The New Jim Crow Laws: Racial Discrimination Of African Americans

The criminal justice system in America is a system designed to work in three distinct steps. The first being to fairly identify those breaking the law, second, create a process through which to both punish and rehabilitate criminals, and lastly integrate them back into society. The current system typically goes unquestioned, as those in the system seem to be deserving of what ever happens while they are in it, even once they have served their prison sentence. It is only upon deeper inspection that we begin to realize the discrimination and unfair tactics used to introduce certain groups of society into the criminal justice system and proceed to trap them there. This is the issue addressed in Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, and it is through arrests, sentencing and further upon release from jail that this oppressive system is created and maintained.

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.

Mass incarceration is known as a net of laws, policies, and rules that equates to the American criminal justice system. This series of principles of our legal system works as an entrance to a lifelong position of lower status, with no hope of advancement. Mass incarceration follows those who are released from prison through exclusion and legalized discrimination, hidden within America. The New Jim Crow is a modernized version of the original Jim Crow Laws. It is a modern racial caste system designed to keep American black men and minorities oppressed with laws and regulations by incarceration. The system of mass incarceration is the “new Jim Crow” due to the way the U.S. criminal justice system uses the “War on Drugs” as the main means of allowing discrimination and repression. America currently holds the highest rate of incarceration in the world, and even more African American men imprisoned, although white men are more likely to commit drug crimes but not get arrested. The primary targets of the criminal justice system are men of color. Mass incarceration is a rigid, complex system of racial control that resembles Jim Crow.

Before there were players such as Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball was strictly white players only. The color line of Major League Baseball excluded black players until the late 40’s. This didn’t stop the colored men of America from playing the beloved American sport. The creation of the Negro Leagues in 1920 by Rube Foster gave colored men a chance to play in their own professional league, similar to the Major Leagues, but for African-American men. The creation of the Negro Leagues was a result of the Jim Crow Laws, state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Enacted after the Reconstruction period in the U.S., these laws continued in force until 1965. These laws created

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: New Press, 2010.

Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment which made segregation illegal. Eventually, the Supreme Court came to the conclusion that separate public facilities were “inherently unequal” (McBride 1). Brown vs. Board challenged and signaled the end of Jim Crow and “separate but equal” clause.

The whole Jim Crow Law rules were based on the separate but equal properties. Any of the laws that enforced racial segregation in the south between the end of reconstruction in 1877 and the beginning of the civil rights movement in the 1950s. Jim crow laws affected public places such as schools, housing jobs, parks, cemeteries, and public gathering places. Ohio was one of the first to ban interracial marriage. There was forms of segregation before the laws came into place. For instance some people had the mentality that they could work with a slave as long as the slave knew his or her place. Brown vs. Board of Education is an example of a Jim Crow law being put into action. After the supreme court unanimously held that racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause.

By the turn of the 20th century, African Americans who were once slave, less than 50 years ago were now full pledge citizens who can vote and exercise their rights as Americans. Reconstructive efforts were issued to aid the newly emancipated black population, more several in the south. Programs such as the Freedman’s Bureau, provided free blacks and poor white with food, housing, schooling and medical assistance in attempts for a better transition. However, freed blacks were met with challenges with discrimination and segregation among their white societals. These challenges came in forms of locally organized laws such as the Black Codes, and the Jim Crow Laws. When those barriers were challenged or wasn’t doing enough, violence is referred to in the epidemic of lyncing. African Americans endured these hardships under restrictions both socially and economically as blacks had little non economic mobility. Majority of the black population were sharecroppers, household personnel and many were also illiterate. Not only did African Americans suffered socially and economically but politically as well. Numerous cases are brought to the courts to exercise their rights as citizen but were often shut down. The 1896, Plessy v. Fergusson, voted in favor of segregation; as long as they are equal in what is being offered. But a break was in for the African Americans to move north. The industrial cities of NY and Philly have already attracted African Americans prior and in the year 1914,

Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness goes into great detail on race related issues that were specific to black males, the mass incarceration, and how that lead to the development of institutionalized racism in the United States. She compares the Jim Crow with recent phenomenon of mass incarceration and points out that the mass incarceration is a network of laws, policies, customs and institutions that have been working together to warrant the subordinating status of black males. In this paper I will go into a brief examination of the range of issues that she mentions in her book that are surrounding the mass incarceration of black male populations.

