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The New Jim Crow
- Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colourblindness
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: History, Americas
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Brilliant book that should be required reading
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Summary
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The New Jim Crow, written by Michelle Alexander, read by Karen Chilton.
Once in a great while a book comes along that radically changes our understanding of a crucial political issue and helps to fuel a social movement. The New Jim Crow is such a book. Lawyer and activist Michelle Alexander offers a stunning account of the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class status, denied the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights movement.
Challenging the notion that the election of Barack Obama signalled a new era of colourblindness in the United States, The New Jim Crow reveals how racial discrimination was not ended but merely redesigned. By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of colour, the American criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, relegating millions to a permanent second-class status even as it formally adheres to the principle of colourblindness.
A searing call to action for everyone concerned with social justice, The New Jim Crow is one of the most important books about race in the 21st century.
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What listeners say about The New Jim Crow
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- ICB
- 09-07-20
One of the most important books I have ever read
As we enter into another era of racial awareness I wanted to find out more about how the racism in America affects people of colour, particularly African Americans. I know things in the UK aren't good for a lot of black British and immigrant people, but with the tide of police killings in the USA and subsequent riots, I wanted to learn more. And this book taught me a lot. What I went looking for was detail and substance, not the awful self-hating likes of 'White Fragility' which the author of that work holds the belief if you are white you are a racist, and if you disagree with the premise you are racist, and if you don't want to discuss this you are racist, and if you don't get it you are....etc.
What The New Jim Crow shows with substantial data and insight is how the American state via the police, the courts, and prison system is systemically racist. If you are black or brown, to use the author's words, you are far more likely by a wide margin than white people to be stopped by the police on the street or when driving in your car, far more likely to be arrested, and far more likely to go to prison, often for what we in the UK would say are minor offences such as carrying a bit of cannabis. What can get you probation or a police caution here can get you 5 or more years for a first offence in the USA.
And it has been structured against African Americans for there is nothing to stop the police from fulfilling their arrest quotas by going into poor black neighbourhoods and carrying out stop and searches, then arresting young black men for any infraction of the law. This is not something that goes on in most white neighbourhoods.
There's a lot of good solid information and insight in this book that, for me, removed the scales from my eyes. To put it simply, the African American community is treated far worse by the criminal justice system to an appalling and detrimental degree that doesn't just seriously affect the men and women who get sent to prison, but damages and wrecks families and communities. From this book can come understanding and compassion, and knowledge that things need to change.
A stunning book.
4 people found this helpful
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- rachael thompson
- 21-06-19
Had high hopes
I was really looking forward to reading this after reading other reviews but found it to be so repetitive. I kept wondering when it was going to change the record.
Alot of stats, too many to take it without having a visual copy infront of you.
3 people found this helpful
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- RitchD
- 26-02-20
Heartbreakingly obvious
Every school in every country she have this book on its curriculum. Written with compassion and understandable frustration. Thankyou for opening my eyes
2 people found this helpful
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- DIY Dad
- 17-04-21
Over simplistic
This book starts off well. It rightly addressed the disparity in the execution of the US war on drugs between white and blacks. It also rightly points out the current approach is fundamentally flawed, the stigmatization of convicts serves to create a new underclass. All of that you get in the 1st few chapters. After that it’s regurgitative and dry.
There is also WAAAYYYYY to much focus on the victimization of blacks and convicts and virtually says nothing about what black people should do to avoid the current issue. Of course racism exists and an institutional level. BLACK LIVES MATTER. I acknowledge the sentiment behind those words but my god we need to shift the narrative to a solution that starts off with us. What can WE DO to overcome the situation we are in. This is where this fails, dangerously in my opinion. If we keep pushing the victim agenda ONLY, it will take us way longer than necessary to surmount the numerous issues we face.
This sadly does not get us to that next level of thinking.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 29-12-21
horrible but great
most of this i new already, but tagen together, this makes you think and react, this is so much bigger then i realised. now i cant go back
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- Levi Johnson
- 07-04-21
Fact over Feeling
the barrage of indepth information given is shocking. This book alone confirms the need for a radical restructuring of policing in the United States.
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- Anonymous User
- 20-01-21
love
going to recommend this to everyone know and everyone I meet from now on! So interesting
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- Lydia H.
- 03-01-21
incredible
such an important read so much essential educational information I highly highly recommend this book
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- Anonymous User
- 13-10-20
Thanks Michelle
The fire is no longer next time
We have to stroke it now
Again and again and again until the blaze yields abiding structures
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- P. Strachan
- 31-07-20
Factual-Real-Happening Now-A Must Read!
This is an excellent book that I highly recommend every person, black, white or coloured should read. It's full of facts, real history and it's happening now! It has given me an insight and appreciation of the reasons behind the Black Lives Matter Campaign. The book was written almost ten years ago but has been a best seller since and has probably given great impatous to that BLM campaign as it exposes the injustices and racial inequalities in the USA. I rated the book 4-5 stars and my only reason for the 4's is the repitition of facts at quite few stages throughout the book. Nevertheless I enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator is excellent, she has a very pleasant voice and reads at a good speed. She also manages to mimic characters well when reading some quotes etc.
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- Elsa Lilja
- 20-06-20
The most important book of this decade: particularly urgent to inform how we should respond to the movement follw George Floyd
Michelle Alexander writes with an unparalleled thou toughness and persuasiveness of the ideology that installed and maintains mass incarceration and a racial caste system, akin to a MLK Jr of our time.
The story told here is widely applicable, and particularly current given the election of trump and a rise of xenophobic populism, the BLM movement and George Floyd.
1 person found this helpful
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- michael wolfe
- 07-04-21
Worth reading especially by the young blacks.
This is certainly one of the most thought-provoking books I have read. A good blend of theory supported by modern-day facts. Its journey through time clearly outlines the challenges of blacks throughout history. What is most interesting is that we can see history repeating itself over and over even to this day. Once again worth the read.
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- Sandra Olivera
- 23-10-20
A must read for Allies
An eye opener of a book that familiarised me with the true root problems that black America faces
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- nina
- 04-10-20
Well-researched and essential reading
I wish all Americans would read this to understand the historical context for continuing racial injustice.