The mass incarceration of African-American males is at an all time high, and the prison-industrial complex is rife with racism and injustice. There are 5 times as many Whites using drugs than African-Americans, but African-Americans are being convicted of drug related offenses 10 times the rate of Whites. But, the real injustice starts when former convicts are released from jail and are labeled as felons. In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander claims that felons show the same loss of liberty as African-Americans living under Jim Crow laws in Alabama. Felons, especially those who are African American, are treated similar to colored people under Jim Crow because of the loss of rights among felons, the stigma of former offenders in society, and
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Felons are also denied entry into government programs such as welfare, food stamps, and healthcare services provided by the government. Alexander gives an example about the Drug War in the 80’s which spurred the increase of incarceration among people of color. People of color living in low income neighborhoods became increasingly addicted to crack-cocaine, and it was used as an excuse to send men and women of color to prison for nonviolent drug offenses. She also relates this to the birth of the “crackwhore” and “crackbaby” stereotypes. In the Jim Crow era, African-Americans were treated as second class citizens: they could not vote or have many of the same privileges as White people. They would be murdered, raped, or lynched because they didn’t call a 9 year old boy “master”. Even though racism this blatant may not be prevalent anymore, there are still instances of oppression based on race, income, and criminal history. For instance, 8,000 African-Americans were wrongfully denied voting rights during the 2000 election by blacklisting anyone whose name looked similar to a felon’s, prompting an investigation by the NAACP. The incident sparked outrage; people claimed that “[it] unfairly singled out minorities...In Florida, 93 percent of African-Americans voted for the vice
Felons are also denied entry into government programs such as welfare, food stamps, and healthcare services provided by the government. Alexander gives an example about the Drug War in the 80’s which spurred the increase of incarceration among people of color. People of color living in low income neighborhoods became increasingly addicted to crack-cocaine, and it was used as an excuse to send men and women of color to prison for nonviolent drug offenses. She also relates this to the birth of the “crackwhore” and “crackbaby” stereotypes. In the Jim Crow era, African-Americans were treated as second class citizens: they could not vote or have many of the same privileges as White people. They would be murdered, raped, or lynched because they didn’t call a 9 year old boy “master”. Even though racism this blatant may not be prevalent anymore, there are still instances of oppression based on race, income, and criminal history. For instance, 8,000 African-Americans were wrongfully denied voting rights during the 2000 election by blacklisting anyone whose name looked similar to a felon’s, prompting an investigation by the NAACP. The incident sparked outrage; people claimed that “[it] unfairly singled out minorities...In Florida, 93 percent of African-Americans voted for the vice