--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What has changed since the collapse of…" description: "\"What has changed since the collapse of Jim Crow has less to do with the basic structure of our society than with the language we use to justify it. In ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/michelle-alexander-750_behinds_what-has-changed-since-the-collapse-of-j_1682724.jpg" --- # What has changed since the collapse of Jim Crow has less… ![“What has changed since the collapse of Jim Crow has less to do with the basic structure of our society than with the language we use to justify it. In the era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and…” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/michelle-alexander-750_behinds_what-has-changed-since-the-collapse-of-j_1682724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/michelle-alexander-750_behinds_what-has-changed-since-the-collapse-of-j_1682724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/michelle-alexander-750_behinds_what-has-changed-since-the-collapse-of-j_1682724.jpg) > “What has changed since the collapse of Jim Crow has less to do with the basic structure of our society than with the language we use to justify it. In the era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt. So we don't. Rather than rely on race, we use our criminal justice system to label people of color "criminals" and then engage in all the practices 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. Systemic racism persists through language and policies that replace overt race discrimination with criminal justice bias. **In simple terms:** Racism shifts to criminal justice language. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge coded language. Themes racism justice language policy systemic Mood critical reflective Type analytical social commentary When to use this quote - legal reform - education - community advocacy - policy analysis Key Concepts structural racism colorblindness criminalization Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape our perception of fairness? - What policies reveal hidden racial bias? A Different Perspective Language can mask bias, making it harder to confront. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Collapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Colorblindness Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colorblindness-longer-974249/) [Contempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/) [Criminal justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal-justice/) [Criminal justice system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal-justice-system/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crow/) [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Eras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eras/) [Exclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusion/) [Jim crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jim-crow/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-system/) [Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) [Justify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justify/) [Labels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-behind/) [Our society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-society/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-use-974248/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Rely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rely/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [It is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt. So we don't. Rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/it-is-no-longer-socially-permissible-to-use-race-explicitly-as-a/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“In the era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/in-the-era-of-colorblindness-it-is-no-longer-socially-permissible-to/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“In the era of colorblindness, it is no longer permissible to hate blacks, but we can hate criminals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/in-the-era-of-colorblindness-it-is-no-longer-permissible-to-hate/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [After reading The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander's stunning work of scholarship, one gains the terrible realization that, for people of color, the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levering-lewis/after-reading-the-new-jim-crow-michelle-alexander-s-stunning-work-of/) [David Levering Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levering-lewis/) > [People talk about Jim Crow as if it's dead. Jim Crow isn't gone. It's adjusted. Look at the disproportionate sentences meted out to blacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldis-hodge/people-talk-about-jim-crow-as-if-it-s-dead-jim-crow-isn-t-gone-it-s/) [Aldis Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldis-hodge/) > [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/) > [“The language of caste may well seem foreign or unfamiliar to some. Public discussions about racial caste in America are relatively rare. We avoid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-language-of-caste-may-well-seem-foreign-or-unfamiliar-to-some/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“The process occurs in two stages. The first step is to grant law enforcement officials extraordinary discretion regarding whom to stop, search, arrest, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-process-occurs-in-two-stages-the-first-step-is-to-grant-law/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The Supreme Court has made it nearly impossible to prove race discrimination in the criminal justice system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-supreme-court-has-made-it-nearly-impossible-to-prove-race/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“What this book intended to do - the only thing it is intended to do - is to stimulate a much-needed conversation about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/what-this-book-intended-to-do-the-only-thing-it-is-intended-to-do-is/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The education justice movement and the prison justice movement have been operating separately in many places as though they're in silos. But the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-education-justice-movement-and-the-prison-justice-movement-have/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We need transformational change of our criminal justice system - not just, you know, a handful of consent decrees or policy reforms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-need-transformational-change-of-our-criminal-justice-system-not/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The fact that our legal system has become so tolerant of police lying indicates how corrupted our criminal justice system has become by declarations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-fact-that-our-legal-system-has-become-so-tolerant-of-police-lying/) [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/) > [“Although a million black men can be found in prisons and jails, public acknowledgment of the role of the criminal justice system in "disappearing"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/although-a-million-black-men-can-be-found-in-prisons-and-jails-public/) [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 Behinds quotes > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [God hides Himself behind causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rollin/god-hides-himself-behind-causes/) [Charles Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rollin/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Behind every word flows energy. If you use your words to gossip or babble about what you are going to do before you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/behind-every-word-flows-energy-if-you-use-your-words-to-gossip-or/) [Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [And the seasons they go 'round and 'round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/and-the-seasons-they-go-round-and-round-and-the-painted-ponies-go-up/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm really thankful to God, man. Like now, I'm really making a real comeback with my group. With or without a record, with or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ike-turner/i-m-really-thankful-to-god-man-like-now-i-m-really-making-a-real/) [Ike Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ike-turner/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) [Browse all 6,789 Behinds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What has changed since the collapse of Jim Crow has less to do with the basic structure of our society than with the language we use to justify it. In the era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt. So we don't. 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