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
Once you're labeled a felon, the old forms of discrimination - employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational opportunity, denial of food stamps and other public benefits, and exclusion from jury service - are suddenly legal. As a criminal, you have scarcely more rights, and largely less respect, than a black man living in Alabama at the height of Jim Crow. We have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the systematic discrimination faced by felons, comparing it to racial discrimination in the Jim Crow era.
Michelle Alexander's quote highlights the ongoing systemic discrimination against felons in America, emphasizing that once labeled a felon, individuals face legal barriers akin to those faced by African Americans under Jim Crow laws. The quote suggests that while overt racial segregation may have ceased, a new form of social and legal caste system persists, which disproportionately affects marginalized groups, revealing deep-rooted injustices in the societal fabric.
Themes
FelonDiscriminationJusticeInequalitySystemicRacial CasteAmerica
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on criminal justice reform, this quote could highlight the ongoing struggles faced by ex-offenders.
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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