The New Forms Of The Jim Crow Laws

In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander develops a compelling analogy on how mass incarceration is similar to the Jim Crow era, and is a “race-making institution.” She begins her work with the question, “Where have all the black men gone?” (Alexander, 178) She demonstrates how the media and Obama have failed to give an honest answer to this question, that the large majority of them or in prison. She argues that in order to address this problem, we must be honest about the fact that this is happening, and the discrimination with the African American communities that is putting them there.

The Jim Crow Laws were any set of laws that enforced racial segregation in the South. These laws were established and followed “during the end of reconstruction in 1877 and the beginning of the civil rights movement in the 1950’s”

Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former

The New Jim Crow was published January 5, 2010 and is 312 pages in length. The book’s author is Michelle Alexander; she is a civil rights lawyer and legal scholar. She graduated from Stanford Law School and Vanderbilt University. In 2011 The New Jim Crow won the NAACP Image Award for best nonfiction.

Jim Crow laws does not play a role really in today's time, but there is still some racial problems. Predominantly white schools sometimes have better education systems, and get paid more on a job than any other race. Sometimes mostly black/Hispanic (lower) communities look nicer than a community with mostly white or higher income communities.

Jim crow laws were created in the 1950´s when segregation became big. It was a law stating blacks could not go in the same places that whites did. It stated they could not eat,sleep and drink at the same places as white people. They were created to separate black and white people from even the slightest bit of contact. People though god put blacks on this earth to work like animals. They created a ¨Prison¨ for the blacks because they couldńt do a lot of stuff. They had restrictions for what they could work at, it was put up as a ¨Racial Barrier¨. The blacks were restricted.The KKK was formed in the 1860´s. It was formed as a social club of retired veterans.A group of considered confederate veterans made a group called the KKK. They were a worldwide

“Jim Crow Laws restricted freedoms for African Americans throughout the South and were a primary target of the Civil Rights movement, especially during the 1930s.” (Shelby 1). Jim Crow Laws were a series of rules that limited African Americans rights. These laws started in the 1860s and were then placed into law in the 1965.

This “war on drugs,” which all subsequent presidents have embraced, has created a behemoth of courts, jails, and prisons that have done little to decrease the use of drugs while doing much to create confusion and hardship in families of color and urban communities.1,2Since 1972, the number of people incarcerated has increased 5-fold without a comparable decrease in crime or drug use.1,3 In fact, the decreased costs of opiates and stimulants and the increased potency of cannabis might lead one to an opposing conclusion.4 Given the politics of the war on drugs, skyrocketing incarceration rates are deemed a sign of success, not failure. I don’t totally agree with the book (I think linking crime and black struggle is even older than she does, for instance) but I think The New Jim Crow pursues the right line of questioning. “The prison boom is not the main cause of inequality between blacks and whites in America, but it did foreclose upward mobility

The title The New Jim Crow takes its title from the infamous Jim Crow laws that were prevalent in the South following the Civil War and lasting all the way up until the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s. Jim Crow laws were laws that prohibited black people from using the same facilities and being allowed to use the same services as white people because of their race. These laws were in place in the South after the Civil War

Since the beginnings of the United States there has always been some form of racism, whether it be individual, institutional, or systematic. Racism can be defined as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. In the US today this racism is seen in many forms from a simple comment to a violent action. Recent actions such as the Dakota pipeline and the new mass incarceration system have begun to show new forms of racism. The way the systems work and progress is tremendously depended on people of color and the discrimination towards them. The fact that both the Dakota pipeline and the mass incarceration systems hugely relays on those of color being oppressed and controlled is in its self a blatant act of racism.

Moreover, the facts that Alexander present in The New Jim Crow clashed with my view of the world in that although I appreciated the facts presented as the reality of what goes on in the world, it showed me that the through the laws enacted and through institutions, the society plays a role in creating and perpetuating the new caste system. This is evident when Alexander (2012) explains that the social racial control not only manifests itself through the justice system but also in the structure of the society, which is seen when those incarcerated have served their time and have been released from prison. She refers to Iron Marion’s “birdcage” metaphor to explain the lives of returning citizens and those on parole. The “birdcage metaphor

Why was it that the white race feels superior to other races, such as Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans? The problem with people is that many don’t like to see other ethical culture succeed. What people don’t know is that if that ethical group does not succeed then they together can not succeed as a racial community. The end of slavery but the rise of Jim Crow laws brought the acts of inequality, separation, and the mistreatment of the colored.

Speaker: Alexander shares her experience developing her understanding of mass incarceration as a new racial caste system to display that it is not surprising if people do not recognize it initially and do not understand or agree with her argument because she, herself didn’t recognize these events occurring either. Presented in the introduction, Alexander states that “I reached the conclusions presented in this book reluctantly.” (Alexander 2) in addition “Ten years ago, I would have argued strenuously against the central claim made here— namely, that something akin to a racial caste system currently exists in the United States” (Alexander 2). During this time in her life she “clung to the notion the evils of Jim Crow are behind us” (Alexander 3), and the thought of the possibility of a new racial hierarchy in the United States never crossed her mind. In spite of this, she sees the clandestine working of a new system of control come forth before her eyes but, not others. That the issue of mass incarceration is seen, not as a racial justice concern, but as a criminal justice concern. As a result, “The attention of civil rights advocates has been largely devoted to other issues, such as affirmative action” (Alexander 9). She then states “My own experience reflects this dynamic” (Alexander 9).

In the book The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, gives the reader a look at the history of racism. She begins her work by talking about her working experience at ACLU (The American Civil Liberties Union) in northern California. Once she started working there, she realized how the criminal justice systems had problems of racial bias. As a lawyer who disputed numerous cases on discrimination, she understood that there are many ways in which racial stereotyping can change the subject decision making process at any level of organization. Moreover she decided to shift her focus from employment discrimination to working with others and finding out how to eliminate racial bias.

“Some things never change” would say an adult after seeing something that reminds them of the ol’ days. It’s like a wave of nostalgia when they see the younger generation going through similar things like kids selling lemonade on the sidewalk, teenagers preparing for their prom, or adults pimpin’ out their Lowriders and 1955 Chevy Bel Air cars. It’s all good memories until they dig deeper into the good ol’ days and uncover some of the ugly truths that lay hidden. It’s also about recognizing that the Jim Crow laws existed and how discriminatory they were to the African American community. Today in age, it seems like nothing has changed because the discrimination hasn’t gone anywhere, but it’s making an especially big comeback with today’s mass incarceration.