Michelle Alexanders argument in The New Jim Crow challenges the common belief that mass incarceration is simply in response to increased crime. She explains that this idea is “deeply wrong” and that the real reason for the explosion in imprisonment is hidden behind “a veil of misinformation” (p.
1). Alexander highlights how the criminal justice system, especially during the war on drugs, functions as a racial caste system by using “race-neutral language and seemingly race-neutral policies”(p.2) to disproportionately target Black communities.

One sticking fact she shares is that Black Americans make up only 13% of drug users but account for nearly 80% of those imprisoned during offenses (p.2). This disproves the argument that racial disparities in incarceration can be explained by drug crime rates,showing instead that enforcement is deeply biased.

Alexanders claim that “the American penal system has emerged as a system of racial control that functions in a manner strikingly similar to Jim Crow”(p.2) points to the larger role prisions play beyond punishment they are a tool of social control that create a “permanent second-class status”(p.2) for millions. This highlights how mass incarceration continues systemic racial oppression in a unique and far-reaching way.