Overall Thesis from the New Jim Crow
In her book, The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander explains the challenges that people of color face in modern American society. Her overall thesis from this book is “that mass incarceration constitutes a new system of racial oppression akin to slavery and the original Jim Crow” (Alexander, 32). She argues that in the current Age of Colorblindness, the unique challenges that people of color faced during the era of Jim Crow laws still persist. The only difference is that the approach taken by people in positions of power has changed. The society is currently using the criminal justice system as a tool to oppress people of color. According to this book, there is a disproportionately high number of blacks incarcerated in various prisons across the country.
War on drugs has been an excellent excuse that law enforcement officers use to ensure that they send these minorities to prison. According to Purnell et al., it is more likely for a black to be taken to court when arrested with a small amount of bhang or marijuana than a white (37). It is also easier to convince the judge and the jury that the black man was doing drugs. In terms of sentencing, a black man is more likely to be given a severe punishment than a white man, even if they committed the same offense. The color of the skin is, therefore, used as a means of defining one’s guilt in the current criminal justice system. The main problem is that this form of discrimination has been repackaged as the war on drugs or crime (Adler 38). This strategy has worked so well that even the black community does not realize they are targeted until they become victims of police brutality and the skewed criminal justice system
Significant Cases Discussed in the New Jim Crow and Their Ramifications on Her Thesis
In this book, Alexander argues that American society has entered a new age of legalized discrimination. The language and approaches used have changed over time, but the intent and pain caused to the victims have remained the same. In her book, she has singled out specific cases that explain the era of the New Jim Crow. The following are some of the major cases.
Employment Discrimination
The majority of large corporate institutions and government agencies are owned and managed by whites. The book opines that when employers are presented with a case where they have to choose either a black or a white with similar qualifications, they are more likely to choose white. In some cases, a white would be chosen even if they had an inferior qualification to a black candidate (Austin 11). The reason given would be that the most qualified person was chosen. The truth is that the qualification was based on one’s skin color as opposed to one’s ability to undertake a specific task. Such discrimination is widespread both in the public and private sectors, and it is packaged in a unique form that fighting it has been a major challenge.
Housing Discrimination
The housing sector is another area where minorities in the United States face massive challenges. In public housing, there is open discrimination against blacks when rolling out various programs. In the final stages of approval, one’s race becomes one of the defining factors of whether an individual would be given a house. In the private sector, the problem is even worse, as Austin observes (17). Realtors would deliberately deny a black person an opportunity to buy or rent a house within a given neighborhood primarily because of their race. There is the fear that if the black is given a house in a neighborhood considered exclusively white, there might be an uproar. Some of the current customers may consider leaving the place, while prospective clients would consider buying or renting a house in other places. In an effort to protect their profits and revenue, they would deny an opportunity to live in these neighborhoods.
Denial of the Right to Vote
Alexander argues that blacks form the largest group of disenfranchised voters in the United States. According to Purnell et al., voting is one of the fundamental rights of every American citizen of the right age and of sound mind (51). However, in some parts of the country, there have been deliberate steps taken to ensure that the ability to vote is compromised as much as possible. In some cases, the legality of their voting rights would be questioned, while in other cases, systemic strategies would be used. The goal is to ensure that they do not participate in determining the political leadership of the country. When their votes do not count, it becomes easy for the policy-makers to ignore their plight.
Denial of Educational Opportunity
Education has remained the single most powerful tool for eradicating poverty and empowering the disadvantaged in the society. However, the type of school one attends would define the social networks that they develops and the skills one acquire, which would then play pivotal roles in defining their career success. Some of the best universities in this country, such as Harvard, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, and Columbia University, have been accused of bias when admitting students across the country. Austin explains that it is not easy for a poor black student to get admission into these institutions (36). Besides the open bias when selecting students, there is also the challenge of the cost of tuition and other charges, which further limits the ability of poor students to attend these institutions.
