The New Jim Crow: Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis

Alexander describes an event in September 2007 when African-American celebrities, activists, and young people gathered in Jena, Louisiana, to protest the fate of the “Jena 6”: six black teenagers charged with attempted murder of their white classmate. Reverend Al Sharpton declared: “We've gone from plantations to penitentiaries,” and statistics about mass incarceration were read aloud. The protest was a success; most of the charges were dropped. Yet Alexander can’t help but think of the parents of other young people who have been unjustly locked up with no attention from protesters or the media. She suggests that people only took note of the Jena 6 because of a hangman’s noose that had been hung up as a “prank” in the area—a sign of the “old-fashioned racism” of the past. Alexander argues that we need to learn to recognize and be enraged about less obvious examples of racism if we are to have any hope of tackling the racism of the present era.

Alexander argues that the “collective denial” of the general public over the issue of mass incarceration is somewhat understandable, given the widespread misinformation about the criminal justice system. She is less forgiving of the denial exhibited by civil rights advocates, who she suggests are neither ignorant of nor indifferent to the injustice of the War on Drugs, but have been swept along with the overall consensus of ignoring mass incarceration. Alexander corrects the popular misconception that “civil rights lawyers are the most important players in racial justice advocacy,” arguing that it is grassroots organizers who create the climate in which legal change can take place. The success of the civil rights movement meant that many racial justice organizations were overtaken with lawyers; although this helped to win cases, it risked making these organizations somewhat out of touch with changes taking place on the ground.

Alexander admits that the most successful policy for civil rights advocates thus far has been finding the most sympathetic, “respectable” figures—such as Rosa Parks—and using them as the public faces of legal campaigns. This method works less well in the context of mass incarceration, however, because few people “caught up in the criminal justice system have less than flawless backgrounds.” However, simply ignoring felons is hardly a good option either. Because the incarcerated population is not counted in censuses, the public tends to have an overly rosy picture of the economic status of African Americans, as a large percentage of the poorest black people are excluded from the data. This false impression is not helped by the fact that civil rights advocacy tends to focus on subsections of the black population such as “innocent doctors and lawyers stopped and searched on freeways” or “innocent middle-and-upper middle class black children” who risk losing their Ivy league admissions if affirmative action is eradicated.

Alexander admits that she won’t lay out a detailed plan for the best course of action, but rather hopes to inspire people to come up with their own solutions. She begins by arguing that isolated incidents of criminal justice reform are “futile” on their own; even if small victories are won, these will be subsumed under the overall system unless that system is changed at its core. One priority should be attacking private-sector investment in prisons, which can be highly lucrative. Alexander also stresses that the War on Drugs must end, an incredibly complex and daunting task. Dismantling the drug war would include the end of racial profiling, demilitarization of ordinary police forces, eradication of drug forfeiture laws, revocation of mandatory sentences, legalization of marijuana (and potentially other drugs), in addition to a great many other steps.

Alexander evokes the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., who claimed that winning in “the court of public opinion” was more important than any legal victory. Winning over public opinion will involve significantly changing popular conceptions about race, drugs, and crime. Such sweeping change should not come at the expense of ongoing efforts at reform; rather, the two tactics must be synthesized into one overall movement. At the same time, too much reform can risk legitimizing the very system it is supposed to erode. Alexander emphasizes that while a system of crime control is of course necessary, the system currently in operation is doing a poor job; indeed, some researchers have concluded that mass incarceration causes more crime than it prevents.

Alexander mentions that projects such as Lifeline and Operation Ceasefire, which offer opportunities and resources to gang members if they promise to stop engaging in criminal activity, have proven successful. Another important step is to start talking about race “openly and honestly” in order to improve understandings of unconscious bias and other forms of racism fueling the War on Drugs. Alexander emphasizes that although it will be tempting to accept the “race-neutral” solutions to mass incarceration currently being offered, history teaches us that this will not work out well in the end. Although it may seem like a “colorblind” approach is the progressive way forward, ignoring race is the far more dangerous move. Alexander reminds the reader that Martin Luther King, Jr. argued that racial “blindness and indifference” actually plays a more powerful role in creating racial inequality than explicit hatred.

Alexander moves on to critique “cosmetic racial diversity,” which she argues has too often been made to stand in for genuine racial justice. It is easy for reforms to make systems look equal and fair when they are actually still deeply discriminatory; Alexander suggests that affirmative action is one such reform. Although she acknowledges that affirmative action has made a positive difference in many people’s lives, it has also legitimized the idea that American society is basically fair and meritocratic, rather than structured by a racial caste system, all while taking up disproportionate media attention. Alexander suspects that the civil rights community will be particularly hesitant to revise affirmative action, as it is the racial justice issue that is most likely to affect them directly. Unfortunately, watching black youth who grow up to become lawyers and even presidents risks distracting people from the horrific and racist brutality that remains at the heart of the American legal system today.

Alexander argues that including “people of color in power structures, particularly at the top, can paralyze reform efforts.” This refers both to the black and Latino police officers who are presented as evidence that the police in general aren’t racist, as well as to the highest office in the nation: the position of president. To some extent, the 2008 election was a hopeful moment in the fight against mass incarceration; Obama has openly discussed his own recreational drug use as a young man and at first seemed to be opposed to the War on Drugs. Obama’s Vice President Joe Biden, however, is “one of the Senate's most strident drug warriors” who wrote the notorious Crime Bill of 1994. Obama then chose to increase funding for the drug war, surpassing the pace set by his Republican predecessor George W. Bush. Alexander suggests that black people have not been sufficiently proactive in critiquing Obama’s (hypocritical) support for the War on Drugs.

Alexander cites an Oakland-based organization called “All of Us or None,” whose name evokes an anti-racist politics based on uplift of those who are most vulnerable. She argues that in the wake of Jim Crow, more attention should have been paid to developing an interracial solidarity movement that united people of color with working-class whites whose lives had been “rocked” by desegregation. Alexander urges that the time has come for everyone to give up their “racial bribes” and fight for those who have been forgotten, excluded, and left behind. She stresses that racial justice advocates must ensure that “America’s current racial caste system is its last.”

Alexander argues that in 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. attempted to shift the civil rights movement into a “human rights movement” with “revolutionary potential.” Unfortunately, civil rights advocacy has made little progress beyond the point at which King left it when he was assassinated. In order to have a real chance at achieving justice, civil rights must center the humanity of every person, regardless of whether they are poor, black, and/or a felon. Alexander admits that when the voices of those caught up in the criminal justice system are finally amplified, they may be full of “rage.” Instead of being met with shame or fear, however, these voices should be met with “truth.”

Alexander finishes the book with a quote by James Baldwin, taken from the published letter Baldwin wrote to his nephew in 1962. In the letter, Baldwin curses the “innocence” of white America, which is itself a kind of crime. He tells his nephew to remain strong and be inspired by the resilience of the ancestors that came before him, and promises him that America can be made into “what it must become.” Finally, Baldwin asserts: “We cannot be free until they are free,” before wishing his nephew luck.