The New Jim Crow (44 page)
Authors: Michelle Alexander
Notes
1
Jarvious Cotton was a plaintiff in
Cotton v. Fordice
, 157 F.3d 388 (5th Cir. 1998), which held that Mississippi’s felon disenfranchisement provision had lost its racially discriminatory taint. The information regarding Cotton’s family tree was obtained by Emily Bolton on March 29, 1999, when she interviewed Cotton at Mississippi State Prison. Jarvious Cotton was released on parole in Mississippi, a state that denies voting rights to parolees.
Jarvious Cotton was a plaintiff in
Cotton v. Fordice
, 157 F.3d 388 (5th Cir. 1998), which held that Mississippi’s felon disenfranchisement provision had lost its racially discriminatory taint. The information regarding Cotton’s family tree was obtained by Emily Bolton on March 29, 1999, when she interviewed Cotton at Mississippi State Prison. Jarvious Cotton was released on parole in Mississippi, a state that denies voting rights to parolees.
2
The New York Times
made the national media’s first specific reference to crack in a story published in late 1985. Crack became known in a few impoverished neighborhoods in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami in early 1986. See Craig Reinarman and Harry Levine, “The Crack Attack: America’s Latest Drug Scare, 1986-1992,” in
Images of Issues: Typifying Contemporary Social Problems
(New York: Aldine De Gruyter, 1995), 152.
The New York Times
made the national media’s first specific reference to crack in a story published in late 1985. Crack became known in a few impoverished neighborhoods in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami in early 1986. See Craig Reinarman and Harry Levine, “The Crack Attack: America’s Latest Drug Scare, 1986-1992,” in
Images of Issues: Typifying Contemporary Social Problems
(New York: Aldine De Gruyter, 1995), 152.
3
The Reagan administration’s decision to publicize crack “horror stories” is discussed in more depth in chapter 1.
The Reagan administration’s decision to publicize crack “horror stories” is discussed in more depth in chapter 1.
4
Clarence Page, “‘The Plan’: A Paranoid View of Black Problems,”
Dover (Delaware) Herald
, Feb. 23, 1990. See also Manning Marable,
Race, Reform, and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction in Black America, 1945-1990
(Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991), 212-13.
Clarence Page, “‘The Plan’: A Paranoid View of Black Problems,”
Dover (Delaware) Herald
, Feb. 23, 1990. See also Manning Marable,
Race, Reform, and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction in Black America, 1945-1990
(Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991), 212-13.
5
See Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair,
Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs, and the Press
(New York: Verso, 1999). See also Nick Shou, “The Truth in ‘Dark Alliance, ’”
Los Angeles Times
, Aug. 18, 2006; Peter Kornbluh, “CIA’s Challenge in South Central,”
Los Angeles Times
(Washington edition) Nov. 15, 1996; and Alexander Cockburn, “Why They Hated Gary Webb,”
The Nation
, Dec. 16, 2004.
See Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair,
Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs, and the Press
(New York: Verso, 1999). See also Nick Shou, “The Truth in ‘Dark Alliance, ’”
Los Angeles Times
, Aug. 18, 2006; Peter Kornbluh, “CIA’s Challenge in South Central,”
Los Angeles Times
(Washington edition) Nov. 15, 1996; and Alexander Cockburn, “Why They Hated Gary Webb,”
The Nation
, Dec. 16, 2004.
6
Katherine Beckett and Theodore Sasson,
The Politics of Injustice: Crime and Punishment in America
, (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004), 163.
Katherine Beckett and Theodore Sasson,
The Politics of Injustice: Crime and Punishment in America
, (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004), 163.
7
Marc Mauer,
Race to Incarcerate
rev. ed. (New York: The New Press, 2006), 33.
Marc Mauer,
Race to Incarcerate
rev. ed. (New York: The New Press, 2006), 33.
8
PEW Center on the States,
One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008
(Washington, DC: PEW Center, Feb. 2008), 5.
PEW Center on the States,
One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008
(Washington, DC: PEW Center, Feb. 2008), 5.
