New Jim Crow

I was excited to begin this week’s reading of the book, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Many people have told me about the book but I had never gotten free time to read it. I was excited about it because of the thesis of the book which states that the system of mass incarceration that is based on the war on drugs is strategically created to control blacks in America. The prison system is used to marginalize blacks economically, politically, and socially, just like in the Jim Crow era where there existed laws that discriminated against African Americans. I really like how in her introduction, Michelle Alexander compares criminals to African Americans who lived in Alabama. She says, “As a criminal, you have scarcely more rights, and arguably less respect, than a black man living in Alabama at the height of Jim Crow” (page 2). I agree with her statement because I have had first-hand interactions with people who have been incarcerated and returning citizens. This is one of the reasons that I decided to work on this book.
During the summer of my sophomore year, I worked at the Ohio Justice and Policy Center and my work mostly included …show more content…
I loved this experience because it was my first time seeing how the justice system is by learning it from those who are subjected to it. In addition to the prison visits, I appreciate the fact that I was able to attend the TEDx talk at Marion Correctional institution where I got the chance to talk one on one with the men who were incarcerated and hear their perspective of the justice system. This experience opened my eyes to the injustice that goes on behind the scenes. After my OJPC experience, I was inspired so much that I took elective criminal justice courses. I have a feeling that The New Jim Crow is going to further open my eyes and educate me more on the prison system