60 Million Thoughts: Here's One

I have about 60 million thoughts in my head but here is one. While on duty at the youth center waiting for the kids to show up to our Saturday session I caught an interview on C-Span's Washington Journal with Michelle Alexander,former ACLU Director of Racial Justice. I never turn to C-Span and I'm not even sure why I tuned in, but she was showcasing her new book The New Jim Crow, which she argues that mass incarceration in the form of the War on Drugs has replaced Jim Crow just as Jim Crow replaced slavery in the past. The War on Drugs has disproporationately targeted young black males in the inner city, labeled them as felons and subsequently denied them the right to vote, access to education, employment, housing, and public benefits. The issue here is that ridiculous mass proportions of black males, which constitute much of the prision populations, are incarcerated have hardly any record of violence but are instead labeled a felon because of marijuanna possession. She draws the similarities between current mass incarceration and Jim Crow during segregation. One of her points was that there are more blacks in jail due to the War on Drugs than during the upheaval of the 70's when Civil Rights was underway. Another significant point is that black male incarceration has sky rocketed even though crime is low.

I am a sucker for issues of social justice because I hate it when people are done wrong and a larger system benefits. I'm a sucker for this type of discussion because I am a black male and it's the reality.



I don't expect you to watch the whole thing but look at 7:55-9:05;10:25-11:35; 11:50-15:05. Pretty Serious. To learn more about the book visit newjimcrow.com. You can also view the 5-part interview with Michelle Alexander here.