Michelle Alexander

The United States has the world's largest prison population, with more than two million behind bars. Alexander says this is mainly due to America's 'war on drugs,' launched in 1982. In The New Jim Crow, she explains how this government initiative has led to America's black citizens being imprisoned on a colossal scale. She compares this mass detention—with black men up to 50 times more likely to be jailed than white men—to the

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With a new afterword from the authors, the critically praised indictment of widely embraced "alternatives to incarceration"
"But what does it mean—really—to celebrate reforms that convert your home into your prison?" —Michelle Alexander, from the foreword

Electronic monitoring. Locked-down drug treatment centers. House arrest. Mandated psychiatric treatment. Data driven surveillance. Extended

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"Susan Burton's world changed in an instant when her five-year-old son was killed by a van driving down their street. Consumed by grief and without access to professional help, Susan self-medicated, becoming addicted first to cocaine, then crack. As a resident of South Los Angeles, a black community under siege in the War on Drugs, it was but a matter of time before Susan was arrested. She cycled in and out of prison for over fifteen years; never...

"More African Americans are under 'correctional' (prison) control today than were enslaved in 1850. Why? The movie explores mass incarceration across the U.S. and the intersection of race, poverty, and the criminal justice and penal systems. It centers around Michelle Alexander's theory in her groundbreaking book, 'The New Jim Crow:' through the rise of the drug war and tough on crime policies, because discretion within the system allows for targeting...