The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration Analysis

Growing up in America, , as a black male in Philadelphia, Pa, throughout my life I have seen many of my ethnic group arrested and convicted for various crimes and offences. This has had a profound effect on my perspective of the Pennsylvania Judicial system, including police, courts and prison. Being in an environment that glorified violence, I saw young men fall victim to the delusion that we could avoid the consequences of crime. But I have also seen the unfairness of the system and the bad results of incarceration for individual and families. Since attending Community College of Philadelphia, I have taken two classes that have given me a better insight into this subject. Academic work for History 101 and English 102 have shown me the nation we live in has been built off the exploitation of lower class citizens, who as a result live in environments cut off from mainstream society. These citizens often experience discrimination as well.
Michelle Alexander’s, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration and
“In fact, it seems that incarceration, by itself, places children and families at increased risk. . .[the] influence of parental mental health, educational, and employment issues-for a number of negative outcomes including family instability, poverty, and aggressive behavior”(Child Trends, 2015). In a scholarly article Beyond Absenteeism by, Geller, Copper found “that paternal incarceration is associated with significant increase in children’s aggressive behavior ... the estimated effects of paternal incarceration are stronger than those of other forms of father absence, suggesting that children with incarcerated fathers may require specialized support from caretakers, teachers, and social service providers”( 2). However urban males may shy away from help of love ones out of pride and turn to the wrong crowd and peers for a sense of