In 2004, there were more black men disenfranchised than in 1870 - the year the 15th Amendment was ratified, prohibiting laws that deny the right to vote exclusively on the basis of race.
Michelle AlexanderRead
The same kinds of stereotypes and hunches that George Zimmerman used when deciding that, you know, Trayvon Martin seemed like a threat in his neighborhood, law enforcement officers employ all the time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses how stereotypes influence perceptions of threat in society, particularly among law enforcement and individuals.
Michelle Alexander highlights that the biases and assumptions that led George Zimmerman to perceive Trayvon Martin as a threat are not isolated incidents, but reflect a broader issue where law enforcement officers also rely on similar stereotypes and hunches to make judgments about individuals in their communities. This reveals a systemic problem in how fear and prejudice can shape interactions with marginalized groups.
Themes
StereotypeBiasPerceptionLaw EnforcementThreatRaceJudgment
In practice
Example use cases
During a panel discussion on racial profiling, this quote could illustrate how biases affect law enforcement.
More from Michelle Alexander
All quotes →My experience and research has led me to the regrettable conclusion that our system of mass incarceration functions more like a caste system than a system of crime prevention or control.
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The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid. In Washington, D.C., our nation’s capitol, it is estimated that three out of four young black men (and nearly all those in the poorest neighborhoods) can expect to serve time in prison.
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We have avoided in recent years talking openly and honestly about race out of fear that it will alienate and polarize. In my own view, it’s our refusal to deal openly and honestly with race that leads us to keep repeating these cycles of exclusion and division, and rebirthing a caste-like system that we claim we’ve left behind
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No other country in the world imprisons so many of its racial or ethnic minorities. The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid
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There has been an outpouring of anger and concern because of the actions of George Zimmerman, a private citizen who profiled a young boy and pursued him and tried to confront him, perhaps. But what George Zimmerman did is no different than what police officers do every day as a matter of standard operating procedure.
Michelle AlexanderRead
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