--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: of the nearly 7.3 million people…" description: "\"“of the nearly 7.3 million people currently under correctional control, only 1.6 million are in prison.27 This caste system extends far beyond prison w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/michelle-alexander-750_caste-system_of-the-nearly-7-3-million-people-current_3096524.png" --- # of the nearly 7.3 million people currently under… ![“of the nearly 7.3 million people currently under correctional control, only 1.6 million are in prison.27 This caste system extends far beyond prison walls and governs millions of people who are on probation and parole, primarily for nonviolent offenses. They have been swept into the system…” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/michelle-alexander-750_caste-system_of-the-nearly-7-3-million-people-current_3096524.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/michelle-alexander-750_caste-system_of-the-nearly-7-3-million-people-current_3096524.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/750/michelle-alexander-750_caste-system_of-the-nearly-7-3-million-people-current_3096524.png) > ““of the nearly 7.3 million people currently under correctional control, only 1.6 million are in prison.27 This caste system extends far beyond prison walls and governs millions of people who are on probation and parole, primarily for nonviolent offenses. They have been swept into the system, branded criminals or felons, and ushered into a permanent second-class status—acquiring records that will follow them for life.”” [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. Mass incarceration creates a caste system extending beyond prisons, imposing lifelong stigma on millions. **In simple terms:** Mass incarceration creates a lifelong caste. Key Takeaway Challenge systemic injustice. Themes justice race incarceration systemic inequality Mood somber urgent Type analytical advocacy When to use this quote - Policy debate - activist organizing - personal advocacy Key Concepts Criminal justice reform social stratification Questions to Reflect On - How can society dismantle the caste of incarceration? - What role does public perception play? A Different Perspective Reforming laws alone may not erase deep social stigma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Caste system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caste-system/) [Class status](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-status/) [Correctional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/correctional-646922/) [Correctional Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/correctional-control-2871361/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Criminals Felons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals-felons-3220376/) [Currently Correctional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currently-correctional-5347250/) [People Probation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-probation-5153498/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) ## Related quotes > [Today 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/today-there-are-more-african-americans-under-correctional-control-in-2/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/today-there-are-more-african-americans-under-correctional-control-in/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [People on probation and parole are typically denied the right to vote, and in eleven states people are denied the right to vote even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/people-on-probation-and-parole-are-typically-denied-the-right-to-vote/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ Eventually \[black men\] are arrested, whether they've committed any serious crime or not, and branded criminals or felons for life. Upon release, they're ushered… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/eventually-black-men-are-arrested-whether-they-ve-committed-any/) [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/) > [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/) > [“More African American adults are under correctional control today – in prison or jail, on probation or parole – than were enslaved in 1850,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/more-african-american-adults-are-under-correctional-control-today-in-2/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [For reasons that have stunningly little to do with crime or crime rates, we, as a nation, have chosen to lock up more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/for-reasons-that-have-stunningly-little-to-do-with-crime-or-crime/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Public housing officials are free to discriminate against you on the basis of criminal records, including arrest records. And so, you know, what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/public-housing-officials-are-free-to-discriminate-against-you-on-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“We could choose to be a nation that extends care, compassion, and concern to those who are locked up and locked out or headed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-could-choose-to-be-a-nation-that-extends-care-compassion-and/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Once you've acquired a criminal record, you can be discriminated against legally in employment, housing, and access to education and public benefits. You're relegated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/once-you-ve-acquired-a-criminal-record-you-can-be-discriminated/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“As historian Lerone Bennett Jr. eloquently reminds us, 'A nation is a choice.' We could choose to be a nation that extends care, compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/as-historian-lerone-bennett-jr-eloquently-reminds-us-a-nation-is-a/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Certainly youth of color, particularly those in ghetto communities, find themselves born into the cage. They are born into a community in which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/certainly-youth-of-color-particularly-those-in-ghetto-communities/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Merely reducing prison terms does not have a major impact on the majority of people in the system. It is the badge of inferiority—the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/merely-reducing-prison-terms-does-not-have-a-major-impact-on-the/) [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/) ## 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 Caste system quotes > [Class - or the economic status of individuals - is evident in all societies, some very well stratified by a rigid caste system determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/class-or-the-economic-status-of-individuals-is-evident-in-all/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [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/) > [Many immigrants do not talk about what they endured back home. They were fleeing that world, and when they left they didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-immigrants-do-not-talk-about-what-they-endured-back-home-they/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) > [“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 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/) > [“there is no inconsistency whatsoever between the election of Barack Obama to the highest office in the land and the existence of a racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/there-is-no-inconsistency-whatsoever-between-the-election-of-barack/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“B.R. Ambedkar believed the tale was not so much about Ram’s character as it was about the unsustainability of the caste system that needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/b-r-ambedkar-believed-the-tale-was-not-so-much-about-ram-s-character/) [Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/) > [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/) > [“While the Reconstruction Era was fraught with corruption and arguably doomed by the lack of land reform, the sweeping economic and political developments in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/while-the-reconstruction-era-was-fraught-with-corruption-and-arguably/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cahill/two-men-went-up-into-the-temple-to-pray-the-one-a-pharisee-and-the/) [Mark Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cahill/) > [Comics have a caste system - an editor has to act in a certain way, an artist has to be humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kirby/comics-have-a-caste-system-an-editor-has-to-act-in-a-certain-way-an/) [Jack Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kirby/) > [The West remains obsessed by the caste system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-gautier/the-west-remains-obsessed-by-the-caste-system/) [Francois Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-gautier/) > [“The origin of the caste system, formulated by the great legislator Manu, was admirable. He saw clearly that men are distinguished by natural evolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/the-origin-of-the-caste-system-formulated-by-the-great-legislator/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Because of the caste system, because of the fact that there is no social link between those who make the decisions and those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/because-of-the-caste-system-because-of-the-fact-that-there-is-no/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“You do not win by struggling to the top of a caste system, you win by refusing to be trapped within one at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-do-not-win-by-struggling-to-the-top-of-a-caste-system-you-win-by/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) [Browse all 100 Caste system quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caste-system/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“of the nearly 7.3 million people currently under correctional control, only 1.6 million are in prison.27 This caste system extends far beyond prison walls and governs millions of people who are on probation and parole, primarily for nonviolent offenses. 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