Denial of Food Stamps and Other Public Benefits
The United States government has various social protection programs meant to help the very poor members of society. One such program is food stamps, which is meant to ensure that no American citizen would starve (Adler 57). This program is meant for the poorest of Americans and should be issued without any form of discrimination. The problem is that government officials responsible for managing such programs are biased. It is common to find cases where food items are not made sufficiently available to those with food stamps. Such services would be rationed in areas dominated by minorities, especially African Americans (Kilgore 290). Different administrations come to power promising to solve this problem, but most often, they fail to do so.
Exclusion from Jury Service
The book also identifies another challenge with the criminal justice system in the country, which is the exclusion from jury services. It is a common practice for a judge to invite the jury to help in determining whether a suspect is guilty of a crime leveled against them. African Americans are in the best position to understand the plight that their people face and why they would act in a given manner (Austin 78). As members of the jury, they can help to explain events that led to the suspect acting in a given way. Unfortunately, they are rarely chosen to be members of the jury. As such, blacks are left in the hands and at the mercy of whites, who already have informed opinions and are keen on confirming their guilt. When they retire to discuss the case, they start from the point that the suspect is guilty and then focus on finding justifications for the same. It is almost impossible for blacks to get justice in such a system.
Ramifications of These Cases on Her Thesis
These cases, which outline specific ways in which blacks face discrimination, help to reaffirm her thesis. Adler explains that there is always a need to distinguish inflammatory, baseless claims from real challenges that need to be addressed (39). Alexander provides specific cases that can easily be traced and confirmed to explain the New Jim Crow. She makes her case believable by providing information that is already known to American society. For instance, the claim that most of the prestigious universities in the country are out of reach for poor African Americans can easily be confirmed. At Harvey Mudd College, a student is expected to pay $79,539 annually (Ryan 45). The average income in the United States is $63,214, while that of African Americans is $48,297 (Ryan 45). Even if one is willing to pay everything they earn for their child’s fee, they cannot afford it. In this case, cost has been used effectively to deny the poor an opportunity to get the best in education.
Personal Reflection on Her Overall
I agree with Alexander’s overall thesis because they can easily be confirmed. A good example is the brutal and emotive death of George Floyd in 2020. Derek Chauvin, a white police officer with the authority to arrest, deliberately knelt on George’s neck for about 9 minutes (Reny and Newman 1504). The victim’s plea that he could not breathe was ignored, and he suffocated to death. The issue was taken seriously by the government, and Derek was convicted, but many believe this was possible because the merciless murder was recorded and shared publicly. Several similar cases where law enforcement agencies use unnecessary excessive force have been witnessed in this country. The problem is that those who commit the crime are the same people who are expected to protect civilians.
I agree with the claims made by Alexander that the New Jim Crow is as effective in persecuting minorities, especially African Americans, as the old forms of discrimination. According to a report by Purnell et al., the highest population group of inmates in the country is blacks, at 33%, while whites account for 30% (34). It is important to note that the total population of blacks in the United States is only 12%, while whites account for 64% (Ryan 45). The statistics show that an African American is six times more likely to end up in prison than a white person is. The trend is worrying because the concentration of police officers in black neighborhoods is significantly higher than in white-dominated neighborhoods. As Alexander puts it, the problem of racism and systemic discrimination is still alive in the country.
Works Cited
Adler, Jeffrey. Murder in New Orleans: The Creation of Jim Crow Policing. University of Chicago Press, 2019.
Alexander, Michelle. New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press, 2012.
Austin, Paula. Coming of Age in Jim Crow DC: Navigating the Politics of Everyday Life. New York University Press, 2019.
Kilgore, James. “Mass Incarceration: Examining and Moving Beyond the New Jim Crow.” Critical Sociology, vol. 41, no. 2, 2015, pp. 283-295.
Purnell, Brian, et al. The Strange Careers of the Jim Crow North: Segregation and Struggle Outside of the South. New York University Press, 2019.
Reny, Tyler, and Benjamin Newman. “The Opinion-Mobilizing Effect of Social Protest against Police Violence: Evidence from the 2020 George Floyd Protests.” American Political Science Review, vol. 115, no. 4, 2021, pp. 1499-1507.
Ryan, Mary. Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics: Employment Earnings Prices Productivity and Other Labor Data 2021. Bernan Press, 2021.