karanelson's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
grubnubble's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t realize it has already been ten years since this book was published. In those ten years, our collective understanding of race in the United States and mass incarceration has developed substantially. This book, I’m sure, had much to do with that development.
That being said, there are a number of very thorough defenses in this book that were necessary at the time and read as fairly dated now. If you are in the “All Lives Matter” camp, however, these defenses are going to be great for you.
For the rest of us, I wish there was an abridged, updated version of this book containing all of the many pieces of information that do still feel novel and mostly unknown in public discourse. I loved the first chapter, which talks about the history of racial hierarchy in the US. I wish there was a bit more of that.
It is also very clear that Michelle Alexander is a lawyer and at least partially had other lawyers in mind while writing this book. Two chapters (The Lockdown and The Color of Justice) were hard for me to get through due to legal jargon and a focus on Supreme Court cases.
I’m glad I finally read this monumental book. It’s relevance is obvious. I appreciated Alexander’s focus on class, which added a definite richness and a level of hope for future movements of solidarity among all races.
That being said, there are a number of very thorough defenses in this book that were necessary at the time and read as fairly dated now. If you are in the “All Lives Matter” camp, however, these defenses are going to be great for you.
For the rest of us, I wish there was an abridged, updated version of this book containing all of the many pieces of information that do still feel novel and mostly unknown in public discourse. I loved the first chapter, which talks about the history of racial hierarchy in the US. I wish there was a bit more of that.
It is also very clear that Michelle Alexander is a lawyer and at least partially had other lawyers in mind while writing this book. Two chapters (The Lockdown and The Color of Justice) were hard for me to get through due to legal jargon and a focus on Supreme Court cases.
I’m glad I finally read this monumental book. It’s relevance is obvious. I appreciated Alexander’s focus on class, which added a definite richness and a level of hope for future movements of solidarity among all races.
gothiccauntie's review against another edition
3.0
I'm interested in diving into her sources when I have a little more free time. I do not love when authors reference their own work while making an argument.
But Michelle Alexander provides some interesting food for thought, especially regarding speculation for the future of prison systems if we continue on our current trajectory. She also reminds us, time and time again, that numbers tell the story we want to tell, especially when plucked away from the other numbers that provide context (such as prisoner statistics, arrest rates vs imprisonment rates, etc.).
I'm relatively new to researching this subject, so there isn't a lot more I can add or analyze in depth at this time. Right now, I'm reading and listening to a variety of viewpoints on incarceration and prison reform.
But Michelle Alexander provides some interesting food for thought, especially regarding speculation for the future of prison systems if we continue on our current trajectory. She also reminds us, time and time again, that numbers tell the story we want to tell, especially when plucked away from the other numbers that provide context (such as prisoner statistics, arrest rates vs imprisonment rates, etc.).
I'm relatively new to researching this subject, so there isn't a lot more I can add or analyze in depth at this time. Right now, I'm reading and listening to a variety of viewpoints on incarceration and prison reform.
cnyttan's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
2.0
Given that the book is over a decade old, it's not surprising that's it's already out-of-date. This is a very in-depth look at a very narrow problem - specifically, how has the war of drugs been used to alienate black men from mainstream American society? It does have a place in an anti-racist library, but I wouldn't put it at the top of the to-read queue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Racism
Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Classism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Drug use, Police brutality, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, and Confinement
Minor: Violence and Deportation
paigereitz's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. This was a HARD read. It took me two months to parse through because it brought up so many strong emotions. But it is so important. If you want to learn about race in America, read this book.
contrabandit's review against another edition
5.0
Phenomenal. Crucial reading for the new abolitionist.
willascanlon's review against another edition
5.0
I was surprised to be so shocked and educated by this book. Besides being well written and so clearly well researched, it leaves no stone unturned when it comes to exploring race through every step of the justice system. It was a horrifying exposé but one I think everyone, particularly white people, should read and think about.
nathanrester's review against another edition
4.0
There's a weird paradox in reading The New Jim Crow in 2021. On one hand, there's not a lot in this book that will be extremely shocking to anyone who has been keeping up with the news over the last few years. On the other, this book was a critical catalyst in bringing mainstream attention to the disturbing intersection between racial inequality and the mass incarceration issue in the United States.
Alexander convincingly tethers the racial segregation policies of Jim Crow to the War on Drugs and its disparate impact on the African-American community. Even if you're already in the know (read: pissed off) about this, then you still owe it to yourself to read the original argument in its complete form. And if you're unaware or on the fence, Alexander makes a compelling, angering case that doubles as an indictment of a system long past its expiration date.
Alexander convincingly tethers the racial segregation policies of Jim Crow to the War on Drugs and its disparate impact on the African-American community. Even if you're already in the know (read: pissed off) about this, then you still owe it to yourself to read the original argument in its complete form. And if you're unaware or on the fence, Alexander makes a compelling, angering case that doubles as an indictment of a system long past its expiration date.
hannahmarkezich's review against another edition
5.0
Simply amazing. Definitely a must-read book.
