The New Jim Crow

One critical thing we can do to support the Black Lives Matter movement is to educate ourselves on the systematic racism that exists in America. Reading ‘The New Jim Crow’ is an excellent way to do that.

‘The New Jim Crow’ summarizes how mass incarceration follows in the footsteps of Jim Crow and slavery as the latest method of control over black Americans.

It’s not a pleasant read, but it’s an eye opening one.

Before starting ‘The New Jim Crow’, I had a vague notion that the criminal justice system in America was flawed, but this book walked me through, step by step, how deeply discriminatory it really is.

The book discusses how the seemingly ‘colorblind’ criminal justice system allows law enforcement to discriminate against black Americans, imprison an overwhelming proportion of them, and brand them, in perpetuity, with the ‘felon’ label. It describes how and why this racist system was established, how it remains intact in modern society, and how it must be dismantled to ensure that a new system of control does not replace it.

Michelle Alexander provides facts and figures to back up her claims, and uses heart wrenching stories to hammer home her message: the ‘colorblind’ criminal justice system acts in subtle, but devious, ways to keep black Americans in a racial undercaste. It’s a difficult concept to come to terms with, but Michelle Alexander makes an extremely persuasive argument.

If you’re reading this and disagree with the claim that a modern racial caste system exists in America, read the 90 page free preview, or, better yet, buy the book and see if your disagreements hold weight. Test your assumptions and change your outlook when you receive new information.

If you’re reading this and you agree, send the book to someone you think is on the fence. Help change their perspective. Awareness and acknowledgement of the problem by the general public is the first step in creating real change. We can all educate ourselves and become part of a unified voice calling for change.