Summary

1. M. Alexander claims that the main explanation of why so many people are sent to jail in the U.S. today is deeply wrong. Explain her argument by referring to the various examples she mentions to backup her point. (see p. 1-2)

M. Alexander wrote about the war on drugs and how low income neighborhoods became big targets when it came to drug addiction. She also showed and wrote about how they brought drugs to the black neighborhood.

2. Why is it that racial disparities in the rates of incarceration “cannot be explained by rates of drug crimes”?

Racial disparities in the rates of incarceration cannot be explained by rates of drugs because studies showed how the crime rates was higher when it came to color people due to racial profiling and very aggressive police.

3. How do you understand the phrase: “the American penal system has emerged as a system of social control unparalleled in world history.”?

By reading the article I understood that the American penal system was used to control those of color. It was a tool used for social control in addition to penalizing criminal behaviors. This is on of the reason why the U.S has one of the highest incarcerate people because of The country’s broken system, it has made it easier for the incarceration to occur.