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

                Let me start off by saying that this is one of those books that I believe could initiate a large amount of change if people would take the time to read it, understand it and pursue a change. With that in mind I am going to recommend this book to you before I even start to tell you about this book because I believe everyone should be aware of what is happening in the United States, why it is unprecedented and why mass incarceration affects us all. Michelle Alexander wanted to prove with this book how the War on Drugs began, how the language behind it insinuated the worst possible imagery of the black community, how the prison industry expanded to such a gargantuan size and how the main victims of the War of Drugs are African-American men.

                To see that written so bluntly can be slightly off putting, I understand that. Especially if you may not believe at face value how any of that is true. That’s why a book like this is so important. Alexander lays it all out on the table for you to examine. She isn’t simply throwing her opinion on the wall and hitting you over the head with some conspiracy theory she found on the internet. Alexander has researched the statistics, looked at the communities affected and provides readers with the conclusion. It’s unsettling and unnerving that something could happen to this extent but it has. This book focuses on the War on Drugs that began in the 1980s, at a time when drug use was not increasing but the country was suffering from deindustrialization and many people were unemployed, especially in rural and urban communities. Alexander looks at the racial discrepancies seen with this war and how some tactics employed are usually only seen in poor black neighborhood, even though drug use is as prevalent if not more so in white communities. She examines the difference in sentencing between crack and cocaine even though they are the same drug in different forms. Alexander also looks at what it means to be a felon and how that can affect someone for the rest of their lives and there isn’t an efficient system in place for felons to provide for themselves once out of jail.

                I won’t try and summarize anything else about this book or this situation because it is too complex. I’m saddened by the fact that I honestly believe that people will refuse to believe anything in this book simply because they benefit from the system. This is a book meant to make everyone uncomfortable. Alexander wants people to realize what is happening around them. This book made me very emotional. It’s upsetting to see the creation and effects of mass incarceration laid out so bare. I was disturbed and very angry while reading certain sections of this book. For that reason alone I recommend it to you. I want people to read this book with an open mind, willing to read what Alexander says and look for understanding. This book only focuses on the plight of African-American men. It does not go into the challenges that other races and woman face with the prison system but Alexander makes that clear early on that she hopes someone does, but this was the issue she wanted to focus on. I did think this book became a tad repetitive near the end. Overall though, this a comprehensive look at a corrupt prison system, established by a false war on drugs. I give this 4 out of 5 stars.