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Summary Of The New Jim Crow By Michelle Alexander

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In the book, The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander, readers are given a look at the long and extensive history of racism towards African-Americans. From there, the reader is shown how racism towards African-Americans has not gone away and is still very much common in modern society. Throughout the novel, Alexander argues and discusses how African-Americans are being discriminated against in the form of mass incarceration. “Mass incarceration refers not only to the criminal justice system but also to the larger web of laws, rules, policies, and customs that control those labeled criminals both in and out of prison” (Alexander 14). The War On Drugs can largely be put to blame for the increase in incarcerations. President Reagan throughout his campaign and presidency used sly and covert language to appeal to the racists and discredit people of color. …show more content…

Reagan’s comments surrounding people of color, specifically African-Americans did nothing but further tolerance and acceptance of racism. With no one discrediting Reagan and his commentary, he was enabled to make racial divides even worse with the War on Drugs. At this time in history, “less than 2 percent of the American public viewed drugs as the most important issue facing the nation”. (33) Even with such low statistics and data, Reagan pushed for the War on Drugs and allowed for vast amounts of African-Americans to be criminalized and incarcerated. Upon reading The New Jim Crow, it is not difficult to see how African–Americans still continue to be discriminated against. The ways in which they are discriminated against may be more hidden to public eyes but they are most definitely there and are being deemed and viewed as acceptable by the criminal justice

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