Reviews

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

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lubalis's review against another edition

5.0

This book gives so many details of the issues that many face with the lack of acknowledging the colorblindness that exist.

gracefulhope's review against another edition

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5.0

This was a very eye-opening book. The author does a fantastic job of examining each level of the justice system and how the different pieces work together to oppress african american men. I appreciated the combination of statistics and personal examples to build a picture of what the War on Drugs has done to our society and to families. There are few books that have had an emotional impact on me and this book is one of them. (Another is Half the Sky - read it if you haven't!)

The only problem I have with the book is that it left me feeling rather helpless. What can I do to help change the situation? Is there anything I could do?

jess_mango's review

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4.0

Even 10 years after its original publication this is still a very important book. Alexander analyzes the impact of law enforcement and mass incarceration in this age of "colorblindness" and "post-racial society" in the USA. The 10th anniversary edition has a long intro by the author discussing what has and hasn't changed in the past 10 years.

Just last week, I read [b:The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power|50870424|The Skin We're In A Year of Black Resistance and Power|Desmond Cole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570443003l/50870424._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71391500], which is on a similar topic but focused on Canada.

Highly recommend!

dinasamimi's review against another edition

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4.0

I find this to be essential reading. Loved the intro in the anniversary edition, lots of great updates and clarifications. Would have loved a bit more analysis and dismantling of violent crime offenders, the focus here is heavily laid on non-violent criminals which is great but an incomplete picture of the carceral state.

jaina8851's review against another edition

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challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

This book was incredible. I had been meaning to read it for a long time and I'm glad I finally picked it up. Even though it is almost fifteen years old at this point, and even though I thought I had read a decent amount of anti-racism books that have been published since this book was written, this book still taught me so much more about how deeply entrenched the prison industrial complex is in our society. One of those books that is a "must-read".