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
Prisoners do matter when analyzing the severity of racial inequality in the U.S. Yet because they are out of sight and out of mind, it is easy to imagine that we are making far more racial progress than we actually are.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the often-overlooked plight of prisoners in discussions of racial inequality, emphasizing that their absence from public consciousness can distort perceptions of progress.
Michelle Alexander's quote underscores the critical importance of considering prisoners in the broader conversations about racial inequality in the United States. It suggests that by ignoring this population, society can mistakenly believe that significant advancements have been made, thereby minimizing the ongoing struggles against systemic racism. The quote calls for a more inclusive analysis of racial progress, emphasizing the need to acknowledge and address the realities faced by incarcerated individuals.
Themes
Racial InequalityPrisonersJusticeSystemic RacismSocial Progress
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on social justice, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of including marginalized voices in discussions about racial progress.
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.
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