1. Alexander argues that the common explanation is wrong. People think mass incarceration happened because the government responded to the crack crisis. But the timeline is backwards. Reagan declared the drugs war in 1982. This was before crack became a media issue or crisis in Black neighborhoods. The administration hired staff in 1985 to publicize crack. This was part of a plan to build public support for the war they already declared. She also points out that the drug war began when illegal drug use was going down, not up. This goes against the idea that it was a response to more drug crime.
  2. Alexzander explains that studies show people of all races use and sell illegal drugs at similar rates. Surveys sometimes suggest whites, especially white youth, are more likely to do drug crime than people of color. But despite these similar usage patterns, Black men go to prison on drug charges at rates twenty to fifty times higher than white men in some states. This huge difference in imprisonment cannot be explained by actual differences in drug crime behavior.
  3. This phrase means the American prison system works mainly as a tool for controlling certain populations rather than dealing with crime. Alexzander supports this by noting that punishment level are choose by governments separate from crime rates. The U.S. has similar crime rates to other Western countries but much higher incarceration rates. The system crates a permanent group of people, mostly Black, who are kept out of mainstream society through criminal records that allow lifelong legal discrimination.

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