9
Donald Braman,
Doing Time on the Outside: Incarceration and Family Life in Urban America
(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004), 3, citing D.C. Department of Corrections data for 2000.
Donald Braman,
Doing Time on the Outside: Incarceration and Family Life in Urban America
(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004), 3, citing D.C. Department of Corrections data for 2000.
10
See, e.g., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
Summary of Findings from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
, NHSDA series H-13, DHHS pub. no. SMA 01-3549 (Rockville, MD: 2001), reporting that 6.4 percent of whites, 6.4 percent of blacks, and 5.3 percent of Hispanics were current users of illegal drugs in 2000;
Results from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings
, NHSDA series H-22, DHHS pub. no. SMA 03-3836 (2003), revealing nearly identical rates of illegal drug use among whites and blacks, only a single percentage point between them; and
Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings
, NSDUH series H-34, DHHS pub. no. SMA 08-4343 (2007), showing essentially the same finding. See also Marc Mauer and Ryan S. King,
A 25-Year Quagmire: The “War on Drugs” and Its Impact on American Society
(Washington, DC: Sentencing Project, Sept. 2007), 19, citing a study suggesting that African Americans have slightly higher rates of illegal drug use than whites.
See, e.g., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
Summary of Findings from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
, NHSDA series H-13, DHHS pub. no. SMA 01-3549 (Rockville, MD: 2001), reporting that 6.4 percent of whites, 6.4 percent of blacks, and 5.3 percent of Hispanics were current users of illegal drugs in 2000;
Results from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings
, NHSDA series H-22, DHHS pub. no. SMA 03-3836 (2003), revealing nearly identical rates of illegal drug use among whites and blacks, only a single percentage point between them; and
Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings
, NSDUH series H-34, DHHS pub. no. SMA 08-4343 (2007), showing essentially the same finding. See also Marc Mauer and Ryan S. King,
A 25-Year Quagmire: The “War on Drugs” and Its Impact on American Society
(Washington, DC: Sentencing Project, Sept. 2007), 19, citing a study suggesting that African Americans have slightly higher rates of illegal drug use than whites.
11
See, e.g., Howard N. Snyder and Melissa Sickman,
Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report
, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2006), reporting that white youth are more likely than black youth to engage in illegal drug sales. See also Lloyd D. Johnson, Patrick M. O’Malley, Jerald G. Bachman, and John E. Schulenberg,
Monitoring the Future, National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2006, vol. 1, Secondary School Students
, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH pub. no. 07-6205 (Bethesda, MD: 2007), 32, “African American 12th graders have consistently shown lower usage rates than White 12th graders for most drugs, both licit and illicit”; and Lloyd D. Johnston, Patrick M. O’Malley, and Jerald G. Bachman,
Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use: Overview of Key Findings 2002
, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH pub. no. 03-5374 (Bethesda, MD: 2003), presenting data showing that African American adolescents have slightly lower rates of illicit drug use than their white counterparts.
See, e.g., Howard N. Snyder and Melissa Sickman,
Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report
, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2006), reporting that white youth are more likely than black youth to engage in illegal drug sales. See also Lloyd D. Johnson, Patrick M. O’Malley, Jerald G. Bachman, and John E. Schulenberg,
Monitoring the Future, National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2006, vol. 1, Secondary School Students
, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH pub. no. 07-6205 (Bethesda, MD: 2007), 32, “African American 12th graders have consistently shown lower usage rates than White 12th graders for most drugs, both licit and illicit”; and Lloyd D. Johnston, Patrick M. O’Malley, and Jerald G. Bachman,
Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use: Overview of Key Findings 2002
, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH pub. no. 03-5374 (Bethesda, MD: 2003), presenting data showing that African American adolescents have slightly lower rates of illicit drug use than their white counterparts.
12
Human Rights Watch,
Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs
, HRW Reports vol. 12, no. 2 (New York, 2000).
Human Rights Watch,
Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs
, HRW Reports vol. 12, no. 2 (New York, 2000).
13
See, e.g., Paul Street,
The Vicious Circle: Race, Prison, Jobs, and Community in Chicago, Illinois, and the Nation
(Chicago Urban League, Department of Research and Planning, 2002).
See, e.g., Paul Street,
The Vicious Circle: Race, Prison, Jobs, and Community in Chicago, Illinois, and the Nation
(Chicago Urban League, Department of Research and Planning, 2002).
14
Michael Tonry,
Thinking About Crime: Sense and Sensibility in American Penal Culture
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 14.
Michael Tonry,
Thinking About Crime: Sense and Sensibility in American Penal Culture
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 14.
15
Ibid.
Ibid.
16
Ibid., 20.
Ibid., 20.
17
National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals,
Task Force Report on Corrections
(Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1973), 358.
National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals,
Task Force Report on Corrections
(Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1973), 358.
18
Ibid., 597.
Ibid., 597.
19
Mauer,
Race to Incarcerate
, 17-18.
Chapter 1: The Rebirth of CasteMauer,
Race to Incarcerate
, 17-18.
1
Reva Siegel, “Why Equal Protection No Longer Protects: The Evolving Forms of Status-Enforcing Action,”
Stanford Law Review
49 (1997): 1111; see also Michael Omi and Howard Winant,
Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s
(New York: Routledge, 1996), 84-91.
Reva Siegel, “Why Equal Protection No Longer Protects: The Evolving Forms of Status-Enforcing Action,”
Stanford Law Review
49 (1997): 1111; see also Michael Omi and Howard Winant,
Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s
(New York: Routledge, 1996), 84-91.
2
Loïc Wacquant, “America’s New ‘Peculiar Institution’: On the Prison as Surrogate Ghetto,”
Theoretical Criminology
4, no. 3 (2000): 380.
Loïc Wacquant, “America’s New ‘Peculiar Institution’: On the Prison as Surrogate Ghetto,”
Theoretical Criminology
4, no. 3 (2000): 380.
3
Lerone Bennett Jr.,
The Shaping of Black America
(Chicago: Johnson, 1975), 62.
Lerone Bennett Jr.,
The Shaping of Black America
(Chicago: Johnson, 1975), 62.
4
For an excellent analysis of the development of race as a social construct in the United States and around the globe, see Howard Winant,
The World Is a Ghetto: Race and Democracy Since World War II
(New York: Basic Books, 2001).
For an excellent analysis of the development of race as a social construct in the United States and around the globe, see Howard Winant,
The World Is a Ghetto: Race and Democracy Since World War II
(New York: Basic Books, 2001).
5
Bennett,
Shaping of Black America
, 62.
Bennett,
Shaping of Black America
, 62.
6
Keith Kilty and Eric Swank, “Institutional Racism and Media Representations: Depictions of Violent Criminals and Welfare Recipients,”
Sociological Imagination
34, no. 2-3 (1997): 106.
Keith Kilty and Eric Swank, “Institutional Racism and Media Representations: Depictions of Violent Criminals and Welfare Recipients,”
Sociological Imagination
34, no. 2-3 (1997): 106.
7
Edmund Morgan,
American Slavery
,
American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia
(New York: Norton, 1975).
Edmund Morgan,
American Slavery
,
American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia
(New York: Norton, 1975).
8
Ibid.; see also Leslie Carr,
Color-blind Racism
(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997), 14-16.
Ibid.; see also Leslie Carr,
Color-blind Racism
(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997), 14-16.
9
Gerald Fresia,
Toward an American Revolution: Exposing the Constitution and Other Illusions
(Boston: South End Press, 1998), 55.
Gerald Fresia,
Toward an American Revolution: Exposing the Constitution and Other Illusions
(Boston: South End Press, 1998), 55.
10
Wacquant, “America’s New ‘Peculiar Institution,’” 380.
Wacquant, “America’s New ‘Peculiar Institution,’” 380.
11
C. Vann Woodward,
The Strange Career of Jim Crow
(1955; reprint, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).
C. Vann Woodward,
The Strange Career of Jim Crow
(1955; reprint, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).
12
William Cohen,
At Freedom’s Edge: Black Mobility and the Southern White Quest for Racial Control
(Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991), 28.
William Cohen,
At Freedom’s Edge: Black Mobility and the Southern White Quest for Racial Control
(Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991), 28.
13
Ibid., 33.
Ibid., 33.
14
W.E.B. Du Bois, “Reconstruction and Its Benefits,”
American Historical Review
15, no. 4 (1910): 784.
W.E.B. Du Bois, “Reconstruction and Its Benefits,”
American Historical Review
15, no. 4 (1910): 784.
15
James McPherson, “Comparing the Two Reconstructions,”
Princeton Alumni Weekly
, Feb. 26, 1979, 17.
James McPherson, “Comparing the Two Reconstructions,”
Princeton Alumni Weekly
, Feb. 26, 1979, 17.
16
See Michael Klarman,
From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 49, 52-53.
See Michael Klarman,
From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 49, 52-53.
17
John Hope Franklin and Alfred A. Moss,
From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans
, 8th ed. (New York: Knopf, 2000), 82; and Eric Foner,
Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877
(New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 425.
John Hope Franklin and Alfred A. Moss,
From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans
, 8th ed. (New York: Knopf, 2000), 82; and Eric Foner,
Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877
(New York: Harper & Row, 1988), 425.
18
Douglas Blackmon,
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-enslavement of Black People in America from the Civil War to World War II
(New York: Doubleday, 2008).
Douglas Blackmon,
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-enslavement of Black People in America from the Civil War to World War II
(New York: Doubleday, 2008).
19
Ruffin v. Commonwealth
, 62 Va. 790, 796 (1871).
Ruffin v. Commonwealth
, 62 Va. 790, 796 (1871).
20
David M. Oshinsky,
Worse Than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice
(New York: Free Press Paperbacks, 1996), 63.
David M. Oshinsky,
Worse Than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice
(New York: Free Press Paperbacks, 1996), 63.
21
See Douglas Blackmon, “A Different Kind of Slavery,”
Wall Street Journal Online
, Mar. 29, 2008.
See Douglas Blackmon, “A Different Kind of Slavery,”
Wall Street Journal Online
, Mar. 29, 2008.
22
Woodward,
Strange Career of Jim Crow
, 45-64.
Woodward,
Strange Career of Jim Crow
, 45-64.
23
Ibid., 61.
Ibid., 61.
24
Tom Watson, “The Negro Question in the South,” cited in Stokely Carmichael and Charles V. Hamilton,
Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America
(New York: Random House, 1967).
Tom Watson, “The Negro Question in the South,” cited in Stokely Carmichael and Charles V. Hamilton,
Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America
(New York: Random House, 1967).
25
Woodward,
Strange Career of Jim Crow
, 64.
Woodward,
Strange Career of Jim Crow
, 64.
26
William Julius Wilson,
The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions
(University of Chicago Press, 1978), 54.
William Julius Wilson,
The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions
(University of Chicago Press, 1978), 54.
27
Woodward,
Strange Career of Jim Crow
, 80.
Woodward,
Strange Career of Jim Crow
, 80.
28
Ibid., 81.
Ibid., 81.
29
Ibid., 7.
Ibid., 7.
30
Gunnar Myrdal,
An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy
(New York: Harper & Brothers, 1944).
Gunnar Myrdal,
An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy
(New York: Harper & Brothers, 1944).
31
Manning Marable,
Race, Reform and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction in Black America, 1945-1990
(Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991), 44; see also Michael Klarman, “
Brown
, Racial Change, and the Civil Rights Movement,”
Virginia Law Review
80 (1994), 7, 9.
Manning Marable,
Race, Reform and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction in Black America, 1945-1990
(Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991), 44; see also Michael Klarman, “
Brown
, Racial Change, and the Civil Rights Movement,”
Virginia Law Review
80 (1994), 7, 9.
