War Quotes by Michelle Alexander

In the war on drugs, state and state law enforcement agencies have been rewarded in cash by the federal government - through…

— Michelle Alexander

“In October 1982, president Reagan officially announced his administration's war on drugs. At the time he declared this new war, less than…

— Michelle Alexander

“We are told by drug warriors that the enemy in the war is a thing – drugs – not a group of…

— Michelle Alexander

There are more African Americans under correctional control, in prison or jail, on probation or parole, than were enslaved in 1850 a…

— Michelle Alexander

“The enduring racial isolation of the ghetto poor has made them uniquely vulnerable in the War on Drugs. What happens to them…

— Michelle Alexander

Nothing has contributed more to the systematic mass incarceration of people of color in the United States than the War on Drugs

— Michelle Alexander

The War on Drugs, cloaked in race-neutral language, offered whites opposed to racial reform a unique opportunity to express their hostility toward…

— Michelle Alexander

By waging the drug war and "getting tough" almost exclusively in the 'hood, we've managed to create a vast new racial undercaste…

— Michelle Alexander

If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the…

— Michelle Alexander

For those who say that the war on drugs and the system of mass incarceration really isn't about race, I say there…

— Michelle Alexander

We have now spent 1 trillion dollars waging the drug war since it began. A trillion. Those funds could have been used…

— Michelle Alexander

In the 1990s - the period of the greatest escalation of the drug war - nearly 80 percent of the increase in…

— Michelle Alexander

Yet far from putting any meaningful constraints on law enforcement in this war, the U.S. Supreme Court has given the police license…

— Michelle Alexander

The war on drugs has been the engine of mass incarceration. Drug convictions alone constituted about two-thirds of the increase in the…

— Michelle Alexander

Defenders of the system will counter by saying this drug war has been aimed at violent crime. But that is not the…

— Michelle Alexander

Many people don't realize that financial incentives have been built into the drug war that guarantee that law enforcement will continue to…

— Michelle Alexander

Today there are more African-Americans under correctional control, in prison or jail, on probation or parole, than were enslaved in 1850, a…

— Michelle Alexander

“The resistance within law enforcement to the drug war created something of a dilemma for the Reagan administration. In order for the…

— Michelle Alexander

“Before we begin our tour of the drug war, it is worthwhile to get a couple of myths out of the way.…

— Michelle Alexander

The wave of punitiveness that washed over the United States with the rise of the drug war and the get tough movement…

— Michelle Alexander

“With only a few exceptions, the Supreme Court has seized every opportunity to facilitate the drug war, primarily by eviscerating Fourth Amendment…

— Michelle Alexander

Mandatory minimum sentences give no discretion to judges about the amount of time that the person should receive once a guilty verdict…

— Michelle Alexander

Today there are more African-Americans under correctional control — in prison or jail, on probation or parole — than were enslaved in…

— Michelle Alexander

“More African American adults are under correctional control today - in prison or jail, on probation or parole - than were enslaved…

— Michelle Alexander

“The War on Drugs proved popular among key white voters, particularly whites who remained resentful of black progress, civil rights enforcement, and…

— Michelle Alexander

“The extraordinary increase in prison admissions due to parole and probation violations is due almost entirely to the War on Drugs. With…

— Michelle Alexander

The drug war has been waged almost exclusively in ghetto communities, resulting in what I believe is a racial under cast.

— Michelle Alexander

“More African American adults are under correctional control today – in prison or jail, on probation or parole – than were enslaved…

— Michelle Alexander

Law enforcement in the United States, thanks largely to the war on drugs; routinely targets people of color often living in ghetto…

— Michelle Alexander

The bigger picture is that over the last 30 years, we have spent $1 trillion waging a drug war that has failed…

— Michelle Alexander

The fact that our legal system has become so tolerant of police lying indicates how corrupted our criminal justice system has become…

— Michelle Alexander

“Conservatives [in post-Civil War America] blamed liberals for pushing blacks ahead of their proper station in life and placing blacks in positions…

— Michelle Alexander

If the drug war was waged in those communities it would spark such outrage that the war would end overnight. This literal…

— Michelle Alexander

The fact that people of all colors have been ensnared by the drug war helps to preserve the system as a whole…

— Michelle Alexander

Most Americans violate drug laws in their lifetime, but the enemy in this war has been racially defined. Not by accident, the…

— Michelle Alexander

“At the time the drug war was declared, illegal drug use and abuse was not a pressing concern in most communities. The…

— Michelle Alexander

“From the outset, the drug war could have been waged primarily in overwhelmingly white suburbs or on college campuses. SWAT teams could…

— Michelle Alexander

“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were during Jim…

— Michelle Alexander

“The critical point is that thousands of people are swept into the criminal justice system every year pursuant to the drug war…

— Michelle Alexander