The population of the US accounts for only 5% of the global human population. Despite constituting a rather small proportion of the world’s population, the country hosts 25% of the incarcerated (Liptak, 2008). The situation today is the result of unwise and ineffective policies. For example, the war on drugs has been labelled ineffective as it has only resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of thousands, many of whom are African American. The tough policies instituted to discourage criminal behavior have particularly affected the black community in the US. By the time they attain the age of 14, 25% African American children have had at least one of their parents spend time at a correctional facility (Strauss, 2017). This fact highlights how the policies that the US has implemented have unfairly affected the African American community. A critical analysis of these policies and the consequent incarceration of members of this community reveals that they are racist, ineffective and comparable to the Jim Crow laws. In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander likens the mass incarceration to the Jim Crow era and her comparison echoes the sentiments of Marvin Dulaney and Ava DuVernay in Black Police in America and 13 th , respectively.
Mass Incarceration and Jim Crow
Alexander compares mass incarceration to the racist segregation policies that were in place during the Jim Crow era. She notes that during this era, black slaves were denied the vote to participate in such democratic processes as voting (Alexander, 2010). Essentially, African Americans could neither define their lives nor determine their destiny. She proceeds to note that this is still the case. African Americans who are regarded as felons and have been released on parole are not permitted to vote. To understand why the incarceration of African Americans is comparable to the Jim Crow laws, one needs to examine the forces that push thousands of many black Americans into prison. In 13 th , one of those interviewed shares that African Americans are the product of the choices that their ancestors did not make (DuVernay, 2016). This is indeed true. Poverty, inadequate access to opportunities such as employment and exposure to violence and crime are some of the factors to blame for the high crime and consequent incarceration of African Americans (Hannon & DeFina, 2008). For the most part, these factors are the result of racist and poor government policy. For example, the failure by successive governments to invest in the empowerment of African Americans is largely to blame for the high poverty rates within this community. Therefore, in the same way that black slaves were denied the opportunity to determine their fate, African Americans are sent to prison for crimes which are the result of realities that they did not create. This validates the comparison of mass incarceration to the Jim Crow laws.
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Dulaney added her voice to the mass incarceration problem that the US faces today. In her discussion, she gives special focus to black police officers during the Jim Crow era. She observes that at this time, black officers were regarded as inferior and assigned to black neighborhoods (Dulaney, 1996). They were only permitted to arrest fellow African Americans and were forbidden against arresting whites. Essentially, during the Jim Crow era policing tactics were racist and skewed against African Americans. DuVernay addresses the policing strategies that the US has adopted today. She blames the racist strategies for the high proportion of African Americans held in correctional institutions. For one to understand how true the issues that DuVernay and Dulaney raise are, they simply need to examine the state of affairs in the US today. It has been shown repeatedly that African Americans are often the subject of baseless, racist and unjust police action (Alang et al., 2017). For example, police officers in the US are known to use excessive force against black suspects. There have been numerous instances of African Americans dying in the hands of police officers (Kendi, 2017). These instances serve as evidence that mass incarceration is the new Jim Crow. The same racist policies that police departments used during the Jim Crow era are still enforced today. The result of these policies is that thousands of black Americans have been locked up while dozens have died due to excessive force by police officers.
That the African American community has historically and still endures injustice is not in question. This is among the main messages conveyed through 13 th . In this documentary, special attention is given to the factors that set the stage for the Jim Crow laws. It is noted that there was a need to institutionalize and grant legality to the many injustices that were being perpetrated against black people (DuVernay, 2016). For example, in the years leading up to the passing of the Jim Crow laws, African Americans were regarded as threats to the white community. For example, black men were accused of raping white women. These accusations were baseless and intended to demonize the African American community. The experiences of the black community during the Jim Crow era mirror the hardships that this community endures today in the age of mass incarceration. Today, African Americans are perceived as being more likely to commit crimes (Burch, 2015). The United States has a problem of racial profiling where officers assess and treat individuals based on their race. Racial profiling has a disproportionately adverse impact on the African American community (Fletcher, 2018). Police offers are known to hold biases against African Americans. For example, in defending their decision to shoot dead unarmed black men, police officers often claim that they felt that their lives were under threat. When conforming white suspects, these officers do not fear that the suspects pose a similar threat. The racial biases go beyond the actions of police officers. Juries and judges also display anti-black biases (Gravett, 2017). These biases influence their verdicts regarding cases involving African American men. It is little wonder that African Americans make up the bulk of incarcerated individuals. It is clear that mass incarceration is similar to the Jim Crow era.
