Black Family In The Age Of Mass Incarceration Summary

Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness Alexander (2012) examines the Jim Crow practices post slavery and the correlation to the mass incarceration of African-American. The creation of Jim Crows laws were used as a tool to promote segregation among the minorities and white Americans. Alexander (2012) takes a look at Jim Crow laws and policies that were put into place to block the social progression of African-Americans from post-slavery to the civil rights movement. Fast-forward to 2008 the election of Barack Obama certified the myth that African-Americans are no longer viewed as second-class citizens instead African-Americans are now considered equal to their white counterparts.

Knowing the fact that Native Americans were pushed toward the Middle West and had to settle down against their wills are depressing. When the first Europeans came to this remote land and decided to make it their home, I was not sure whether they could imagine that the whole land is dominated by “invaders” called by the Native Americans, including the native Hawaii. “From a Native Daughter” by Haunani-Kay Trask showed us how these Natives’ feelings are being overlooked and silenced by white historians who do not know their language and culture. The author questioned Western historians were “looking at them with Western eyes, thinking about them within Western philosophical contexts, categorizing them by Western indices,

Please find a person of African American descent to interview. The person needs to at least 21 years of age. Please inform the person that this interview is for an assignment in class (educational purposes only) and the information provided will remain confidential. Please try to obtain more than “sound bites” yes/no answers. Asked follow up questions if the interviewee’s answers are too brief (ex: Can you please provide an example or elaborate, tell me more etc..). You want to get this person’s family story.

In the eyes of Martin Luther King Jr., Justice within a society is achieved through the implementation of just laws. Furthermore, “just laws are regulations that have been created by man that follow the laws of God for man” (“Clergymen’s Letter”). Any law that does not correspond with the ideals of God and morality are considered to be unjust or a form of injustice. King identifies that injustice is clearly evident within the justice system. This injustice can truly be seen through the misconduct imposed toward the African American community. Michelle Alexander, similarly, points out the same truth that African American men are targeted substantially by the criminal justice system due to the long history leading to racial bias and mass incarceration within her text “The New Jim Crow”. Both Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Michelle Alexander’s text exhibit the brutality and social injustice that the African American community experiences, which ultimately expedites the mass incarceration of African American men, reflecting the current flawed prison system in the U.S.

While slavery in America was an institution that was started over 400 years ago, the affects were so horrific that it is still felt today by modern day African Americans. Many families had to deal with the constant stress of being sold which made it difficult to have a normal family life. Slaves were sold to pay off debts, an owner dying and his slaves were sold in an estate sale, or when an owner’s children would leave the home to begin a life of their own, they would take slaves with them. Often times, children were not raised by their parents, other family members of someone designated to watch the children because the mother and father had to work long hours and the children were too young to join them.

For some time now it has been said that one of the things that separates our species from others, is our ability to communicate through verbal and written language. Although I agree with this, I also know that language can be harmful. It has caused wars, death and more than a few hurt feelings. Vocabulary has both connotations (the associated meaning of a word) and denotations (the actual meanings of a word), both of which can be harmful. In Dr. Na’im Akbar’s article “The Creation of the Negro,” he discusses both the connotation and denotation of the word negro and the affects that it has had on the shaping of African Americans. This shaping occurs because of how African Americans view themselves and also how other

From the genocides of different ethics, to freedom is taken away in minority nations. Angela Davis expresses her views on political aspects of hard punishment upon human beings Americas’ society. She composed many books supporting her idea on political activism. In chapter 9, “Freedom Is A Constant Struggle,” opens different viewpoints, as a results of a transition in today’s society, starting from the 1960’s to the age of Obama. In addition to the few minority groups, as she relates in this book, the similar of a constant struggle for freedom with in the different ethics groups. In her other book chapter 5 “Are Prisons Obsolete?” Angela Davis conveys the ideology of imposers using racism’s and prison labor for profit in advantage to the elites. She expresses her claim by including the data of black males

