“The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness”

[EFerrari]

Legal Scholar Michelle Alexander on “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness”


A new book by legal scholar and civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander argues that although Jim Crow laws have been eliminated, the racial caste system it set up was not eradicated. It’s simply been redesigned, and now racial control functions through the criminal justice system.

President Obama’s election a year and a half ago continues to be lauded for ushering in a new era of colorblindness. The very fact of his Presidency is often seen as the final nail in the coffin of Jim Crow. Yet, today there are more African-Americans in correctional control–whether in prison or jail, on probation or parole—than were enslaved in 1850. And more African-American men are disenfranchised now because of felon disenfranchisement laws than in 1870.

A new book by legal scholar and civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander argues that although Jim Crow laws have been eliminated, the racial caste system it set up was not eradicated. It’s simply been redesigned and now racial control functions through the criminal justice system.

Well we’re joined now from Columbus, Ohio by Michelle Alexander author of the new book called “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.” Her latest article exploring how the War on Drugs gave birth to what she calls a permanent American undercaste is available on Tom Dispatch.

A former director of the Racial Justice Project at the ACLU of Northern California she now holds a joint appointment at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/11/legal_scholar_michelle_alexander_on_the

Hotlinks, audio, video, transcript at link.

[Romulox]

1. The Drug War is the "new" (since the 1970s) Jim Crow. That's why pot can't be legalized

Which is why no study will ever be enough to convince the drug warriors.

[EFerrari]

2. Alexander talks about Reagan's PR war against black people

that sold the image to America that crack users are all young black men. Her story about that alone is worth watching the video. Other info here, too, plus a link to her article at TomDispatch.

[dmr]

6. Which makes me think of Gary Webb and “Dark Alliance”.

What an awful tangled web this country has weaved.

[EFerrari]

11. Sometimes I think our economy has never stopped profiting from enslavement.

The outward form just has been tweaked a little and it's been expanded over the hemisphere.

This can't be a new idea.

[laughingliberal]

9. +1000 nt

[Bullet1987]

3. And the vast majority of those incarcerations of marijuana-related I'd guess

[EFerrari]

5. And you'd be right. Possession, not for sale. n/t

[laughingliberal]

10. I saw an article the other day where a man in Texas got 35 years for posession of marijuana. nt

[timo]

17. ???

35 years for one doobie? or for a couple hundred pounds?
was he on probation when he was caught for prior offenses?

[berni_mccoy]

4. Thanks for posting. K&R.

[Solly Mack]

7. K&R

[leftstreet]

8. K&R

[laughingliberal]

12. Enthusiastic Rec! nt

[EFerrari]

13. I lived through Raygun's propaganda war and didn't even realize it.

New to me. Or, this piece of it was. :shrug:

[laughingliberal]

15. I saw a lot of what Raygun was spouting as the propaganda it was

I'm not sure I would ever have guessed how much damage it would still be doing all these years later. I thought we had enough intelligent people in this country to move away from his policies once we were rid of him. Instead, we've moved further that direction and seen a lot of our own party co-opted by his ideological heirs.

on edit: :cry:

[20score]

14. K&R

[Judi Lynn]

16. Thanks for posting this material. Rec.

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. K&R

[malaise]

19. It's no accident

I'm ordering that book

[EFerrari]

20. I want to read it, too. This is one of the smartest analyses I've read

in a long time.

What happens to black people in parts of this country is invisible. And not necessarily in the places one might expect. There was a story Newsjock put up earlier today that showed an out and out discriminatory hiring practice in Silicon Valley. Welcome to our liberal Mecca. :sarcasm:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7893711