The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness – Michelle Alexander

“The New Jim Crow” offers a striking, comprehensive look at how the American criminal justice system has evolved into a modern racial-caste system. Michelle Alexander argues that mass incarceration, fueled by the War on Drugs and policies marketed as “color-blind,” has disproportionately locked up and disenfranchised Black men, creating a permanent under-class even after release. Drawing on detailed legal history, social research, and narrative case studies, she shows how this system of control mimics the old Jim Crow era in its social effects—while hiding behind new language and laws. More than a book it is a call to action: to challenge assumptions, to preserve dignity, and to reimagine justice in America.