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
It doesn't matter if that felony happened three weeks ago or thirty-five years ago - for the rest of your life, you've got to check that box, knowing full well the odds are sky-high your application is going straight to the trash.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the long-lasting consequences of past mistakes and how they can affect one's future opportunities.
Michelle Alexander's quote emphasizes the enduring impact of a past felony on an individual's life. It illustrates the societal stigma that persists despite the passage of time, suggesting that having a criminal record can unfairly diminish one's chances of success and acceptance in society. The metaphorical 'box' that needs to be checked signifies the burden of a criminal history, while the phrase 'odds are sky-high' reflects the pervasive discrimination faced by those with such a background.
Themes
FelonyConsequencesCriminal RecordOpportunitySocietyStigma
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about criminal justice reform, this quote can illustrate the need for second chances.
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.
Michelle AlexanderRead
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.
Michelle AlexanderRead
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
Michelle AlexanderRead
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
Michelle AlexanderRead
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
Similar quotes
I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
My books are not about how it feels to be a black man. My books are about how it feels to be a human being, and part of what I'm trying to sort out is what we mean - what I mean, what you mean, what everybody in the culture means - when they say 'black man,' or they say 'white person.'
John Edgar WidemanRead
On tue un homme, on est un assassin. On tue des millions d'hommes, on est un conquérant. On les tue tous, on est un dieu._x000D_ _x000D_ Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you are a god.
Jean RostandRead
Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see.
Helen KellerRead
Even those who fancy themselves the most progressive will fight against other kinds of progress, for each of us is convinced that our way is the best way.
Louis L'AmourRead
It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority. For there is a reserve of latent power in the masses which, if it is called into play, the minority can seldom resist. But from the absolute will of an entire people there is no appeal, no redemption, no refuge but treason.
Lord ActonRead