Access to the Privileges of Citizenship
In the book “The New Jim Crow,” Alexander argues that there is a racial caste system within the United States perpetuated by mass incarceration and the war on drugs. The death of slavery and segregation only gave way to a new form of discrimination through which the government can legally discriminate against people who are labeled “criminals”. She claims that the war on drugs specifically targets people of color and relegates them to a second class citizenship analogous to that which was present during the days of Jim Crow. By bringing these topics up Alexander hopes to start a discussion amongst civil rights activists and the general public about the current criminal justice system. In this she aspires …show more content…
As she looked farther into the claim that, “The war on drugs is the new Jim Crow” (Alexander 3) , she realized that she had been greatly mistaken. In 1982, president regain called for a war on drugs, declaring illegal drugs public enemy number one. A declaration that would seem strange since during that period drug use was on the decline and most of the public did not view drugs as an important issue. The author sees this as being a war solely on the black community stating, “ by waging a war on drug users and dealers, Reagan made good on his promise to crack down on the racially defined “others” - the undeserving” (49). Following the war on drugs, crack cocaine made its way onto the streets right around the same time as job opportunities among inner-city residents decreased. This drastically increased the incentive to sell drugs and led to a spike in violence. Most people would suspect that increases in incarceration rates would be due to many different factors like violence or theft, but Alexander points out that, “ Drug offenses alone account for two-thirds the rise in federal inmate population and more than half the rise in state prisoners between 1985 and 2000” …show more content…
Once you are released from jail and labeled a felon, you are stripped of many of your rights including the right to vote, buy a gun, join the military, obtain federally funded health and welfare benefits, or qualify for food stamps. This almost ensures that someone who gets out of jail will not be able to enter main stream society. As well as having your rights taken away, the changes of being able to find a job to support yourself go way down. Leading a lot of people to get right back into whatever illegal activity they were previously engaged in out of necessity to survive. This new way of life for anyone getting out of jail now labeled a felon is startlingly comparable to what life was like for African Americans during the time of slavery and Jim Crow. Alexander makes this comparison by commenting, “todays lynching is a felony charge. Todays lynching is
In the book “The New Jim Crow,” Alexander argues that there is a racial caste system within the United States perpetuated by mass incarceration and the war on drugs. The death of slavery and segregation only gave way to a new form of discrimination through which the government can legally discriminate against people who are labeled “criminals”. She claims that the war on drugs specifically targets people of color and relegates them to a second class citizenship analogous to that which was present during the days of Jim Crow. By bringing these topics up Alexander hopes to start a discussion amongst civil rights activists and the general public about the current criminal justice system. In this she aspires …show more content…
As she looked farther into the claim that, “The war on drugs is the new Jim Crow” (Alexander 3) , she realized that she had been greatly mistaken. In 1982, president regain called for a war on drugs, declaring illegal drugs public enemy number one. A declaration that would seem strange since during that period drug use was on the decline and most of the public did not view drugs as an important issue. The author sees this as being a war solely on the black community stating, “ by waging a war on drug users and dealers, Reagan made good on his promise to crack down on the racially defined “others” - the undeserving” (49). Following the war on drugs, crack cocaine made its way onto the streets right around the same time as job opportunities among inner-city residents decreased. This drastically increased the incentive to sell drugs and led to a spike in violence. Most people would suspect that increases in incarceration rates would be due to many different factors like violence or theft, but Alexander points out that, “ Drug offenses alone account for two-thirds the rise in federal inmate population and more than half the rise in state prisoners between 1985 and 2000” …show more content…
Once you are released from jail and labeled a felon, you are stripped of many of your rights including the right to vote, buy a gun, join the military, obtain federally funded health and welfare benefits, or qualify for food stamps. This almost ensures that someone who gets out of jail will not be able to enter main stream society. As well as having your rights taken away, the changes of being able to find a job to support yourself go way down. Leading a lot of people to get right back into whatever illegal activity they were previously engaged in out of necessity to survive. This new way of life for anyone getting out of jail now labeled a felon is startlingly comparable to what life was like for African Americans during the time of slavery and Jim Crow. Alexander makes this comparison by commenting, “todays lynching is a felony charge. Todays lynching is