The New Jim Crow Summary

In chapter two of Michelle Anderson’s “The New Jim Crow,” Alexander explains how the system of mass incarceration works. Anderson argues that the War on Drugs has led to the increment of African Americans in state and federal prisons for non-serious drug violations (possession). Most of these men have no serious criminal histories and are rarely drug kings or high ranked drug dealers. Due to the government’s persistence in making the community safer by removing “criminals,” they have developed programs to crack down on drugs. Law enforcement agencies were using illegal tactics, which became legalized, to capture people. Tactics like pretext or using drug-sniffing dogs became admissible ways to obtain drugs. Alexander discusses how the system of mass incarceration works. The usage of rules, laws and policies to place African Americans in prison for minor offenses is also known as mass incarceration. After reading this chapter, I became perplexed that the government, Federal (DEA) and state, decided that it is expectable to use their “sixth” sense to lead to a systematic mass incarceration of people of color. I was stunned to know that the Supreme Court has encouraged the usage of violations to the fourth amendment by making exceptions. When the amendment was constituted, it specifically stated that there should be no exceptions;
however, the Supreme Court has ruled: stop and frisk, consent under pressure and drug-sniffing dogs to be legal. Moreover, all of these tactics are the reasons why African American men are amongst the highest population in prisons throughout the country.

Chapter two focused on the how law enforcement agencies used various tactics to arresting individuals during the War on Drugs. Also, the chapter elaborates on the sets of legal rules that permitted prosecutors the discretion, whom to charge in order to force guilty pleas, even in cases where the defendant may be innocent. Chapter three continues the focus; however, Alexander argues that African Americans are the targets for mass incarcerations. She incorporates statistics to prove that people from all races (black, white, Hispanic) use, abuse and sell drugs. African Americans are more likely to be arrested for drug charges due to the racial biases that cloud the minds of the officers. Considered as inferior second-class citizens, African Americans are swept off of the streets and locked in cages. Nevertheless, the discretion that the Supreme Court provided to the officers led to racially discriminatory arrests. Due to their living circumstances in ghettos and poor neighborhoods, blacks are convenient targets to the War on drugs. Alexander has provided sufficient and compelling evidence to support her argument of blacks commonly arrest for drug charges as opposed to whites that consume and sell more drugs than blacks. Moreover, the chapter elaborates on the notion that there exists a racial bias within the criminal justice system. In Chapter 4, Alexander argues and discusses the hardship that criminals face after being released from prison or sentenced to probation or community service.
Ex-cons face major discrimination from society and in the workplace. She mentions that when a person is released, they lose access to federal welfare programs, educational benefits as well as basic rights to vote. Alexander uses this chapter to illustrate how the mass incarceration affects the individuals as well as their families. Furthermore, those convicted of a felonious crime are usually discriminated when applying for jobs. These individuals are commonly high school
dropouts.