In her discussion, Alexander identifies the war on drugs as one of the factors that is to blame for the mass incarceration problem. She goes as far as to label this war the “new Jim Crow” (Alexander, 2010). She is not alone in feeling that the war on drugs has had a devastating effect on the African American community. DuVernay shares this sentiment. In 13 th , light is shed on how the war on drugs set the stage for the incarceration of thousands of African Americans. Under the leadership of President Nixon, the US declared zero tolerance for drugs (DuVernay, 2016). DuVernay’s documentary suggests that the war on drugs was euphemism for deliberate attacks against the black community. She echoes the concerns that both Alexander and Dulaney note that for much of its history, the US has passed laws and implemented policies targeting the black community. This is still the case today. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) penned a scathing article that criticizes the policies that the US has adopted as part of its war on drugs. It blames these policies for the incarceration of over 700,000 African Americans (“The Drug War”, 2001). The ACLU is not alone in claiming that the war on drugs created a door for the reintroduction of the Jim Crow. In an article featured on the online edition of the Huffington Post, Michelle Alexander (2017) agrees that the war on drugs is responsible for the mass incarceration of African Americans. She laments that this war has robbed thousands of children of their fathers and left many women without wives. Since it has mostly affected the black community, it is fair to liken the war on drugs and the resulting mass incarceration to the Jim Crow policies.
African Americans Tackling Discrimination
The African American community has not stood idly by as its members are subjected to oppression and discrimination. This community has launched a number of initiatives aimed at ending discrimination. The Civil Rights movement is among these initiatives. Led by such individuals as Martin Luther King Jr., this movement sought to deliver freedoms to African Americans (DuVernay, 2016). The movement demanded such rights as that to vote and to work. Moreover, the movement called for an end to the segregationist policies that had been instituted. For the most part, the Civil Rights movement achieved its objectives. For example, as a result of pressure from the movement, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act (1964) which accorded African Americans such liberties as protection against discrimination.
While the Civil Rights movement had the most profound impact on the black community, it is worth noting that there are other initiatives which delivered gains for the community. Efforts by slaves to secure freedoms are among these initiatives. In an effort to secure their liberty and to end discriminatory practices, slaves resorted to such measures as refusing to work and disobeying the commands of their masters (Dulaney, 1996). They also resorted to deadlier measures like murdering their masters. Today, the African American community continues to build on the work of the Civil Rights movement and the slaves. Through such organizations as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), African Americans continue to agitate for an end to discrimination (Sullivan, 2009). The Black Lives Matter movement is another outfit that is campaigning for better treatment of African Americans. This movement is particularly involved in pushing for police reforms and an end to police brutality. The various movements have achieved some success. However, African Americans still suffer discrimination. For example, recently, two black men were arrested at a Starbucks outlet while waiting for their friend. This incident shows that ending discrimination is not a challenge that should be left to African Americans. All Americans need to join forces and declare their opposition to discriminatory practices and policies.
Creating Awareness to End Injustice
From the discussion above, it is clear that there are institutional and systemic forces that contribute to the oppression of African Americans. Michelle Alexander’s the New Jim Crow, Ava DuVernay’s 13 th and Marvin Dulaney’s Black Police in America focus on these forces. They shed light on how the US has historically failed the African American community. The readings by these individuals are important as they challenge readers to respond to the plight of African Americans. It is therefore important to inform the public about these readings. Public awareness will go a long way in enabling the American people to understand the struggles of the black community. Moreover, through public awareness, sympathy and trust can be generated for African Americans. The American people will be able to regard black Americans as fellow citizens who pose no threat. Overall, by creating public awareness about the readings, the US will inch closer to its goal of achieving racial and ethnic integration and harmony.
In conclusion, racism is a problem that the US still grapples with. African Americans have borne the brunt of this problem. This can be seen in the high number of incarcerated African Americans. Slavery, the Jim Crow laws and the war on drugs are some of the key issues which have condemned African Americans to a life of suffering and discrimination. The denial of fundamental rights, racial policing and poverty are other factors which have exposed African Americans to criminal behavior. The US spends huge amounts every year to keep convicted criminals in prison. Mass incarceration is clearly a burden that the US needs to address. The country should re-evaluate its policing strategies. It should particularly encourage law enforcement officials to be objective and fair.
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