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The Prison Industrial Complex By Angela Davis

467 Words2 Pages

The Meaning of Freedom: And Other Difficult Dialogues written by Angela Davis explains her personal experiences growing up in Birmingham, Alabama during a time of racial segregation, capitalism and an unjust prison system. With the use of her personal experience and scholarly research, activist Davis investigates the institutionalized biases that support the criminal justice system in order to identify potential reforms that could result in a more just and equal society. In the chapter “The Prison Industrial Complex”, Davis highlights the relationship between the criminal justice system and people of color/immigrants. Several issues are addressed such as fear of crime and the reality of prisons, creation of public enemies, conditions which produce the prison industrial complex, structural connections and …show more content…

While a member of the Communist Party, Davis accepted a teaching position at UCLA but was fired before her first class. She received threats from persons in California and other countries. Other instances include a disestablished welfare system and unemployment for women which results in them seeking jobs in the drug economy or sexual services. The formation of public enemies starts with the attacks on immigrants. The “anti-immigrant discourse effectively criminalizes people from other countries, especially people from the Americas and Asia, who come to the United States in order to make better lives”. Thirdly, when it comes to structural connections between young and black individuals it is based on the way capitalism has changed the world. Corporations are focusing on maximizing their profits to the fullest while ignoring the state’s laws. The conditions of working in such companies resemble slavery such as barely making minimum wage and unjust treatment of its workers. Thus Davis notes it is important that society does not shun the need to talk about

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