The New Jim Crow

Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colourblindness

By: Michelle Alexander

Narrated by: Karen Chilton

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.

©2019 Michelle Alexander (P)2019 Penguin Audio

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.

A must read for Allies

An eye opener of a book that familiarised me with the true root problems that black America faces

incredibly important book

I read this long after it was released and long after I became familiar with the ideas contained within. Even if you think you're familiar with the issues of mass incarceration and the new Jim crow, is with reading the book. detailed, well argued, revolutionary.

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.

Well-researched and essential reading

I wish all Americans would read this to understand the historical context for continuing racial injustice.