--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While mass incarceration is a national…" description: "\"While mass incarceration is a national crisis, it was built locally.\" — James Forman, Jr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/james-forman-jr-20846_crisis_while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-c_1844948.jpg" --- # While mass incarceration is a national crisis, it was… ![“While mass incarceration is a national crisis, it was built locally.” quote by James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/james-forman-jr-20846_crisis_while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-c_1844948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/james-forman-jr-20846_crisis_while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-c_1844948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/james-forman-jr-20846_crisis_while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-c_1844948.jpg) > “While mass incarceration is a national crisis, it was built locally.” [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mass incarceration is a national issue rooted in local policies and community-level decisions. **In simple terms:** Local actions built the national crisis of mass incarceration. Key Takeaway Address local policies to reform the system. Themes justice policy community systemic racism Mood urgent critical Type legal social When to use this quote - city council meetings - community advocacy - policy analysis Key Concepts local governance criminal justice reform Questions to Reflect On - What local changes could reduce incarceration? - How can communities mobilize for reform? A Different Perspective National reforms alone are insufficient. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Crisis Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis-built-2379802/) [Incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarceration/) [Incarceration National](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarceration-national-2379801/) [Locally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locally/) [Mass incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-incarceration/) [National](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national/) [National Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-crisis-417180/) ## Related quotes > [Mass incarceration will have to be dismantled the same way it was constructed: piecemeal, incrementally and, above all, locally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/mass-incarceration-will-have-to-be-dismantled-the-same-way-it-was/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [Mass incarceration and its never-ending human toll will be with us until we come to see that no crime justifies permanent civic death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/mass-incarceration-and-its-never-ending-human-toll-will-be-with-us/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [“Mass incarceration is the result of small, distinct steps, each of whose significance becomes more apparent over time, and only when considered in light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/mass-incarceration-is-the-result-of-small-distinct-steps-each-of/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [For children, the era of mass incarceration has meant a tremendous amount of family separation, broken homes, poverty, and a far, far greater level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/for-children-the-era-of-mass-incarceration-has-meant-a-tremendous/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-new-jim-crow-mass-incarceration-in-the-age-of-colorblindness/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We are the in midst of a bipartisan moment as it relates to criminal justice reform and dealing with mass incarceration in America which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakeem-jeffries/we-are-the-in-midst-of-a-bipartisan-moment-as-it-relates-to-criminal/) [Hakeem Jeffries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakeem-jeffries/) > [Arguably the most important parallel between mass incarceration and Jim Crow is that both have served to define the meaning and significance of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/arguably-the-most-important-parallel-between-mass-incarceration-and/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [There are more African Americans under correctional control, in prison or jail, on probation or parole, than were enslaved in 1850 a decade before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/there-are-more-african-americans-under-correctional-control-in-prison/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [When you talk about "white privilege", you're talking about something systemic. When you're talking about "black privilege" it's something spiritual because we as black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlamagne-tha-god/when-you-talk-about-white-privilege-you-re-talking-about-something/) [Charlamagne Tha God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlamagne-tha-god/) > [“We should ask ourselves whether efforts to achieve "cosmetic" racial diversity- that is, reform efforts that make institutions look good on the surface without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-should-ask-ourselves-whether-efforts-to-achieve-cosmetic-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The prison industrial complex, to put it in its crassest term, is a system of industrial mass incarceration. So there's what you call bureaucratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-jarecki/the-prison-industrial-complex-to-put-it-in-its-crassest-term-is-a/) [Eugene Jarecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-jarecki/) > [“The impact of the new caste system is most tragically felt among the young. In Chicago (as in other cities across the United States),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-impact-of-the-new-caste-system-is-most-tragically-felt-among-the/) [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/) > [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/) > [Our criminal justice system has swallowed up too many people I love. I am proud to join the ACLU in the fight to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-k-williams/our-criminal-justice-system-has-swallowed-up-too-many-people-i-love-i/) [Michael K. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-k-williams/) ## More by James Forman, Jr > [Attica. The name itself has long signified resistance to prison abuse and state violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/attica-the-name-itself-has-long-signified-resistance-to-prison-abuse/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [At the end of the day, I think my story is, we need black officers because African-Americans need a fair shot at good jobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/at-the-end-of-the-day-i-think-my-story-is-we-need-black-officers/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [One consequence of racism and segregation is that many American whites know little or nothing about the daily lives of African Americans. Black America's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/one-consequence-of-racism-and-segregation-is-that-many-american/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [Most people that take jobs as police officers are taking them because they're good jobs. Many who go into these jobs are doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/most-people-that-take-jobs-as-police-officers-are-taking-them-because/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [Actually creating a positive school climate, particularly in schools that are in communities that are themselves not calm and orderly, is hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/actually-creating-a-positive-school-climate-particularly-in-schools/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [A black man of my generation born in the late 1960s is more than twice as likely to go to prison in his lifetime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/a-black-man-of-my-generation-born-in-the-late-1960s-is-more-than/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [I clerked for a judge, William Norris, on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals right after law school and then for Justice O'Connor the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/i-clerked-for-a-judge-william-norris-on-the-9th-circuit-court-of/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [I find it very frustrating how much passing the buck there is in the criminal justice system when it comes to taking responsibility for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/i-find-it-very-frustrating-how-much-passing-the-buck-there-is-in-the/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [You can get rid of the teacher certification requirements, and you're still not going to have a rush of incredibly high-quality people going into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/you-can-get-rid-of-the-teacher-certification-requirements-and-you-re/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [How come we never use prison, the failure of prison, as a reason not to give more prison? There's never a moment where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/how-come-we-never-use-prison-the-failure-of-prison-as-a-reason-not-to/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [We rarely have good alternatives to offer to prison - that's our default.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/we-rarely-have-good-alternatives-to-offer-to-prison-that-s-our-default/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [“Mass incarceration is the result of small, distinct steps, each of whose significance becomes more apparent over time, and only when considered in light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/mass-incarceration-is-the-result-of-small-distinct-steps-each-of/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [The fundamental problem for the teaching profession is how undervalued it is and how underpaid teachers are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/the-fundamental-problem-for-the-teaching-profession-is-how/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [What if we strove for compassion, for mercy, for forgiveness? And what if we did this for everybody, including people who have harmed others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/what-if-we-strove-for-compassion-for-mercy-for-forgiveness-and-what/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) > [In terms of addressing crime issues in the black community, the dominant political class has historically refused to endorse the full slate of reforms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/in-terms-of-addressing-crime-issues-in-the-black-community-the/) [James Forman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) [Explore all 30 James Forman, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/) ## More Crisis quotes > [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wright/the-crisis-of-our-diminishing-water-resources-is-just-as-severe-if/) [Jim Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-wright/) > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [Disasters affect every state, and North Carolinians have given our own tax dollars to help neighbors and those in other states in times of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/disasters-affect-every-state-and-north-carolinians-have-given-our-own/) [Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/) > [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. Each of us, to relieve his feelings, broadcasts his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/things-happen-too-quickly-crisis-follows-crisis-the-soil-of-our-minds/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [When this coronavirus crisis is over, what kind of society will we be? A more important question is what kind of society do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lucas/when-this-coronavirus-crisis-is-over-what-kind-of-society-will-we-be/) [Caroline Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lucas/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Firstly, economic globalisation has brought prosperity and development to many countries, but also financial crises to Asia, Latin America and Russia, and increasing poverty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-lindh/firstly-economic-globalisation-has-brought-prosperity-and-development/) [Anna Lindh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-lindh/) > [If we Europeans are not in a state to be able to solve the refugee crisis ourselves, if we only depend on Plan B…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-kurz/if-we-europeans-are-not-in-a-state-to-be-able-to-solve-the-refugee/) [Sebastian Kurz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-kurz/) > [Urbanisation is not a crisis but an opportunity, seeing it as a crisis is wrong. And not just villages, we want everyone to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/urbanisation-is-not-a-crisis-but-an-opportunity-seeing-it-as-a-crisis/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) [Browse all 3,419 Crisis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "While mass incarceration is a national crisis, it was built locally.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Forman, Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-crisis-it-was-built-locally/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crisis" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-crisis-it-was-built-locally/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/james-forman-jr-20846_crisis_while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-c_1844948.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/james-forman-jr-20846_crisis_while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-c_1844948.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47b/james-forman-jr-20846_crisis_while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-c_1844948.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“While mass incarceration is a national crisis, it was built locally.” — James Forman, Jr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Forman, Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-forman-jr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "While mass incarceration is a national...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-crisis-it-was-built-locally/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-forman-jr/while-mass-incarceration-is-a-national-crisis-it-was-built-locally/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```