--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This book argues that mass incarceration…" description: "\"“This book argues that mass incarceration is, metaphorically, the New Jim Crow and that all those who care about social justice should fully commit the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/michelle-alexander-750_affirmative-action_this-book-argues-that-mass-incarceration_2557581.png" --- # This book argues that mass incarceration is… ![“This book argues that mass incarceration is, metaphorically, the New Jim Crow and that all those who care about social justice should fully commit themselves to dismantling this new racial caste system. Mass incarceration - not attacks on affirmative action or lax civil rights enforcement - is the…” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/michelle-alexander-750_affirmative-action_this-book-argues-that-mass-incarceration_2557581.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/michelle-alexander-750_affirmative-action_this-book-argues-that-mass-incarceration_2557581.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/michelle-alexander-750_affirmative-action_this-book-argues-that-mass-incarceration_2557581.png) > ““This book argues that mass incarceration is, metaphorically, the New Jim Crow and that all those who care about social justice should fully commit themselves to dismantling this new racial caste system. Mass incarceration - not attacks on affirmative action or lax civil rights enforcement - is the most damaging manifestation of the backlash against the Civil Rights Movement. The popular narrative that emphasizes the death of slavery and Jim Crow and celebrates the nation's 'triumph over race' with the election of Barack Obama, is dangerously misguided. The colorblind public consensus that prevails in American today - i.e., the widespread belief that race no longer matters - has blinded us to the realities of race in our society and facilitated the emergence of a new caste system.”” [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 functions as a modern racial caste system, undermining civil rights progress. **In simple terms:** Prison system creates a new racial hierarchy. Key Takeaway Recognize and fight systemic racism in criminal justice. Themes justice racism policy civil rights incarceration systemic oppression Mood urgent somber Type activist analytical When to use this quote - legislative advocacy - community organizing - education campaigns - voting - legal defense Key Concepts structural racism mass incarceration social justice legal reform Questions to Reflect On - How does the prison system reinforce inequality? - What actions can dismantle this new caste system? A Different Perspective Changing entrenched legal frameworks is politically challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affirmative action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmative-action/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Caste system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caste-system/) [Civil Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-right/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [Civil rights movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-movement/) [Incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarceration/) [Jim crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jim-crow/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Mass incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-incarceration/) [New Jim Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-jim-crow/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Social justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-justice/) ## Related quotes > [“This book argues that mass incarceration is, metaphorically, the New Jim Crow and that all those who care about social justice should fully commit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/this-book-argues-that-mass-incarceration-is-metaphorically-the-new-2/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Mass incarceration—not attacks on affirmative action or lax civil rights enforcement—is the most damaging manifestation of the backlash against the Civil Rights Movement”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/mass-incarceration-not-attacks-on-affirmative-action-or-lax-civil/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [I think this mythology - that we're all beyond race, of course our police officers aren't racist, of course our politicians don't mean any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/i-think-this-mythology-that-we-re-all-beyond-race-of-course-our/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“History reveals that the seeds of the new system of control were planted well before the end of the Civil Rights Movement. A new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/history-reveals-that-the-seeds-of-the-new-system-of-control-were-2/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“History reveals that the seeds of the new system of control were planted well before the end of the Civil Rights Movement. A new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/history-reveals-that-the-seeds-of-the-new-system-of-control-were/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The fact that more than half of the young black men in any large American city are currently under the control of the criminal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-fact-that-more-than-half-of-the-young-black-men-in-any-large/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [A new race-neutral language was developed for appealing to old racist sentiments, a language accompanied by a political movement that succeeded in putting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-race-neutral-language-was-developed-for-appealing-to-old-racist/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Merely reducing sentence length, by itself, does not disturb the basic architecture of the New Jim Crow. So long as large numbers of African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/merely-reducing-sentence-length-by-itself-does-not-disturb-the-basic/) [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/) > [As described in 'The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,' the cyclical rebirth of caste in America is a recurring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/as-described-in-the-new-jim-crow-mass-incarceration-in-the-age-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Ninety percent of those admitted to prison for drug offenses in many states were black or Latino, yet the mass incarceration of communities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/ninety-percent-of-those-admitted-to-prison-for-drug-offenses-in-many-2/) [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/) > [“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/) ## More by Michelle Alexander > [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. 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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 Affirmative action quotes > [The fact is that in too many parts of our country, we still have discrimination. 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Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Affirmative action has a negative effect on our society when it means counting us like so many beans and dividing us into separate piles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/affirmative-action-has-a-negative-effect-on-our-society-when-it-means/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) [Browse all 231 Affirmative action quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmative-action/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This book argues that mass incarceration is, metaphorically, the New Jim Crow and that all those who care about social justice should fully commit themselves to dismantling this new racial caste system. Mass incarceration - not attacks on affirmative action or lax civil rights enforcement - is the most damaging manifestation of the backlash against the Civil Rights Movement. 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