--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's critically important that…" description: "\"I think it's critically important that the people who have been most harmed by mass incarceration, by mass deportation, by neoliberalism, by all of it,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/677/michelle-alexander-750_important_i-think-it-s-critically-important-that-t_1846214.png" --- # I think it's critically important that the people who have… ![“I think it's critically important that the people who have been most harmed by mass incarceration, by mass deportation, by neoliberalism, by all of it, not only have a voice in crafting these platforms but emerge and are supported as real leaders in these movements.” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/677/michelle-alexander-750_important_i-think-it-s-critically-important-that-t_1846214.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/677/michelle-alexander-750_important_i-think-it-s-critically-important-that-t_1846214.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/677/michelle-alexander-750_important_i-think-it-s-critically-important-that-t_1846214.png) > “I think it's critically important that the people who have been most harmed by mass incarceration, by mass deportation, by neoliberalism, by all of it, not only have a voice in crafting these platforms but emerge and are supported as real leaders in these movements.” [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She argues that those most affected by systemic oppression must be central in designing solutions and leading movements. **In simple terms:** Those harmed should lead reforms. Key Takeaway Empower marginalized voices. Themes justice leadership inclusion systemic oppression policy change Mood determined hopeful Type activist policy When to use this quote - policy drafting - activist training - community organizing Key Concepts Participatory democracy restorative justice community empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions ensure genuine leadership? - What barriers prevent marginalized voices from being heard? A Different Perspective Power dynamics may limit actual influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Critically Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critically-important-435429/) [Deportation Neoliberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deportation-neoliberalism-2390659/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-people/) [Incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarceration/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Mass incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-incarceration/) [Neoliberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neoliberalism/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-leaders/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [Today mass incarceration defines the meaning of blackness in America: Black people, especially black men, are criminals. That is what it means to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/today-mass-incarceration-defines-the-meaning-of-blackness-in-america/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“The Supreme Court has now closed the courthouse doors to claims of racial bias at every stage of the criminal justice process, from stops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-supreme-court-has-now-closed-the-courthouse-doors-to-claims-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/for-those-who-say-that-the-war-on-drugs-and-the-system-of-mass/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [I believe it is possible to bring an end to mass incarceration and birth a new moral consensus about how we ought to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/i-believe-it-is-possible-to-bring-an-end-to-mass-incarceration-and/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [I believe this system of mass incarceration would have Dr. King turning in his grave. There's no doubt in my mind that Dr. King…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/i-believe-this-system-of-mass-incarceration-would-have-dr-king/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“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 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/) > [In my view, the critical questions in this era of mass incarceration are: What disturbs us? What seems contrary to expectation? Who do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/in-my-view-the-critical-questions-in-this-era-of-mass-incarceration/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## 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. 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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/) [Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More Important quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. 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