Monday, June 1, 2020

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander



The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander was first published, as a hardcover, in 2010, and the book began to really generate attention over a year later when the paperback was published. Alexander offers an extended critique of the criminal justice system, especially the tough-on-crime approaches and racially biased drug sentencing laws that led to the incarceration of such a large, disproportionate number of African Americans, particularly black men.

Since 2012, The New Jim Crow has been the book most frequently mentioned to me by first-year collegiate black men when I ask if they are aware of important works that address modern-day racism. The guys who are aware of the book often say their fathers told them about it.

Related:

Reading lists for Black Boys and Collegiate Black Men

No comments: