--- title: "12 System Quotes By Michelle Alexander" description: "12 System quotes by Michelle Alexander. Plus more from Michelle Alexander and more System sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/michelle-alexander-750_america_there-is-a-system-of-racial-and-social-c_1539313.png" --- > [There is a system of racial and social control in communities of color across America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/there-is-a-system-of-racial-and-social-control-in-communities-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/michelle-alexander-750_america_there-is-a-system-of-racial-and-social-c_1539313.png) > [We need transformational change of our criminal justice system - not just, you know, a handful of consent decrees or policy reforms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-need-transformational-change-of-our-criminal-justice-system-not/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a3/michelle-alexander-750_change_we-need-transformational-change-of-our-c_867101.png) > [Mass incarceration is a massive system of racial and social control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/mass-incarceration-is-a-massive-system-of-racial-and-social-control/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/michelle-alexander-750_control_mass-incarceration-is-a-massive-system-o_2032666.png) > [The system of mass incarceration depends almost entirely on the cooperation of those it seeks to control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-system-of-mass-incarceration-depends-almost-entirely-on-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/michelle-alexander-750_control_the-system-of-mass-incarceration-depends_1915879.png) > [Our entire political system is financed by wealthy private interests buying politicians and making sure the rules are written in their favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/our-entire-political-system-is-financed-by-wealthy-private-interests/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b9/michelle-alexander-750_buying_our-entire-political-system-is-financed_1354511.png) > [Surely, we've got a way that we can tinker with this system that shuttles our children from decrepit, underfunded schools to brand-new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/surely-we-ve-got-a-way-that-we-can-tinker-with-this-system-that/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/michelle-alexander-750_children_surely-we-ve-got-a-way-that-we-can-tinke_2341494.png) > [People are swept into the criminal justice system - particularly in poor communities of color - at very early ages... typically for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/people-are-swept-into-the-criminal-justice-system-particularly-in/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/281/michelle-alexander-750_crime_people-are-swept-into-the-criminal-justi_1296797.png) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/michelle-alexander-750_activism_activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates_68097.jpg) > [Our criminal-justice system has for decades been infected with a mindset that views black boys and men in particular as a problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/our-criminal-justice-system-has-for-decades-been-infected-with-a/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/michelle-alexander-750_black_our-criminal-justice-system-has-for-deca_3047802.png) > [Some of our system of mass incarceration really has to be traced back to the law-and-order movement that began in the 1950s,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/some-of-our-system-of-mass-incarceration-really-has-to-be-traced-back/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba4/michelle-alexander-750_1950s_some-of-our-system-of-mass-incarceration_926038.jpg) > [The success of the few does not excuse the caste-like system that exists for many. In fact, black exceptionalism - the high-profile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-success-of-the-few-does-not-excuse-the-caste-like-system-that/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/michelle-alexander-750_black_the-success-of-the-few-does-not-excuse-t_2541983.jpg) > [It is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt. So we don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/it-is-no-longer-socially-permissible-to-use-race-explicitly-as-a/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/michelle-alexander-750_criminal-justice_it-is-no-longer-socially-permissible-to_638099.png) ## Other authors on System - [Steven Magee 17 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/steven-magee/) - [Jerome Powell 13 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/jerome-powell/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-ben-bernanke-16920.jpg) Ben Bernanke 12 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/ben-bernanke/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-noam-chomsky-71799.jpg) Noam Chomsky 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/noam-chomsky/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b002/author-john-dolmayan-5969.jpg) John Dolmayan 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/john-dolmayan/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b003/author-alan-stern-10395.jpg) Alan Stern 10 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/alan-stern/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-sunday-adelaja-87912.jpg) Sunday Adelaja 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/sunday-adelaja/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-seth-shostak-84148.jpg) Seth Shostak 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/seth-shostak/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-henry-paulson-41648.jpg) Henry Paulson 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/henry-paulson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b006/author-carolyn-porco-21371.jpg) Carolyn Porco 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/carolyn-porco/) - [Shavo Odadjian 8 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/shavo-odadjian/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-joel-salatin-50654.jpg) Joel Salatin 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/joel-salatin/) ## More by Michelle Alexander > [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. If you ask for jobs or economic investment, you won't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-ask-for-good-schools-you-aren-t-likely-to-get-them-if-you-ask/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem. The fact that the meaning of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/seeing-race-is-not-the-problem-refusing-to-care-for-the-people-we-see/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“That was King’s dream—a society that is capable of seeing each of us, as we are, with love. That is a goal worth fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/that-was-king-s-dream-a-society-that-is-capable-of-seeing-each-of-us/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We cannot 'fix' the police without a revolution of values and radical change to the basic structure of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-cannot-fix-the-police-without-a-revolution-of-values-and-radical/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ “\[T\]he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery. —W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/t-he-slave-went-free-stood-a-brief-moment-in-the-sun-then-moved-back/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-take-into-account-prisoners-a-large-majority-of-african/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rules-and-reasons-the-political-system-employs-to-enforce-status/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/michelle-alexander/#itemlist", "name": "12 System Quotes By Michelle Alexander", "numberOfItems": 12, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a system of racial and social control in communities of color across America.