Play Book Tag discussion

The New Jim Crow is powerful in the depth of the research and strength of the argument. I kind of "knew" of the prison pipeline , that the War on Drugs was not really aimed at the young white folk and that colorblindness is more harmful than good. I mean I taught in schools in the Bronx and I tried to be aware. But I had no idea of the how deep and systemic the problem, the racism, ran to continue to exclude a huge section of the population from being equal members of society. People are evil clever and it is so frustrating to hear how entrenched the bias is and that the legal channels to making change have been basically shut down. The system is the problem, even if the individuals (police, lawyers, judges) don't agree, they are stuck with the current policies or just not recognizing the not intending to be racist is not the same as being free of race bias. I can't imagine that there is any improvement since Obama left office.

It is appalling to hear that man can get 5 years imprisonment, labeled a felon and denied basics such as support for food, housing and employment, even voting rights, which he would need to make a different life for 5 joints of marijuana. I've seen plenty of white people with more than that and zero fear of a raid or getting caught. The unfairness of this and so many other examples described the author is beyond belief and heart breaking. She says that this is just the start of the discussion but I would love to understand more on how to make real change in the criminal justice system.

I thought this was already on my want-to-read, but it wasn't... now adding!

I would highly recommend Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America or even the YA version Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You which is maybe more broadly a history of racism. (if you haven't read this already)

Meli wrote: "I thought this was already on my want-to-read, but it wasn't... now adding!

I would highly recommend Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America ..."

Thanks for the recommendation! I'd be interested to see others' views on the book.

I would also recommend Thick: And Other Essays... the essays are more specifically social observations / analysis from a black feminist point of view, but I learned a lot from the collection and I feel like it's help deepen my understanding of racism, its various forms, and impact on people / society.

I've been meaning to read this one for a while now. I will definitely have to move these up the list!

Great review Jen. I think things started getting worse even while Obama was in office. There was a backlash by people angry that a black man was president, and resentment because they feared white men were being discriminated against. Then Trump came along to comfort them.

Absolutely! The author talked about how "everyone" was afraid to bring up race issues while Obama was in the office as to not upset others even more and create extra barriers. She also stated that Obama continued a very hard stance on keeping "law and order" with harsh mandatory sentences and continued funding for the "war" on drugs which did not help improve the system at all.

While the seed of coding "law and order" as segregation and keeping black people in a lower social order started with Nixon and Reagan, the worst of the system really happened under Clinton and continued under Obama. Neither party is very innocent unfortunately and it shows how embedded and socially acceptable it is to maintain the system as criminals "choose" that path and deserve "punishment". The question is if punishment is fair and reasonable.

Great review Jen - definitely one for the list, and to read sooner rather than later.