--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 2004, there were more black men…" description: "\"In 2004, there were more black men disenfranchised than in 1870 - the year the 15th Amendment was ratified, prohibiting laws that deny the right to vot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/michelle-alexander-750_disenfranchised_in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenf_948982.png" --- # In 2004, there were more black men disenfranchised than in… ![“In 2004, there were more black men disenfranchised than in 1870 - the year the 15th Amendment was ratified, prohibiting laws that deny the right to vote exclusively on the basis of race.” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/michelle-alexander-750_disenfranchised_in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenf_948982.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/michelle-alexander-750_disenfranchised_in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenf_948982.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/michelle-alexander-750_disenfranchised_in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenf_948982.png) > “In 2004, there were more black men disenfranchised than in 1870 - the year the 15th Amendment was ratified, prohibiting laws that deny the right to vote exclusively on the basis of race.” [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. Black disenfranchisement persisted long after the 15th Amendment, highlighting systemic racism's durability. **In simple terms:** Racism continued despite legal changes. Key Takeaway Address systemic barriers to voting. Themes racism voting rights history justice Mood urgent serious Type political educational When to use this quote - election policy - community organizing - legal reform Key Concepts systemic oppression civil rights Questions to Reflect On - What policies can reduce disenfranchisement? - How can communities empower voters? A Different Perspective Legal fixes alone can't change deep biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) ## Related quotes > [Voting rights expert and legal scholar Pam Karlan reports that as of 2004, there were more black men disenfranchised than in 1870, the year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/voting-rights-expert-and-legal-scholar-pam-karlan-reports-that-as-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Four Millions of people heretofore declared by the highest tribunal in the land, not citizens of the United States, nor eligible to become so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/four-millions-of-people-heretofore-declared-by-the-highest-tribunal/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [As a young child, it became crystal clear to me that there were certain rights and privileges that other people had that my mother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/as-a-young-child-it-became-crystal-clear-to-me-that-there-were/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [Nationwide about 1 in 7 black men are temporarily or permanently disenfranchised due to felon disenfranchisement laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/nationwide-about-1-in-7-black-men-are-temporarily-or-permanently/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If you double count some votes, that makes other votes disenfranchised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ensign/if-you-double-count-some-votes-that-makes-other-votes-disenfranchised/) [John Ensign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ensign/) > [Banning the burkini doesn't produce terrorists. But it does make the people who are already alienated, who are already disenfranchised, I many cases, economically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leiter/banning-the-burkini-doesn-t-produce-terrorists-but-it-does-make-the/) [Michael Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leiter/) > [I think a lot of people have become quite disenfranchised with action films, especially when they hide the choreography with quick cuts and close-ups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-evans/i-think-a-lot-of-people-have-become-quite-disenfranchised-with-action/) [Gareth Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-evans/) > [People who are disenfranchised politically and people who are poor often don't vote. They often don't elect politicians, so the politicians who are supporting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/people-who-are-disenfranchised-politically-and-people-who-are-poor/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [We should figure out how to do this so that some parents don't feel disenfranchised, angry and upset. It says a lot about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-randall/we-should-figure-out-how-to-do-this-so-that-some-parents-don-t-feel/) [Lisa Randall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-randall/) > [Because having your story told as a woman, as a person of color, as a lesbian, as a trans person, or as any member…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-washington/because-having-your-story-told-as-a-woman-as-a-person-of-color-as-a/) [Kerry Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-washington/) > [People can talk about punk all they want, but after new wave put that down, metal is the voice of the disenfranchised and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/people-can-talk-about-punk-all-they-want-but-after-new-wave-put-that/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [We can't continue to sit on our hands and sit idly by as people are being brutalized, disenfranchised, and left out of the system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-can-t-continue-to-sit-on-our-hands-and-sit-idly-by-as-people-are/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [ I enjoyed \[playing lawyer in From The Hip\] as an ode to my dad. My dad went to Harvard and Harvard Law School, so… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-nelson/i-enjoyed-playing-lawyer-in-from-the-hip-as-an-ode-to-my-dad-my-dad/) [Judd Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-nelson/) > [The real damper on employee engagement is the soggy, cold blanket of centralized authority. In most companies, power cascades downwards from the CEO. