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sethdmichaels.bsky.social · @sethdmichaels.bsky.social@bridge.neodb.net

Rated The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness 10/10

This book is very tough to read but, I think, very important to read as well. The basic outline of her case is irrefutable - that the criminal justice system, and in particular the set of policies and practices that comprise the drug war, have a large-scale and pervasive effect of racial discrimination. <br/><br/>I am reasonably well-informed and pretty pessimistic about these issues, but even given that, I still found a lot of facts in here that are astonishing, and she lays out her case clearly and powerfully. <br/><br/>The things she talks about - politics, policing, the court system, employment, housing - all interlock to form what she calls "a set of structural arrangements that locks a racially distinct group into a subordinate political, social, and economic position" - and it's easy to see how it can become self-perpetuating, and how it's essentially unrelated to actual crime rates. <br/><br/>I highly recommend it; I think it's a really well-made argument and an important issue to confront.

#book

Published 2026-08-18 17:03 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere