THE CRUEL HAND MICHELLE ALEXANDER THE NEW JIM

THE CRUEL HAND MICHELLE ALEXANDER: THE NEW JIM CROW CHAPTER 4

NATIONAL COLORED CONVENTION JULY, 1853 A heavy and cruel hand has been laid upon us. As a people, we fee ourselves to be not only deeply infured but grossly misunderstood. Our white countrymen d not know us. They are strangers to our character, ignorant of our capacity, oblivious t our history and progress, and are misinformed as to the principles nd ideas that control ad gude us, as a people. The great mass of American citizens estimates us as being a characterless and purposeless people; and hence we hold up our heads, if at all, against the withering influence of a nation’s scorn and contempt. Frederick Doulass – Alexander, p. 140

THE CRUEL HAND JIM CROW • Today a criminal freed from prison has scarcely more rights, and arguable less respect, than a freed slave or a black person living “free” in Mississippi at the height of Jim Crow. (Alexander, p. 141) • Ciminals, t turns out, are the one social group in America we have permission to hate.

IF LABELED A FELON • Never serve on a jury • Denied the right to vote • One’s debt to society is never paid • Permanent second class status • Collateral consequences

REALITY OF PETTY DRUG OFFENDER The offender may be sentenced to a term of probation, community service, and court costs. Unbeknownst to this offender, and perhaps any other actor in the sentencing process, as a result of his conviction he may be ineligible for may federally-funded health and welfare benefits, food stamps, public housing, and federal educational assistance. His driver’s license may be automatically suspended, and he may no longer quality for certain employment and professional licenses. If he is convicted of another crime he may be subject to imprisonment as a repeat offender. He will not be permitted to enlist in the military or posses a firearm, or obtain a federal security clearance. If a citizen hs may lose the right to vote; if not, he becomes immediately deportable. (American Bar Association decriving rality facing petty drug offender. ) Alexander, p. 143

HOUSING DISCRIMINATION • Anti-drug aws of 1988 - War on Drugs • No public housing to convicted felon • HUDs one strike guide • ”No fault clause” removed • Lack of available housing

JOB DISCRIMINATION • Require parolees to maintain gainful employment. • Boxed in – checking the box – “ever been convicted of a crime? ” • Private employers can discriminate • If check the box – no interview • No drivers license to get to work • Construction work no in inner city

THE BLACK BOX • Black ex-offenders most severely disadvantaged. • “institutionally branded as a particular class of individuals (Alexander, p. 151) • Blanket discrimination, even thought illegal (job postings, 153 and 154)

DEBTOR’S PRISON • Large debts upon release from prison • Fees, costs and fines • Poverty penalties

ET THEM EAT CAKE • Barred from any public assistance • Five year limit on benefits • Food stamps not available

SILENT MINORITY • Remove the right to vote • Not sure what else to say…… P. 159 tells man’s story – better than a slide.

THE PARIAHS • Shame and stigma • Permanent social exile • Their stories are the best description • P. 162 – 163 • Discussion (Bill Cosby) that the problem is black men. • Donald Braman Doing Time on the Outside “One can only assume that most participants in these discussions have had little direct contact with the families and communities they are discussing. ”

EERIE SILENCE • Don’t talk about incarceration • No comfort – only shame • Never come out

PASSING • Don’t tell • ex-offenders and family members lie through omission or obfuscation • “The harm done by this social silence is more than interpersonal. The silencedrive by stigma and fear of shame-results in a repression of public thought, a collective denial of lived experience. ” (p. 169)

GANGSTA LOVE • Place accepted is the ghetto community • Incarceration is normative • Embracing criminality (p. 171 - 172)

THE MINSTREL SHOW • Gansta rap – white, suburban teenagers • Why blacks participating? • Rooted in the reach for positive identity among outcasts.