Monday, December 13, 2010

Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow

      Michelle Alexander pointed out in her article that nothings changed since Martin Luther King, Jr’s speech “I have a dream.” Michelle provided a few facts to support her article that racism and discrimination is still going on today. African Americans are still being treated unfair because “As of 2004, more African American men were disenfranchised (due to felon disenfranchisement laws) than in 1870, the year the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified prohibiting laws that explicitly deny the right to vote on the basis of race (alexander 5 paragraph).” Teh purpose of this article is that there is no change in law to help the African Americans because they are being ripped from their rights upon entering jail. Michelle points out that people are blaming the disadvantages that happens when African Americans gets incarcerated on crime rates. The only reason imprisonment is high is due to War on Drugs. Mainly blacks live in the poorer communities and they are believed to cause the most trouble when white youth are more than likely to deal with illegal drugs, shown in studies. African American men has always been stereotyped and neglected. In the last paragraph, I believe what Michelle is saying is true. By depriving young people rights because they are trapped in a place where trouble is located is not giving them a chance to make become better. If you leave a person to only do what ever it takes to make a dollar they are going to do what it takes even if it’s the illegal way. 

1 comment:

  1. Good overview - I'm not sure she'd say that nothing has change so much as that one system of injustice has given way to another.

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