VIDEO- MASS INCARCERATION AND THE FUTURE OF RACE IN AMERICA

Who is Michelle Alexander?

She is a civil rights lawyer, legal scholar, and author of The New Jim Crow.

According to Alexander

what is needed to address mass incarceration?, A large-scale racial justice movement focused on ending the War on Drugs, transforming policing, and restoring rights.

What does Alexander say about the relationship between slavery and mass incarceration?

Mass incarceration is a modern racial caste system that evolved from slavery and Jim Crow.

What does Alexander say about the relationship between mass incarceration and crime rates?

Incarceration rose even as crime fell, showing the system is not driven by crime but by politics and racial control.

What is a caste system according to Alexander?

A rigid social hierarchy that traps a racial group at the bottom with limited rights and opportunities.

What does Alexander say about felony disenfranchisement?

Millions of people—disproportionately Black—cannot vote because of felony convictions.

What does Alexander say about the significance of the War on Drugs?

It fueled mass incarceration by targeting Black communities, even though they do not use drugs at higher rates.

How does mass incarceration affect families and communities?

It destabilizes families, increases poverty, and harms long-term community well-being.

What does Alexander argue is required for meaningful change?

Public awareness, collective action, policy reform, and confronting racial prejudice embedded in the system.