The New Jim Crow: Intro and Chapter 1

A lot of what was said in the introduction of The New Jim Crow reminded me of our discussion last class, in which we were debating whether policy changes are more crucial than ideological changes and which one needs to come first. It seems apparent to me that the ideological shift in the form of a social movement is the crux of Michelle Alexander's argument for change, given how adaptable the racial caste system is: "the history of racial caste...would end with the Civil War if the idea of race and racial indifference had died when the institution of slavery was put to rest" (Alexander 26). Therefore, I would argue that the ideological shift is much more important than any policy, which are at times implemented for reasons other than racial justice. Given that we live in a racially stratified country and have a racial caste system despite the fact that overt racism and bigotry is taboo, it is clear that systemic racism is the larger issue and  because of this racism built into certain institutions often goes unnoticed and disparities in wealth and success are often justified by harmful stereotypes. How can we expect policies that defend affirmative action to stop white people from believing that their nonwhite colleagues got a leg up or an advantage, if their white privilege allows them to overlook the fact  that their white skin has provided them with unbelievable advantages.
Alexander makes a valid point about how overlooked the criminal justice system is.
Although I've always viewed the War on Drugs as a failure and  full of racial bias and I recognize how corrupt the system is as well as how ineffective jail is, but I never saw it or the criminal justice system as forms of social control.  It was only in college that I became aware of how truly racist it is, and I was horrified to find out about private prisons and the ways in which  judges and the owners of the prisons profited from putting people in jail as well as utilizing them for free labor. What's more, it was only recently that I became aware about the exorbitant court fees that people are expected to pay once they leave prison, which often lands them back in jail after they are unable to afford them. On that note, I am continuously astounded about how much the education system has failed me and my peers in terms of giving us an honest account of the history and current reality of our country. I remember how shocking it was to learn that there was such a thing as "crooked cops," this force of people who we are told to trust from elementary school on. Of course, these cops aren't an issue for me as a middle class white girl, but it was disillusioning nonetheless to realize that they weren't the benevolent force I'd been told to see them as. As Alexander points out, "the story that is told during Black History Month is one of triumph" (21). This was certainly true at my school as well, where the focus was slavery and the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights Movement were glossed over. MLK was a whitewashed figure who believed in peace and wanted everyone to get along. It astounds me how much was left out about him. I think it's important to mention how we often elevate the black people who have "made it" as proof of our equality, much in the same way we emphasize successful women to claim that sexism no longer exists. These people are  the exceptions and not the rule, and at times have to play by the rules of the dominant ideology in order to ascend at all.