32
Marable,
Race, Reform and Rebellion
, 69.
Marable,
Race, Reform and Rebellion
, 69.
33
Stephen F. Lawson,
Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944-1969
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1976), 300, 321, 329, 331.
Stephen F. Lawson,
Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944-1969
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1976), 300, 321, 329, 331.
34
Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward,
Poor People’s Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail
(New York: Pantheon, 1977), 269.
Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward,
Poor People’s Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail
(New York: Pantheon, 1977), 269.
35
John Donovan,
The Politics of Poverty
(Indianapolis: Pegasus, 1973), 23.
John Donovan,
The Politics of Poverty
(Indianapolis: Pegasus, 1973), 23.
36
Gerald McKnight,
The Last Crusade: Martin Luther King, Jr., the FBI, and the Poor People’s Campaign
(New York: Westview Press, 1998), 21-22.
Gerald McKnight,
The Last Crusade: Martin Luther King, Jr., the FBI, and the Poor People’s Campaign
(New York: Westview Press, 1998), 21-22.
37
Richard Nixon, “If Mob Rule Takes Hold in U.S.,”
U.S. News and World Report
, Aug. 15, 1966, 64.
Richard Nixon, “If Mob Rule Takes Hold in U.S.,”
U.S. News and World Report
, Aug. 15, 1966, 64.
38
U.S. House, “Northern Congressmen Want Civil Rights but Their Constituents Do Not Want Negroes,”
Congressional Record
, 86th Cong., 2d sess. (1960) 106, pt. 4: 5 062-63.
U.S. House, “Northern Congressmen Want Civil Rights but Their Constituents Do Not Want Negroes,”
Congressional Record
, 86th Cong., 2d sess. (1960) 106, pt. 4: 5 062-63.
39
Katherine Beckett,
Making Crime Pay: Law and Order in Contemporary American Politics
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 32.
Katherine Beckett,
Making Crime Pay: Law and Order in Contemporary American Politics
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 32.
40
Vesla M. Weaver, “Frontlash: Race and the Development of Punitive Crime Policy,”
Studies in American Political Development
21 (Fall 2007): 242.
Vesla M. Weaver, “Frontlash: Race and the Development of Punitive Crime Policy,”
Studies in American Political Development
21 (Fall 2007): 242.
41
Barry Goldwater, “Peace Through Strength,” in
Vital Speeches of the Day
, vol. 30 (New York: City News, 1964), 744.
Barry Goldwater, “Peace Through Strength,” in
Vital Speeches of the Day
, vol. 30 (New York: City News, 1964), 744.
42
“Poverty: Phony Excuse for Riots? Yes, Says a Key Senator,”
U.S. News and World Report
, July 31, 1967, 14.
“Poverty: Phony Excuse for Riots? Yes, Says a Key Senator,”
U.S. News and World Report
, July 31, 1967, 14.
43
Joel Rosch, “Crime as an Issue in American Politics,” in
The Politics of Crime and Criminal Justice
(Beverley Hills: Sage Publications, 1985).
Joel Rosch, “Crime as an Issue in American Politics,” in
The Politics of Crime and Criminal Justice
(Beverley Hills: Sage Publications, 1985).
44
Beckett,
Making Crime Pay
, 32.
Beckett,
Making Crime Pay
, 32.
45
Marc Mauer,
Race to Incarcerate
(New York: The New Press, 1999), 52.
Marc Mauer,
Race to Incarcerate
(New York: The New Press, 1999), 52.
46
Weaver, “Frontlash,” 262.
Weaver, “Frontlash,” 262.
47
Ibid.
Ibid.
48
Klarman,
From Jim Crow to Civil Rights
, 110.
Klarman,
From Jim Crow to Civil Rights
, 110.
49
See, e.g., Patrick Buchanan,
The New Majority: President Nixon at Mid-Passage
(Philadelphia: Girard Bank, 1973).
See, e.g., Patrick Buchanan,
The New Majority: President Nixon at Mid-Passage
(Philadelphia: Girard Bank, 1973).
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