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The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

Book by Michelle Alexander · 4 quotes · Racism, Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration

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The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness Quotes

“If we want to do more than just end mass incarceration—if we want to put an end to the history of racial caste in America—we must lay down our racial bribes, join hands with people of all colors who are not content to wait for change to trickle down, and say to those who would stand in our way: Accept all of us or none.”

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Book:The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
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“The system functioned relatively automatically, and the prevailing system of racial meanings, identities, and ideologies already seemed natural. Ninety percent of those admitted to prison for drug offenses in many states were Black or Latino, yet the mass incarceration of communities of color was explained in race-neutral terms, an adaptation to the needs and demands of the current political climate.”

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Book:The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
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“Like Jim Crow (and slavery), mass incarceration operates as a tightly networked system of laws, policies, customs, and institutions that operate collectively to ensure the subordinate status of a group defined largely by race.”

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Book:The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
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“If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of mass incarceration is just too big, too daunting for us to do anything about and that we should instead direct our energies to battles that might be more easily won, history will judge us harshly. A human rights nightmare is occurring on our watch.”

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Book:The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
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