Alexander's book is well-researched and well-argued. She lays out piece by piece how slavery became Jim Crow and how Jim Crow became mass incarceration. It was fascinating to see the ways in which the government and white elites took advantage of white people's anxieties about race and class and safety and weaponized them against Black Americans.
I really learned a lot from this book. I wish that it wasn't still relevant 10 years from its original publication because that would mean that we'd fixed (or took strides toward fixing) the issue of mass incarceration, but we haven't. It was interesting to read how, at the end of the book, she discusses a day when Black Americans (and even white Americans beside them) will rise up to say enough is enough with this system of policing and mass incarceration and the war on drugs because I feel like that's happening now in some ways. This book definitely fits in to the broader conversation Americans are having today about police brutality and racism and the horrifying system of mass incarceration.
This is also an excellent complement to the documentary 13th on Netflix. It touches on some of the same issues, but this book has the page space to dive far deeper into the politics and economics of mass incarceration. Michelle Alexander is actually interviewed for the documentary as well, so if you haven't see it, I definitely recommend that you read this book and watch the movie.
It was interesting but also completely horrifying to see how deeply this system of racism is rooted in our society. The system is insidious, and it affects every part of life in this county whether we acknowledge it or not. I am definitely grateful to have learned about this as I now feel more informed and better able to have discussions about this issue and look for ways that I can be effective in the fight for justice.
Please read it.
Alexander's book is well-researched and well-argued. She lays out piece by piece how slavery became Jim Crow and how Jim Crow became mass incarceration. It was fascinating to see the ways in which the government and white elites took advantage of white people's anxieties about race and class and safety and weaponized them against Black Americans.
I really learned a lot from this book. I wish that it wasn't still relevant 10 years from its original publication because that would mean that we'd fixed (or took strides toward fixing) the issue of mass incarceration, but we haven't. It was interesting to read how, at the end of the book, she discusses a day when Black Americans (and even white Americans beside them) will rise up to say enough is enough with this system of policing and mass incarceration and the war on drugs because I feel like that's happening now in some ways. This book definitely fits in to the broader conversation Americans are having today about police brutality and racism and the horrifying system of mass incarceration.
This is also an excellent complement to the documentary 13th on Netflix. It touches on some of the same issues, but this book has the page space to dive far deeper into the politics and economics of mass incarceration. Michelle Alexander is actually interviewed for the documentary as well, so if you haven't see it, I definitely recommend that you read this book and watch the movie.
It was interesting but also completely horrifying to see how deeply this system of racism is rooted in our society. The system is insidious, and it affects every part of life in this county whether we acknowledge it or not. I am definitely grateful to have learned about this as I now feel more informed and better able to have discussions about this issue and look for ways that I can be effective in the fight for justice.
Please read it.
nuggetworldpeace's review against another edition
5.0
I don't think I've ever read anything that I'd label a "must-read" before this.
Michelle Alexander meets you where many of us are - at a place where the title seems hyperbolic - and through well-written, well-researched chapters details how we've gotten to our current system of racial control, where black and brown people are disproportionately pulled from their communities, impoverishing those communities. Despite similar rates of drug use across races, police have been increasingly placed in urban ghettos during the Drug War - financially boosted by the federal government, even though there wasn't really a surge of drug use at the time to begin with. Once arrested, the next undue burden is the prosecution; punishments are far more severe for measures that disproportionately affect black and brown folks more than white folks (e.g., crack cocaine vs. drunk driving), so most will take a plea deal of guilty for a lighter sentence, not realizing then that their felony record will impact their job opportunities and voting ability for the rest of their lives. We put the responsibility of individuals to be unimpeachable, when we're all humans, and we've all probably broken the law at least once in our lives. We don't think mass incarceration is so problematic, because it's theoretically "color-blind," but it isn't really; you just have to look. I do appreciate that Ms. Alexander ends this book with a direction to take, though I have to chew on what that looks like for me in my personal life.
Michelle Alexander meets you where many of us are - at a place where the title seems hyperbolic - and through well-written, well-researched chapters details how we've gotten to our current system of racial control, where black and brown people are disproportionately pulled from their communities, impoverishing those communities. Despite similar rates of drug use across races, police have been increasingly placed in urban ghettos during the Drug War - financially boosted by the federal government, even though there wasn't really a surge of drug use at the time to begin with. Once arrested, the next undue burden is the prosecution; punishments are far more severe for measures that disproportionately affect black and brown folks more than white folks (e.g., crack cocaine vs. drunk driving), so most will take a plea deal of guilty for a lighter sentence, not realizing then that their felony record will impact their job opportunities and voting ability for the rest of their lives. We put the responsibility of individuals to be unimpeachable, when we're all humans, and we've all probably broken the law at least once in our lives. We don't think mass incarceration is so problematic, because it's theoretically "color-blind," but it isn't really; you just have to look. I do appreciate that Ms. Alexander ends this book with a direction to take, though I have to chew on what that looks like for me in my personal life.