In the article, “The New Jim Crow”, Michelle Alexander suggest that the current criminal justice system is 

a more current version of the Jim Crow. The article identifies how ex-felons are impacted by laws placed by states

that are parallel to the laws placed to disenfranchise African Americans during the Jim Crow era. The

author explains how mass incarceration subjugates black men and exacerbates the disempowerment of their rights

which overall effects the black community. Even though crime rates have been low for quite some time, the

incarceration rates have continued to skyrocket. (Alexander 8) The “war on drugs” contributed the most to

the incarceration of blacks. (Alexander 9) Alexander observed research which displays that most of the drug

convictions were for possession versus sale. (10) Despite the fact that all races of people had used or sold drugs,

the system mainly targeted poor communities of color. The supreme court enabled justification for such racial

bias by ignoring the bill of rights. As Alexander states, “...law-enforcement officials know better than to admit

racial bias out loud, and much of the discrimination that pervades this system is rooted in unconscious racial

stereotypes, or "hunches" about certain types of people that come down to race”. (13)  This describes

that implicit bias is a main impact to black disenfranchisement. The categorize blacks a “criminal” to mark

the mistreatment of black Americans as justifiable. As Alexander mentions, “As a nation, we have managed to

create a massive system of control that locks a significant percentage of our population,a group defined largely by

race.into a permanent, second-class status”. (14) As Americans we ignore, or we are unaware of these

tactics specifically used to disenfranchise people because of our own bias. We all need to become aware of this

racial issue and discuss solutions. 

                                                      

                                                                                 Work cited 

Alexander, Michelle. "The New Jim Crow." America's Prisons, edited by Jack Lasky, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-com.montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/EJ3010108432/OVIC?u=rock77357&sid=OVIC&xid=149fb21c. Accessed 8 July 2020. Originally published in American Prospect, 1 Dec. 2010.