’s legal systems today. Alexander proves her claim by referring to racial problems in the past, such as the War on Drugs and Civil Rights. The War on Drugs correlates to past problems. The first claim Alexander argues is, “The War on Drugs is the vehicle through which extraordinary numbers of black men are forced into the cage” (Alexander 185). She proves this claim in her book stating that white people aren’t as identified as blacks when it comes to the War on Drugs. Black men are more assumed to having, selling, or consuming drugs than white men. For example, Alexander says, “We tell ourselves they [black men] ‘deserve’ their fate, even though we know—and don’t know—that whites are just as likely to commit many crimes, especially drug crimes” (Alexander 182). The fight against the War on drugs was targeted at innocent black men, even though white men could be just as likely to commit drug crimes. Racial profiling plays a huge part in the War on Drugs not only for blacks but for any people of color. Being in trouble with the law nowadays is equivalent to consequences that would’ve happened in the past during slavery. For instance, Michele Alexander states that “today’s lynching is a felony charge. Today’s lynching is incarceration. Today’s lynch mobs are professionals. They have a badge; they have a law degree. A felony is a modern way of saying, ‘I am going to hang you up and burn you.’ Once you get the F you are on fire”(Alexander 164). The mass imprisonment of innocent Black Americans caused oppression and injustice, which created disputes throughout the country. This led to the New Jim Crow and the new caste system in the United States. Second, Michele Alexander talks about Civil Rights and slavery. Slavery began in the early colonial period. During this time there was a high demand for land. Not only did people desire to have land, but they desired to have workable, profitable land. People began to expand their homes and turn them into plantations. When the amount of profitable land increased, the need for labor also expanded. Michele Alexander explains this in a fascinating way. She says that “as plantation farming expanded, particularly tobacco and cotton farming, demand increased greatly for both labor and land”(Alexander, 23). Many people in this time succeeded at being plantation farmers. Nonetheless, they could not farm the fields alone. They needed people to work the fields and tend to the cotton for them. The only other options were American Indians and immigrants. Yet, “American Indians were considered unsuitable as slaves, largely because native tribes were clearly in a position to fight back” (Alexander, 23). Other than American Indians,
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Michele Alexander honestly talks about how the mass imprisonment of African Americans in the 21st century was oppressive. She claims that this oppressiveness established an entirely new racial caste system. Alexander proved this claim throughout her novel by referring to racial problems from the past, such as the War on Drugs and Civil
Michele Alexander honestly talks about how the mass imprisonment of African Americans in the 21st century was oppressive. She claims that this oppressiveness established an entirely new racial caste system. Alexander proved this claim throughout her novel by referring to racial problems from the past, such as the War on Drugs and Civil