The New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander

The New Jim Crow

By Michelle Alexander

  • Release Date: 2020-01-07
  • Genre: Law
Score: 4
4
From 369 Ratings
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Description

One of the New York Times’s Best Books of the 21st Century

Named one of the most important nonfiction books of the 21st century by Entertainment Weekly‚ Slate‚ Chronicle of Higher Education‚ Literary Hub, Book Riot‚ and Zora

A tenth-anniversary edition of the iconic bestseller—"one of the most influential books of the past 20 years," according to the Chronicle of Higher Education—with a new preface by the author

"It is in no small part thanks to Alexander's account that civil rights organizations such as Black Lives Matter have focused so much of their energy on the criminal justice system."
—Adam Shatz, London Review of Books

Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Most important of all, it has spawned a whole generation of criminal justice reform activists and organizations motivated by Michelle Alexander's unforgettable argument that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." As the Birmingham News proclaimed, it is "undoubtedly the most important book published in this century about the U.S."

Now, ten years after it was first published, The New Press is proud to issue a tenth-anniversary edition with a new preface by Michelle Alexander that discusses the impact the book has had and the state of the criminal justice reform movement today.

Reviews

  • Outstanding Book

    5
    By DCE49
    I read this book while recovering from hip surgery. Heavy subject matter and so well documented citing many legal cases and precedents for court decisions and legal and law enforcement practices. Ms. Alexander makes a very strong case for the racial discriminatory practices since the War On Drugs was initiated, which has covertly marginalized the majority of poor African American males over the past 60 years since the civil rights movement, kept deliberately under the racial radar, making it legally impossible to use racial discrimination defense for the majority of incarcerated black males during the “tough on crime” era emphasizing individual poor choices of criminality. Very powerful book that should be required high school and college reading for all American youth. I was totally astonished to learn that Ms. Alexander wrote the book while raising three young children! A multitasking genius!

  • Life Altering

    5
    By S Steptoe
    I’m truly grateful for this book and sad for it to end. Thank you

  • Uneducated.

    1
    By hargisP
    Obviously clueless about Jim Crow laws, that was written by Democrats.

  • Window into America’s Soul

    5
    By Richard Bakare
    I was reluctant to read this for a long time. The hesitation grounded in the understanding that once you dive into the ugly truth nothing will ever look the same again. Even worse, you in turn will be consumed with bitterness and despondency. So, you avoid truths as powerful as this book and look for other convenient narratives. I can say after reading this gripping account of how America’s deep racial animus is masked behind the “rule of law” and “criminal justice system,” it is high time to rip the bandaid off. In doing so, you’ll see how Michelle Alexander gives us a detailed glimpse into the rotting of America’s soul. A machine that does not care that the outcomes don’t warrant the methods. So, why would we perpetuate this system if not for hate? The decomposition of America’s soul is rooted in the regularly reimagined systems of dehumanization of minorities and black men in particular. In its latest incarnation, the orchestrators of oppression have built the most durable system of control ever devised and we all sit idly letting it happen. The single thread of hope is that in knowing the tools and methods of the oppressors we can maybe turn the tide.

  • Almost Completely Wrong

    1
    By cahuntington
    The author twists the facts and applies poor reasoning in order to conclude that mass incarceration since the war on drugs started in 1982 is *intentionally designed* to control the black population of the United States. She has some wonderful points about flaws in our criminal justice system, and if she had stuck to those facts, this could have been a wonderful book. But every true flaw she mentions, she twists to impute motives and make the flaw about intentional population control of black Americans. Many, perhaps most, of the statistics she provides are stripped of their context—except for speculative context she makes up—and the statistics are almost never given any sort of comparative qualifications when those qualifications might hurt the point she wants to make. She never actually *proves* anything. She assumes the truth of her conclusion, but she never provides any actual reasoning or evidence to support her conclusion. The book is one long example of logical fallacy. She begs the question, when she should be proving it.

  • I’m

    3
    By Headhunter1963
    I’mP

  • Very factual & Eye Opening

    5
    By That Person With a Pet Dog
    The author brings up multiple-facts, provokes the reader to question the claims in the book, and guides the reader through historical examples. This book is for every US Citizen (White, Black, Asian, Native American, etc). The people who left bad reviews & say this book is propaganda never read the book. They could have at least read the audio bool.

  • Informative & Powerful

    5
    By AsdfgDFbfgGgthcxnloJjg
    Although not a light read, this book is thought provoking & informative. It explains the reasons why there’s a system that is beyond flawed. Knowing the history, laws, politics, etc. gives you a greater understanding of why the system was designed the way it is and what needs to be done to address systemic racism.

  • Orange man bad

    1
    By RaygunDoge
    Orange man bad

  • T

    1
    By gmaggu in h
    D

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