Highlights from "The New Jim Crow"

As I promised before Thanksgiving break, I was going to post some notes on the portion of "The New Jim Crow" that I was not able to get to in class, which is well over half the book. Please keep in mind, these notes are NOT intended to be comprehensive; rather, I would call them mere "highlights." Nonetheless, this material will be fair game to make up questions for the final exam. So, here goes ---

CHAPTER 3: THE COLOR OF JUSTICE

Dr. Alexander had a nice passage which clearly described the circular logic of those who defend racial profiling. Referring to studies from 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 minorities, 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)

Of course, in addition to the above point, you should be aware, in general, of how a number of Supreme Court rulings have made it difficult, if not impossible, to prove there is racial discrimination in different aspects of our criminal justice system.

CHAPTER 4: THE CRUEL HAND

In noting the widespread employment discrimination against ex-convicts, Dr. 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 fundamental 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 distance 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 especially 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." (p. 147) Also: "An ex-offender whose driver's license has been suspended or who does ot have access to a car, often faces nearly insurmountable barriers to finding employment." (p. 147)

Dr. Alexander closes this chapter with a very important observation, which I know addresses some of your concerns about her argument. Please read over all of pp. 171-172, beginning with: "None of this is to suggest that those who break the law bear no responsibility for their conduct or exist merely as 'products of their environment.'"....

CHAPTER 5: THE NEW JIM CROW

Dr. 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 PAGES 178-179 (especially, p. 178).

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 say on the rest of p. 192 and 193.

Of course, you should be able to identify the SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES between Jim Crow and mass incarceration, all of which are in bold print. (pp. 185-205)

Finally, pay particular attention to pp. 206-207, where Dr. Alexander notes how we could have responded more constructively to the collapse of inner-city communities in the 1970s and 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 society and demonized by mainstream society...." (pp. 206-207)

CHAPTER 6: THE FIRE THIS TIME

Dr. 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 be sure to review these highlights along with class lectures on "The New Jim Crow." We will make the transition to Asian Americans tomorrow (Tues. 11/29). Start reading "Yellow." As I said in the blast email I sent yesterday, we are going to try to cover just Chapters 1, 3, & 7 in that book.