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
All the old forms of discrimination, the forms of discrimination we supposedly left behind, are now perfectly legal once you've been labeled a felon.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Discrimination persists under legal frameworks that marginalize individuals with felony labels.
In this quote, Michelle Alexander highlights the issue of systemic discrimination against individuals who have been labeled as felons, suggesting that despite progress in civil rights, a new form of discrimination has taken root within the legal system. This quote draws attention to the societal implications of labeling, as such labels can create a societal hierarchy, limiting opportunities and perpetuating inequality despite the advancement against historical discrimination.
Themes
DiscriminationFelonJusticeEqualitySystemic
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech advocating for criminal justice reform, one might quote Alexander to emphasize the ongoing challenges faced by individuals post-incarceration.
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
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