Pages 1-40
I found the introduction of The New Jim Crow to be highly effective. Michelle Alexander opens the chapter with a narrative about Jarvious Cotton, who, like the generations from his great-great-grandfather all the way to his father, could not vote, but for a different reason. Though he is not a slave, nor is the threat of the Ku Klux Klan particularly prominent, nor are there literacy tests or poll taxes (though he would likely pass these anyway), Jarvious is a felon, and therefore cannot participate in the democratic system. This narrative accomplishes numerous things. Not only does it illustrate the progression and threats to civil rights from four generations ago to now, but it shows how little has actually changed for African-American citizens. While many things are being fixed, Jarvious is still unable to vote due to a legal form of discrimination directed at African-Americans.
This idea is discussed more in-depth throughout the rest of the introduction, moving from appeals to pathos—narratives, personal experiences, etc.—to appeals to logos. Alexander addresses the significant increase in incarceration rates, which are "six to ten times greater than that of other industrialized nations," and how the races are disproportionately represented within this figure (Alexander 8). As she explains, “one in three young African-American men [is expected to serve] time in prison if current trends continue, and in some cities more than half of all young adult black men [are] currently under correctional control” (Alexander 9). The use of the statistics allows Alexander’s readers to view the extent of the issue at hand with real numbers that put our nation's mass incarceration in perspective and proves that this is not merely a conspiracy theory or her own speculation.
She then outlines each chapter of the book, which I found to be extremely helpful for finding information after-the-fact, and also for setting us up for the information to come. The first of these chapters discusses the history of the oppression of African-Americans, starting with slavery, moving through Reconstruction, and, for the purposes of this blog, ending with the birth and death of Jim Crow (though the chapter itself includes the birth of mass incarceration as well). Regarding the structure of this chapter, Alexander clearly aims to create a sense of parallelism between slavery, the Jim Crow laws, and what she defines as the New Jim Crow laws.
The birth of each of these racial caste systems, according to Alexander, stems from the elite whites’ desire to prevent African-Americans from reaching their elevated status, which could occur if they joined forces with the poor whites. During the era of slavery, “the planter class extended special privileges to poor whites in an effort to drive a wedge between them and black slaves” (Alexander 25). This system of segregation worked well, and each time it was ruled unlawful, the elite whites were forced to revise it. If it were no longer legal to enslave African-Americans, they would create laws to force them into oppression. If it were no longer legal to discriminate against African-Americans as a whole, they would force them into criminality, making it legal to discriminate once again. The parallel structure used by Michelle Alexander in this chapter made it easy to see the similarities between the road from slavery to Jim Crow, and from Jim Crow to mass incarceration.
Ultimately, I was impressed with the simple, yet detailed manner in which Michelle Alexander describes this issue. She manages to simultaneously make it incredibly clear what is happening in our country in simple terms, yet also describe the long and complex road it took to get here. She gives specifics of presidents, civil rights leaders, and scholars who establish her own credibility, but does not overwhelm the reader with overly complex details. She describes how the issues African-Americans face have changed through the generations, but emphasizes that they still exist. I appreciate the rhetoric she has used thus far, and very much look forward to delving into the intricacies of this topic to come.
This idea is discussed more in-depth throughout the rest of the introduction, moving from appeals to pathos—narratives, personal experiences, etc.—to appeals to logos. Alexander addresses the significant increase in incarceration rates, which are "six to ten times greater than that of other industrialized nations," and how the races are disproportionately represented within this figure (Alexander 8). As she explains, “one in three young African-American men [is expected to serve] time in prison if current trends continue, and in some cities more than half of all young adult black men [are] currently under correctional control” (Alexander 9). The use of the statistics allows Alexander’s readers to view the extent of the issue at hand with real numbers that put our nation's mass incarceration in perspective and proves that this is not merely a conspiracy theory or her own speculation.
She then outlines each chapter of the book, which I found to be extremely helpful for finding information after-the-fact, and also for setting us up for the information to come. The first of these chapters discusses the history of the oppression of African-Americans, starting with slavery, moving through Reconstruction, and, for the purposes of this blog, ending with the birth and death of Jim Crow (though the chapter itself includes the birth of mass incarceration as well). Regarding the structure of this chapter, Alexander clearly aims to create a sense of parallelism between slavery, the Jim Crow laws, and what she defines as the New Jim Crow laws.
The birth of each of these racial caste systems, according to Alexander, stems from the elite whites’ desire to prevent African-Americans from reaching their elevated status, which could occur if they joined forces with the poor whites. During the era of slavery, “the planter class extended special privileges to poor whites in an effort to drive a wedge between them and black slaves” (Alexander 25). This system of segregation worked well, and each time it was ruled unlawful, the elite whites were forced to revise it. If it were no longer legal to enslave African-Americans, they would create laws to force them into oppression. If it were no longer legal to discriminate against African-Americans as a whole, they would force them into criminality, making it legal to discriminate once again. The parallel structure used by Michelle Alexander in this chapter made it easy to see the similarities between the road from slavery to Jim Crow, and from Jim Crow to mass incarceration.
Ultimately, I was impressed with the simple, yet detailed manner in which Michelle Alexander describes this issue. She manages to simultaneously make it incredibly clear what is happening in our country in simple terms, yet also describe the long and complex road it took to get here. She gives specifics of presidents, civil rights leaders, and scholars who establish her own credibility, but does not overwhelm the reader with overly complex details. She describes how the issues African-Americans face have changed through the generations, but emphasizes that they still exist. I appreciate the rhetoric she has used thus far, and very much look forward to delving into the intricacies of this topic to come.
I am very impressed with your blog so far! You make some very good points; it is clear you have read your book and thought deeply about the information and how it impacts our society today.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog, especially the part about how the "elite whites" are constantly finding ways to oppress African-Americans, made me question why that is. I know you mentioned that white people do not want African-Americans to reach their "elevated status", but do you have an idea why? I was contemplating this myself; there seems to be no good reason to hold someone back from well-deserved success. Perhaps it is just a societal mindset; I touch upon that subject in my blog about how it seems to be typical human behavior to divide people into better and worse. Let me know if your book explains this more, or if you have any theories as to why it happens! I am very interested as to why this is a trend in white culture.
Great job!
Meg
This is a good question, and it really made me think about why this happens. Our book includes a lot of historical roots for societal problems that exist today, and the section regarding this topic might help provide some insight. Alexander wrote, “The events in Jamestown were alarming to the planter elite, who were deeply fearful of the multiracial alliance of bond workers and slaves. [...] In an effort to protect their superior status and economic position, the planters shifted their strategy for maintaining dominance. They abandoned their heavy resilience and indentured servants in favor of the importation of more black slaves. [...] Fearful that such measures might not be sufficient to protect their interests, the planter class took an additional precautionary step, a step that would later come to be known as a “racial bribe.” [...] These measures effectively illuminated the risk of future alliances between black slaves and poor whites.” As much as it may have started as a way to prevent uprisings like Bacon’s Rebellion, nowadays it seems as though it has shifted towards being more about prejudice and self-interest. I hope this helps!
DeleteI recently finished a book called Homegoing which includes a section about the forced labor of freed blacks post Civil War. The novel focused on the work they had to do in coal mines but made it very clear the dangers of the work and the purpose (for Southern society) of that work. Though I, like you, had learned about the Reconstruction and Jim Crow South, I never knew specifics such as this, which made me realize how little I was aware of the various ways (besides segregation) power dynamics played out post Civil War.
ReplyDelete