Bekah U Lang Blog

I have just finished reading The New Jim Crow  and I'm so thankful and happy that I was able to read it. The book has truly transformed my understanding of race, the criminal justice system, and the systems of control and problems that our country suffers from. I was clearly aware of many of the issues that faced African-Americans, but I was aware of them individually. Michelle Alexander has brought all of them together in such a brilliant way that clearly outlines how every single aspect of it is related and perpetuates the racist cycle. This was honestly one of the best books that I've ever read, and certainly the best nonfiction book that I've read. I wish that there was some way to make this book mandatory for everyone in the world to see, so needless to say, I would highly recommend it. Overall, it was a fabulous book and I'm extremely happy that I read it. Although there were countless major takeaways that I had from this book, one thing that stuck out to me was...

In this next section of the book that I read, Michelle Alexander brings up predominately the shame and stigma surrounding the felon label as well as other things that happen to African-Americans when they get out of prison, particularly regarding recidivism rates. Towards the end of the section we were assigned to read, she gives an overview of all the arguments she's introduced so far, and it really helped me see clearly all the arguments she has made through her analysis of the entire process of the criminal justice system in regards to African-Americans. Through the first stop to the plea bargains and convictions, to prison time and aftermath, she provides an entire overview of the almost hopeless situation facing African-Americans. Her overarching thesis or argument of this book is that America has a racial caste system that has adapted from the times of slavery to the Jim Crow Laws, and now to this period of mass incarceration and war on drugs that disproportionately affects...