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/the-real-damper-on-employee-engagement-is-the-soggy-cold-blanket-of/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [Perhaps some day men will raise a tablet reading in letters of gold: 'All honor to women, the first disenfranchised class in history who,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriot-eaton-stanton-blatch/perhaps-some-day-men-will-raise-a-tablet-reading-in-letters-of-gold/) Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch ## 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/) [Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More Disenfranchised quotes > [If you double count some votes, that makes other votes disenfranchised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ensign/if-you-double-count-some-votes-that-makes-other-votes-disenfranchised/) [John Ensign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ensign/) > [Banning the burkini doesn't produce terrorists. But it does make the people who are already alienated, who are already disenfranchised, I many cases, economically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leiter/banning-the-burkini-doesn-t-produce-terrorists-but-it-does-make-the/) [Michael Leiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leiter/) > [People can talk about punk all they want, but after new wave put that down, metal is the voice of the disenfranchised and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/people-can-talk-about-punk-all-they-want-but-after-new-wave-put-that/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [Perhaps some day men will raise a tablet reading in letters of gold: 'All honor to women, the first disenfranchised class in history who,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriot-eaton-stanton-blatch/perhaps-some-day-men-will-raise-a-tablet-reading-in-letters-of-gold/) Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch > [The real damper on employee engagement is the soggy, cold blanket of centralized authority. In most companies, power cascades downwards from the CEO. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/the-real-damper-on-employee-engagement-is-the-soggy-cold-blanket-of/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [ I enjoyed \[playing lawyer in From The Hip\] as an ode to my dad. My dad went to Harvard and Harvard Law School, so… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-nelson/i-enjoyed-playing-lawyer-in-from-the-hip-as-an-ode-to-my-dad-my-dad/) [Judd Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-nelson/) > [We can't continue to sit on our hands and sit idly by as people are being brutalized, disenfranchised, and left out of the system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-can-t-continue-to-sit-on-our-hands-and-sit-idly-by-as-people-are/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Because having your story told as a woman, as a person of color, as a lesbian, as a trans person, or as any member…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-washington/because-having-your-story-told-as-a-woman-as-a-person-of-color-as-a/) [Kerry Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-washington/) > [We should figure out how to do this so that some parents don't feel disenfranchised, angry and upset. It says a lot about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-randall/we-should-figure-out-how-to-do-this-so-that-some-parents-don-t-feel/) [Lisa Randall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-randall/) > [People who are disenfranchised politically and people who are poor often don't vote. They often don't elect politicians, so the politicians who are supporting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/people-who-are-disenfranchised-politically-and-people-who-are-poor/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I think a lot of people have become quite disenfranchised with action films, especially when they hide the choreography with quick cuts and close-ups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-evans/i-think-a-lot-of-people-have-become-quite-disenfranchised-with-action/) [Gareth Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-evans/) > [“How could sixty-two million people vote for someone they heard on tape bragging about repeated sexual assault? How could he attack women, immigrants, Muslims,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/how-could-sixty-two-million-people-vote-for-someone-they-heard-on/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [Worse, the bodies of women, minorities, children, disenfranchised bodies (prisoners, so-called nut cases, etc...) and their truths don't "count" as either present and important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/worse-the-bodies-of-women-minorities-children-disenfranchised-bodies/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [We know that there are people in our nation, black people, who are systematically being disenfranchised in a number of spheres in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/we-know-that-there-are-people-in-our-nation-black-people-who-are/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [It is clear that the photo ID requirement is not a solution to a problem but is instead a political ploy to prevent traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-veasey/it-is-clear-that-the-photo-id-requirement-is-not-a-solution-to-a/) [Marc Veasey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-veasey/) Browse all 77 Disenfranchised quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In 2004, there were more black men disenfranchised than in 1870 - the year the 15th Amendment was ratified, prohibiting laws that deny the right to vote exclusively on the basis of race.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michelle Alexander" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenfranchised-than-in-1870-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disenfranchised" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenfranchised-than-in-1870-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/michelle-alexander-750_disenfranchised_in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenf_948982.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/michelle-alexander-750_disenfranchised_in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenf_948982.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4a/michelle-alexander-750_disenfranchised_in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenf_948982.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In 2004, there were more black men disenfranchised than in 1870 - the year the 15th Amendment was ratified…” — Michelle Alexander", "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": "Michelle Alexander", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In 2004, there were more black...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenfranchised-than-in-1870-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/in-2004-there-were-more-black-men-disenfranchised-than-in-1870-the/#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 } } ] } ```