Final Comments on "The New Jim Crow"

During our last class meeting, I hurriedly covered the last three chapters in "The New Jim Crow," focusing especially on the last chapter. In doing so, there were some really important passages and points I skipped over. So, in this blog post I want to backtrack and cover just some of these important passages and points.

CHAPTER 3: THE COLOR OF JUSTICE

Ms. Alexander had a nice passage which clearly described the circular logic of those who defend racial profiling. Referring to studies in New Jersey and Maryland, she says, "What most surprised many analysts was that, in both studies, whites were actually MORE LIKELY than people of color to be carrying illegal drugs or contraband in their vehicles. In fact, in New Jersey, whites were almost twice as likely to be found with illegal drugs or contraband as African Americans, and five times as likely to be found with contraband as Latinos. Although whites were more likely to be guilty of carrying drugs, they were far less likely to be viewed as suspicious, resulting in relatively few stops, searches, and arrests of whites. The former New Jersey attorney general dubbed this the "circular logic of racial profiling." Law enforcement officials he explained, often point to the racial composition of our prisons and jails as a justification for targeting racial minorites, but the empirical evidence actually suggested the opposite conclusion was warranted. The disproportionate imprisonment of people of color was, in part, a product of racial profiling -- not a justification for it." (p. 131)

CHAPTER 4: THE CRUEL HAND

In noting the widespread employment discrimination against ex-convicts, Ms. Alexander makes a very appropriate comment about the importance of work, which cannot be overemphasized. She says, "Even beyond the need to comply with the conditions of parole, employment satisfies a more basic human need -- the fundatmental need to be self-sufficient, to contribute, to support one's family, and to add value to society at large. Finding a job allows a person to establish a positive role in the community, develop a healthy self-image, and keep a distnace from negative influences and opportunities for illegal behavior. Work is deemed so fundamental to human existence in many countries around the world that it is regarded as a basic human right. Deprivation of work, particularly among men, is strongly associated with depression and violence." (p. 145)

She also brings out the phenomenon of a "spatial mismatch," which works against black ex-cons because most of the jobs these days are in the suburbs (if not overseas). As she goes on, "Manufacturing jobs,...have all but disappeared from the urban core during the past thirty years. Not long ago, young, unskilled men could find decent, well-paying jobs at large factories in most Northern cities. Today, due to globalization and deindustrialization, that is no longer the case. Jobs can be found in the suburbs -- mostly service sector jobs -- but employment for unskilled men with criminal convictions, while difficult to find anywhere, is especially hard to find close to home."
"An ex-offender whose driver's license has been suspended or who does not have access to a car, often faces nearly insurmountable barriers to finding employment." (p. 147)

CHAPTER 5: THE NEW JIM CROW

Ms. Alexander makes a very important point regarding what she believes is a profound misunderstanding of how racial oppression actually works -- that it is not just about individual attitudes but the basic structure of our social system. SEE ALL OF PP. 178-179.

Criminality today carries a clear RACIAL STIGMA: "Every racial caste system in the United States has produced racial stigma. Mass incarceration is no exception. Racial stigma is produced by defining negatively what it means to be black. The stigma of race was once the shame of the slave; then (in the context of Jim Crow) it was the shame of the second-class citizen; today the stigma of race is the shame of the criminal...." (p. 192) and note what she goes on to day on p. 192 and 193.

See most of pp. 206-207, where Ms. Alexander notes that we could have responded more constructively to the collapse of inner city communities in the 1970s nad 80s:
"The economic collapse of inner-city black communities could have inspired a national outpouring of compassion and support. A new War on Poverty could have been launched. Economic stimulus packages could have sailed through Congress to bail out those trapped in jobless ghettos through no fault of their own. Education, job training, public transportation, and relocation assistance could have been provided, so that youth of color would have been able to survive the rough transition to a new global economy and secure jobs in the suburbs. Constructive interventions would have been good not only for African Americans trapped in ghettos, but also for blue collar workers of all colors, many of whom were suffering too, if less severely. A wave of compassion and concern could have flooded poor and working-class communities, in honor of the late Martin Luther King, Jr. All of this could have happened, but it didn't. Instead we declared War on Drugs."
"The collapse of inner-city economies coincided with the conservative backlash against the Civil Rights Movement, resulting in the perfect storm. Almost overnight, black men found themselves unnecessary to the American economy and demonized by mainstream society...." (pp. 206-207)

CHAPTER 6: THE FIRE THIS TIME

Ms. Alexander poses an important rhetorical question: "Have we unwittingly exaggerated the importance of individuals succeeding within pre-existing structures of power, and thereby undermined King's call for a "complete restructuring" of our society?" (p. 241) and note what she goes on to point out about being blinded by our belief in individualism (just as we are blinded by colorblindness).

Finally, I appreciate what she observes about Dr. King near the end, that today we are stuck in an approach to civil rights advocacy which Dr. King had abandoned during his final years. We have not appreciated King's radicalism.
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That's it. Please incorporate the above along with your other notes on "The New Jim Crow." We will make a transition to Asian Americans tommorrow (Tues. 11/23). Start reading "Yellow." We will see a video on the various Asian-American communites in America tomorrow as well. Finally, DON'T FORGET THAT ESSAY III IS DUE TOMORROW AS WELL.