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A review by ashlightgrayson
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
5.0
This was an informative audiobook jam packed with important historical information that is meticulously cited. There was so much work and effort that Michelle Alexander put into this and you can feel it both through her narration of the book and th work itself. Alexander walks through all the various ways in which the prison industrial complex is just one of many remnants of slavery that continue to affect us today.
The language used in the book is reasonably simple and straighforward, but this is still a very dense reading experience. The author intermittently resummarizes and draws connections from one chapter to another. For example, at some point there is deep dive into the War on Drugs and Reagan administration that is then linked to overpolicing of black/brown communities as well as the current disproportionate mass incarceration of black individuals. Alexander expands upon the reasons why racism is baked into our justice system. It really seems that the only way to fix it is to build it from the ground up. This book is an educational experience that makes you strongly consider the current state of affairs as they are. It merits a reread just because there is so much information to unpack here. I do strongly recommend this for anyone that is interested in the history of racial bias within our justice system and the after effects today. Even if this is a topic you are already familiar with, this still stands as an excellent resource.
The language used in the book is reasonably simple and straighforward, but this is still a very dense reading experience. The author intermittently resummarizes and draws connections from one chapter to another. For example, at some point there is deep dive into the War on Drugs and Reagan administration that is then linked to overpolicing of black/brown communities as well as the current disproportionate mass incarceration of black individuals. Alexander expands upon the reasons why racism is baked into our justice system. It really seems that the only way to fix it is to build it from the ground up. This book is an educational experience that makes you strongly consider the current state of affairs as they are. It merits a reread just because there is so much information to unpack here. I do strongly recommend this for anyone that is interested in the history of racial bias within our justice system and the after effects today. Even if this is a topic you are already familiar with, this still stands as an excellent resource.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
Mass incarceration, prison