Subsequently, from this article, there are numerous interesting key points, and perspective of unwinding the mass incarceration. However, one main point struck my attention, as quoted from the article, “participants with criminal records frequently end up incarcerated, incurring probation or parole violations, or detained awaiting resolution of new charges.” Hence, with this statement it really is an eye-opening statement because it is a true

His accounts are real: his claims are backed with real life accounts, anecdotes as well as statistics suggesting the lopsided difference in living standard and income between an average black and an average white. He has experienced the “struggle” of what it was like living in the States as a black. The “struggle” that his son will undeniably experience and go through. Therefore, Coates’s concerns are simply rationalized as a father he is for the son that he has. He refuses to hide behind the naïve optimism and instead faces the painful reality to live this life of struggle. Short on solutions or much in the way of optimism regarding reparation and the long overdue justice to the black race; Coates’s works preach a gospel of brutal truths about race, and stresses the importance of acknowledging them as an aspiration in itself. Despite the fact of a black American president, despite the media focus on the protest against police killings, he sees no prospect of much change, at least not until America acknowledges the facts of its history. The act of articulating that feeling is, in a sense, the only hope that he offers Samori in his letter to him. The necessity is to understand the nature of the struggle, the way the land lies, and to be able to express it.  “But I’m a writer. I have no responsibility to be hopeful” – Coates defending himself. As Coates claims, he is a writer who simply delivers his opinion and truth presented to him to the public. He

According to Alexander, “Today, most American know and don’t know the truth about mass incarceration” (p. 182). Before reading this book I did know of the inequality towards people of color in the criminal justice. book has made me realized how easily we as humans, jump into conclusion without thinking twice and judging a person by their look or race without trying to get who they are. Although most people know better and know how wrong it is to judge a book or person on their cover we often find ourselves doing just that when we first come into contact with a different culture. This book “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander has made me realized how the United State has one of the largest population in prison. I was surprised that the largest

This critical reflection will focus on the piece “African American Women, Mass Incarceration, and the Politics of Protection” by Kali Nicole Grass. Grass currently works at the University of Texas and Gross’ research focuses on black women’s experiences in the United States criminal justice system between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In this journal, Gross uses her historical research background and her research work to explain how history in the sense of race and gender help shape mass incarceration today. In this journal, Gross’s main argument is to prove that African American women are overpopulating prisons and are treating with multiple double standards that have existed for centuries. To prove this argument, first Gross starts off by

The skin is the largest organ of the human body and can display a range of different colors depending on the amount of melanin, a protein produced by special skin cells, that is in the skin. The more melanin that is created, the darker the skin tone. Despite the fact skin color is such a minor physiological difference, many have decided that it is enough of a reason to hate and discriminate against the minorities who possess a little more melanin than they do. This prejudice has managed to extensively infiltrate the justice system and law enforcement, causing black men to face multiple injustices such as being more likely to be convicted and given longer prison sentences than white men for the same crimes, having higher chances of being shot

In class we was given the task to write a paper about problems we noticed about the world, and we had then had to take a position on if we agree or not. The problem I chose to write about Police brutality mainly with african american people.I strongly disagree with all of the incidents that have been going on, and how they tend to get pushed under the table as if it 's the norm. Which is A huge problem many communities have dealt with, and have put fear in multiple people around the world. Surprisingly nothing have been done to prevent, or decrease the amount of incidents involving police and people who was weapon free, and clearly not a threat to others.

You brought up a subject that does not get enough attention as it deserves- the affect of incarceration on families. There is always lots of discussion and debate in the media about crime, victims of crime, police, and prisons. I do not think we hear nearly enough about the detrimental affect that incarceration has on families and communities. These effects can be great and long-lasting. Like you mentioned, one negative result is the loss of income from a missing, incarcerated parent. This must, in many cases, have a large, negative affect on families and their economic stability. It is difficult to be a single parent and if a parent is suddenly forced in this position when the other parent gets incarcerated, the family may have to move or drastically change their lifestyle to compensate for the lower income. This loss of income can be extremely damaging to

Another argument presented in his book is the lack of government support and resources is also hindering the black community. On page 22, Dr. Anderson wrote anti – black conservatism severed the relationship beginning to build between blacks and the government. The government established new priorities that