Michelle Alexander’s new book, The New Jim Crow, wants the world to know that mass incarceration and the ensuing legalized discrimination that former prisoners face may lead us to a ‘human rights nightmare.’ The book is intended to ‘stimulate a much-needed conversation about the role of the criminal justice system in creating and perpetuating racial hierarchy.” In the book, Alexander traces the history of Jim Crow as a network of laws and policies that are designed to ensure the subordinate status of a particular racial group. She argues that the vestiges of Jim Crow exclusion are ever-present in contemporary practices of mass incarceration. Alexander’s definition of mass incarceration focuses not only on the number of incarcerated individuals, but
‘also the larger web of laws, rules, policies, and customs that control those
labeled criminals both in and out of prison. Once released, former prisoners
enter a hidden underworld of legalized discrimination and permanent social
exclusion. They are members of America’s new undercaste.’
Alexander will discuss and sign her book tomorrow, November 18, 2010 at Cincinnati City Hall. The Amos Project with the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, Cincinnati Human Relations Committee (CHRC), and the Faith Community Alliance of Greater Cincinnati is sponsoring Reclaim Your Dignity … Reclaim Your Voice: A Human Relations Summit. A panel discussion on civil rights will follow Alexander’s talk. For more information and to RSVP contact CHRC at 513.352.3237.
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