Analysis Of The New Jim Crow By Michelle Alexander

Speakers explore the oppression of racial minorities as a historical fact, but also assert that the same thing is happening now in a different form. Their distress can be seen in lines such as, “The connecting theme is the need to be understood as full, complicated, human beings,” and “There’s really no understanding of American political culture without race at the center of it.” These lines, and many others, put emphasis on the impact of racial discrimination and prejudice. During the second half, wherein the prison industrial-complex is explored at length, the tone shifts from [smth] to indignant. One can sense their anger and disbelief of major corporations (such as ALEC and CCA) and their economic interests influencing the prison industry through their strong language and imagery.

In her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, author Michelle Alexander explores complex themes of oppression, discrimination, and how the United States criminal justice system has been disproportionately affecting Black communities for decades. Alexander outlines and analyzes the rise and fall of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and mass incarceration, as well as the War on Drugs and how the prison system continues to put Black men in bondage. Alongside this, she explores the limitations that incarceration places on Black men, the impact this has on their lives, and how society can work to combat the system. The novel is particularly relevant to the field of community psychology, as it highlights several ways that incarceration has affected the well-being and communities of those in bondage.

In The New Jim Crow, published in 2010, American writer and civil rights activist Michelle Alexander argues that a new racial caste system was born in the United States after the death of Jim Crow. A system that was caused by the war on drugs, which was created in 1971 by President Ronald Reagan, as well as the Fourth Amendment. Alexander conveys her argument that the war on drugs, and the government's disregard for the Fourth Amendment, led to the unfortunate birth of mass incarceration using logical and ethical appeals. In the beginning of the excerpt, Alexander discusses the Terry v. Ohio decision and how it limited the effectiveness of the Fourth Amendment when it comes to drug crimes.

She first supports her claim by chronicling America 's history of institutionalized racism and systematic disenfranchisement of African Americans. Then, she discusses America 's War on Drugs that disproportionately targets minorities and finally as she examines the hardship faced by felons she compares and contrasts Jim Crow Laws to mass incarceration. Alexander surmises that mass incarceration is designed to maintain white supremacy and sustain a racial classification system. Alexander 's book is relevant to my research paper because she provides evidence that the criminal justice system is rooted in racism and directly linked to the racist agenda of the white supremacist. Broussard, B. (2015).

Just four years after the first juvenile court was established, W.E.B. DuBois, in 1903, wrote that the problem of the 20th century was the color line (DuBois, 2005). More than a century later, in 2012, Michelle Alexander wrote in her book “The New Jim Crow” that she had somewhat reluctantly come to the conclusion that a racial caste system still exists in the United States and is responsible for the disproportionate number of minorities in the criminal justice system (Alexander, 2012). Somewhat more than halfway through the 19th century, Jefferson Davis made a statement that clearly shows the problem in a stark manner. In his book tracing racist ideas in America, Ibram X. Kendi recalls what Jefferson Davis, who would go on to become the president

Aleah Fitzgerald Ms. Clifford-Weiss March 15, 2023 AP Language and Composition The Criminal Justice System and its Criminally Unjust Connection to Slavery When the average person thinks of a criminal, the stereotypical image of a person of a wrongdoer: a thief, or a murderer. However, the image of a criminal became polluted by the criminal justice system. African American people are criminalized because they have become the poster face of criminal behavior because of the racism embedded in society. Racist ideologies get them put in prison or even removed from their homes.

Michelle Alexander, similarly, points out the same truth that African American men are targeted substantially by the criminal justice system due to the long history leading to racial bias and mass incarceration within her text “The New Jim Crow”. Both Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Michelle Alexander’s text exhibit the brutality and social injustice that the African American community experiences, which ultimately expedites the mass incarceration of African American men, reflecting the current flawed prison system in the U.S. The American prison system is flawed in numerous ways as both King and Alexander points out. A significant flaw that was identified is the injustice of specifically targeting African American men for crimes due to the racial stereotypes formed as a result of racial formation. Racial formation is the accumulation of racial identities and categories that are formed, reconstructed, and abrogated throughout history.

Criminals are highly unlikely to attempt break ins and other criminal acts when they think that they are being watched or when law enforcement is nearby. Brings Communities Together Community policing has to be a partnered type relationship between the members of the community and the police force. It can work to bring community members and the police force together. When the police force and the community work together toward a common good it fosters a stronger community.

She found that, overall, citizen satisfaction, trust in the police, and perception of improvements in public disorder all increased (Gill, 2014). They were unable to prove if crime was definitively lowered by community- oriented policing strategies, a perceived decrease in disorder by the public of 35% would undoubtedly contribute to positive attitudes, which was found. In 80% of all cases, community policing was found to be effective (Gill,

The confidence in the police and the satisfaction people have did not increase within the community-policing era but stayed stable and has decreased at times, which has been lowest in minority, especially African American, communities (Gallagher, Maguire, Mastrofski, & Reisig, 2001). Traditional-policing techniques still need to be maintained and improved during community policing implementation. Not all issues can be dealt with by community policing such as private and cyber-crime (Demetriou & Silke, 2003). Certain crimes are best handled by more traditional policing tactics such as directed stings that were shown to be effective to decrease crimes involving firearms (Sherman & Rogan, 1995). Citizens’ involvement with police has shown that it results in reduced fear of neighborhood crime and fear of being a victim (Wycoff & Skogan, 1986).

Annotated Bibliography Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press. Alexander opens up on the history of the criminal justice system, disciplinary crime policy and race in the U.S. detailing the ways in which crime policy and mass incarceration have worked together to continue the reduction and defeat of black Americans.

This helps out with public relations and will strengthen the trust in the police during dark times and times of need. Community policing can make better relations between the police and citizens of the area. We should focus on community policing because “Law enforcement agencies often suffer from image problems. At worst, the public views them as authoritarian and paramilitaristic, quick to use force, and slow to admit mistakes. At best, citizens do not really know their local law enforcement officers.

From a course of action standpoint, community policing may deter crime in

It also provides an example of how attitudes towards community policing in these types of areas differs from disadvantaged social and economic areas, which may assist in understanding how to bridge the gap in community policing as a whole. McNeeley, S., & Grothoff, G. (2016). A multilevel examination of the relationship between racial tension and attitudes toward the police. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(3), 383-401. doi:10.1007/s12103-015-9318-2

Community Policing: Collaborative Relationships Between Police and Their Communities Community policing is a model of policing that has become increasingly popular since it was first established in the 1970’s and 1980’s. In fact, Hickman and colleagues (2018) reported that in 2016, 85% of local police departments with at least 100 officers reported having a community policing plan. Despite its growing popularity, there is a lacking understanding regarding the purpose, effectiveness, and functioning of community policing. In this paper, I am going to evaluate and explain what community policing is, what community policing is not, and what common criticisms of community policing are. What is Community Policing?