During my research process, I found many racist articles that talked about how black African- Americans are giving bad reputation in the U.S. For instance, it made me realize that being black in America is seen as a social problem. When I came here, I thought that these problems were not real, but then I noticed how different it is to be black in Africa and to be black in America. I studied U.S history, and I could perceive that this is not a new problem, but something that African- Americans have been facing for a while. This controversy of calling black protests as riots is just a small part of the problem, and that is why most Americans believe that it is normal to use words like this. Even though people discuss a lot about this issue, it will take time to see real demonstrations of

After reading and viewing the Jim Crow pieces, I conclude that those laws were very unfair and treated black people horribly. One reason I think this is because of all of the laws I found in the article. For example, Pilgrim writes that if a black man did as little as touch a white woman it would be considered rape. He also stated that black people were not allowed to eat with white people, go to school with white people, show affection in public, etc. Another reason I believe this is because of what was shown in the picture. To illustrate, V.,E. argues that the black man in the front has very torn up clothing where as the people/animals in the bottom corner have very nice neat clothing. I think this represents how bad they were treated and

The New Jim Crow is a book that discusses how legal practices and the American justice system are harming the African American community as a whole, and it argues that racism, though hidden, is still alive and well in our society because of these practices. In the book, Michelle Alexander, author and legal scholar, argues that legal policies against offenders have kept and continue to keep black men from becoming first class citizens, and she writes that by labeling them as “criminals,” the justice system and society in general is able to act with prejudice against them and subordinate black Americans who were previously incarcerated, on probation, or on parole, by limiting their access to services as a result of their ‘criminal status’ and therefore, further degrading their quality of life. The New Jim Crow urges readers to acknowledge the injustice and racial disparity of our criminal justice system so that this new, more covert form of racism in society can be stopped.

The Jim Crow Laws have been reincarnated into a new form according to Michelle Alexander. The Jim Crow Laws were established in the 1800s. The Jim Crow Laws enforced racial discrimination and segregation. They were in place until 1965. However, according Michelle Alexander the Jim Crow laws have taken new forms. Alexander talks about the war on drugs, legalized discrimination, mass incarnation and more.

Due to the history of slavery and wealth inequality, black Americans allow themselves to be abused. In 1861, when slavery was still prevalent, Harriet Jacobs introduces through the text, “The Church and Slavery,” that men, women, and children were taught that they “[were] rebellious sinners...[their] hearts [were] filled with all manners of evil.” Although America has come far from slavery, we still continue to live in a racist country. Our history derives from black individuals taught that they were not worthy of god, that because of the color of their skin they were “evil.” Because black Americans were told that their opinions and beliefs were wrong and constantly consumed with racist opinion from slave-owner, blacks were not able to stand up for themselves. Black individuals were not able to stop the abuse of slavery because of their lack od education lack of education and because they were told they were not worthy of god. This kind of mindset, where black Americans are considered less than, still remains and affects blacks within the American culture. One may claim that racism no longer exists, but a recent article in the New York Times, “Debt and the Racial Wealth Gap,” by Paul Kiel, states that, “if you are black,

The was once a time where blacks and whites could work with each other side by side. In these times it was after slavery but freed slaves knew their place. I would say it was a wonderful time people just knew how to respect everyone. However, one day in the Plessy vs Ferguson trail a black man was in the white area of the train. With that, therefore the Jim Crow laws develop. Jim crow laws were enforced racial segregation no in the United States. this meaning that always white and blacks had to be separated on buses, restaurants, movies, etc.