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/there-is-a-system-of-racial-and-social-control-in-communities-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/michelle-alexander-750_america_there-is-a-system-of-racial-and-social-c_1539313.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/michelle-alexander-750_america_there-is-a-system-of-racial-and-social-c_1539313.png", "url": 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"@type": "Quotation", "text": "Surely, we've got a way that we can tinker with this system that shuttles our children from decrepit, underfunded schools to brand-new high-tech prisons.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/surely-we-ve-got-a-way-that-we-can-tinker-with-this-system-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/michelle-alexander-750_children_surely-we-ve-got-a-way-that-we-can-tinke_2341494.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/michelle-alexander-750_children_surely-we-ve-got-a-way-that-we-can-tinke_2341494.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/michelle-alexander-750_children_surely-we-ve-got-a-way-that-we-can-tinke_2341494.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Surely, we've got a way that we can tinker with this system that shuttles our children from decrepit…” — Michelle Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile 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swept into the criminal justice system - particularly in poor communities of color - at very…” — Michelle Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who are activists and to envision themselves as activists.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/michelle-alexander-750_activism_activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates_68097.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/michelle-alexander-750_activism_activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates_68097.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/michelle-alexander-750_activism_activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates_68097.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is…” — Michelle Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our criminal-justice system has for decades been infected with a mindset that views black boys and men in particular as a problem to be dealt with, managed, and controlled.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/our-criminal-justice-system-has-for-decades-been-infected-with-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/michelle-alexander-750_black_our-criminal-justice-system-has-for-deca_3047802.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/michelle-alexander-750_black_our-criminal-justice-system-has-for-deca_3047802.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/michelle-alexander-750_black_our-criminal-justice-system-has-for-deca_3047802.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our criminal-justice system has for decades been infected with a mindset that views black boys and men in…” — Michelle Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some of our system of mass incarceration really has to be traced back to the law-and-order movement that began in the 1950s, in the 1960s.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/some-of-our-system-of-mass-incarceration-really-has-to-be-traced-back/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba4/michelle-alexander-750_1950s_some-of-our-system-of-mass-incarceration_926038.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba4/michelle-alexander-750_1950s_some-of-our-system-of-mass-incarceration_926038.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba4/michelle-alexander-750_1950s_some-of-our-system-of-mass-incarceration_926038.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Some of our system of mass incarceration really has to be traced back to the law-and-order movement that…” — Michelle Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The success of the few does not excuse the caste-like system that exists for many. In fact, black exceptionalism - the high-profile, highly visible examples of the black success - actually serves to justify and rationalize mass incarceration.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-success-of-the-few-does-not-excuse-the-caste-like-system-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/michelle-alexander-750_black_the-success-of-the-few-does-not-excuse-t_2541983.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/michelle-alexander-750_black_the-success-of-the-few-does-not-excuse-t_2541983.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/michelle-alexander-750_black_the-success-of-the-few-does-not-excuse-t_2541983.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The success of the few does not excuse the caste-like system that exists for many. In fact, black…” — Michelle Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt. So we don't. Rather than rely on race, we use our criminal justice system to label people of color 'criminals' and then engage in all the practices we supposedly left behind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/it-is-no-longer-socially-permissible-to-use-race-explicitly-as-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/michelle-alexander-750_criminal-justice_it-is-no-longer-socially-permissible-to_638099.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/michelle-alexander-750_criminal-justice_it-is-no-longer-socially-permissible-to_638099.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f4/michelle-alexander-750_criminal-justice_it-is-no-longer-socially-permissible-to_638099.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination…” — Michelle Alexander", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/michelle-alexander/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/michelle-alexander/", "name": "System Quotes by Michelle Alexander", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/michelle-alexander/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e83/michelle-alexander-750_america_there-is-a-system-of-racial-and-social-c_1539313.png" }, "description": "12 System quotes by Michelle Alexander. 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