--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once labeled a felon, you are ushered…" description: "\"Once labeled a felon, you are ushered into a parallel social universe. You can be denied the right to vote, automatically excluded from juries, and leg..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/michelle-alexander-750_access-to-education_once-labeled-a-felon-you-are-ushered-int_596387.jpg" --- # Once labeled a felon, you are ushered into a parallel… ![“Once labeled a felon, you are ushered into a parallel social universe. You can be denied the right to vote, automatically excluded from juries, and legally discriminated against in employment, housing, access to education and public benefits - forms of discrimination that we supposedly left behind.” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/michelle-alexander-750_access-to-education_once-labeled-a-felon-you-are-ushered-int_596387.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/michelle-alexander-750_access-to-education_once-labeled-a-felon-you-are-ushered-int_596387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/michelle-alexander-750_access-to-education_once-labeled-a-felon-you-are-ushered-int_596387.jpg) > “Once labeled a felon, you are ushered into a parallel social universe. You can be denied the right to vote, automatically excluded from juries, and legally discriminated against in employment, housing, access to education and public benefits - forms of discrimination that we supposedly left behind.” [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. Former felons face systemic barriers in voting, juries, employment, housing, education, and benefits. **In simple terms:** Felons are still discriminated against. Key Takeaway Address legal and social exclusion of ex‑offenders. Themes justice civil rights criminal justice discrimination social inequality Mood reflective determined hopeful Type social legal When to use this quote - voting rights advocacy - rehabilitation programs - legal reform - community support Key Concepts systemic bias legal disenfranchisement reintegration challenges Questions to Reflect On - What policies can reduce post‑conviction discrimination? - How does this affect community stability? A Different Perspective Reforms may be unevenly enforced or resisted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Access to education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/access-to-education/) [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Felon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felon/) [Left behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-behind/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [Those labeled felons may be denied the right to vote, are automatically excluded from juries, and may be legally discriminated against in employment, housing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/those-labeled-felons-may-be-denied-the-right-to-vote-are/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ For the rest of their lives, \[black men\] can be denied the right to vote, automatically excluded from juries, and legally discriminated against in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/for-the-rest-of-their-lives-black-men-can-be-denied-the-right-to-vote/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [All the old forms of discrimination, the forms of discrimination we supposedly left behind, are now perfectly legal once you've been labeled a felon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/all-the-old-forms-of-discrimination-the-forms-of-discrimination-we/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Discrimination in virtually every aspect of political, economic, and social life is now perfectly legal if you've been labeled a felon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/discrimination-in-virtually-every-aspect-of-political-economic-and/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [People return home from prison and face legal discrimination in virtually all areas of social and economic and political life. They are legally discriminated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/people-return-home-from-prison-and-face-legal-discrimination-in/) [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/) > [“Once a person is labeled a felon, he or she is ushered into a parallel universe in which discrimination, stigma, and exclusion are perfectly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/once-a-person-is-labeled-a-felon-he-or-she-is-ushered-into-a-parallel/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Once you're labeled a felon, the old forms of discrimination - employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/once-you-re-labeled-a-felon-the-old-forms-of-discrimination/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Many of the old forms of discrimination that we supposedly left behind during the Jim Crow era are suddenly legal again, once you've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/many-of-the-old-forms-of-discrimination-that-we-supposedly-left/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“More than 2 million people found themselves behind bars at the turn of the twenty-first century, and millions more were relegated to the margins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/more-than-2-million-people-found-themselves-behind-bars-at-the-turn/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Felons are typically stripped of the very rights supposedly won in the civil rights movement, including the right to vote, the right to serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felons-are-typically-stripped-of-the-very-rights-supposedly-won-in/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [More than 2 million people found themselves behind bars at the turn of the twenty-first century, and millions more were relegated to the margins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/more-than-2-million-people-found-themselves-behind-bars-at-the-turn-2/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [For African American children, in particular, the odds are extremely high that they will have a parent or loved one, a relative, who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/for-african-american-children-in-particular-the-odds-are-extremely/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ A felon could plead "benefit of clergy" and be saved by \[reading aloud\] what was aptly enough termed the "neck verse", which was very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/a-felon-could-plead-benefit-of-clergy-and-be-saved-by-reading-aloud/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it. The felon does not fear the police,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/if-violent-crime-is-to-be-curbed-it-is-only-the-intended-victim-who/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) ## 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 Access to education quotes > [Public schools were designed as the great equalizers of our society - the place where all children could have access to educational opportunities to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-napolitano/public-schools-were-designed-as-the-great-equalizers-of-our-society/) [Janet Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-napolitano/) > [A basic element of the American dream is equal access to education as the lubricant of social and economic mobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/a-basic-element-of-the-american-dream-is-equal-access-to-education-as/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [Students who acquire large debts putting themselves through school are unlikely to think about changing society. When you trap people in a system of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/students-who-acquire-large-debts-putting-themselves-through-school/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are 4 billion cell phones in use today. Many of them are in the hands of market vendors, rickshaw drivers, and others who've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/there-are-4-billion-cell-phones-in-use-today-many-of-them-are-in-the/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“Adolescence is a period of life when the brain is malleable, and it represents a good opportunity for learning and social development. However, according…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brockman/adolescence-is-a-period-of-life-when-the-brain-is-malleable-and-it/) [John Brockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brockman/) > [With broadband access, we can revolutionize global access to education, health care, economic empowerment, and the delivery of critical human needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tae-yoo/with-broadband-access-we-can-revolutionize-global-access-to-education/) [Tae Yoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tae-yoo/) > [In my travels all over the world, I have come to realize that what distinguishes one child from another is not ability, but access.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/in-my-travels-all-over-the-world-i-have-come-to-realize-that-what/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [Felons are typically stripped of the very rights supposedly won in the civil rights movement, including the right to vote, the right to serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felons-are-typically-stripped-of-the-very-rights-supposedly-won-in/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [As the photographer, it's challenging to make images that read quickly and are powerful, but have enough humanity and compassion. I've worked on these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-sinclair/as-the-photographer-it-s-challenging-to-make-images-that-read-quickly/) [Stephanie Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-sinclair/) > [“Demographic transition is associated with an increase in the quality of health care and sanitation as well as improved access to education, especially for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-b-reece/demographic-transition-is-associated-with-an-increase-in-the-quality/) Jane B. Reece > [As a former recipient of these services I can honestly say that the overwhelming majority of TANF recipients are hard-working Americans who are down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-moore/as-a-former-recipient-of-these-services-i-can-honestly-say-that-the/) [Gwen Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-moore/) > [Success on the front of women's rights will look like a world not only with obvious advances - where no girl is denied access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/success-on-the-front-of-women-s-rights-will-look-like-a-world-not/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [We've shown again and again, in every UN report on the status of women, that wherever women control their own bodies and have access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/we-ve-shown-again-and-again-in-every-un-report-on-the-status-of-women/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Women want to be free to choose from the same range of options that men take for granted. In our quest for equal pay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/women-want-to-be-free-to-choose-from-the-same-range-of-options-that/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [Kids not only need to read a lot but they need lots of books they can read right at their fingertips.They also need access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allington/kids-not-only-need-to-read-a-lot-but-they-need-lots-of-books-they-can/) [Richard Allington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allington/) [Browse all 58 Access to education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/access-to-education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once labeled a felon, you are ushered into a parallel social universe. 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