53 Michelle Alexander Quotes for You to Enjoy

Michelle Alexander

American Writer

Born: Oct 7, 1967

Black Justice People Police Prison You

Related authors: Dale Carnegie Denis Waitley Dr. Seuss H. L. Mencken Napoleon Hill Ray Bradbury W. E. B. Du Bois William Arthur Ward

It doesn't matter if that felony happened three weeks ago or thirty-five years ago - for the rest of your life, you've got to check that box, knowing full well the odds are sky-high your application is going straight to the trash. Michelle Alexander

When we pull back the curtain and take a look at what our 'colorblind' society creates without affirmative action, we see a familiar social, political, and economic structure - the structure of racial caste. The entrance into this new caste system can be found at the prison gate. Michelle Alexander

Political Prison Action Society Back Our System See Structure Caste Economic Entrance Colorblind Take New Look Without Affirmative Affirmative Action Familiar Curtain Social Racial Creates Found Gate Pull

In a sense, mass incarceration has emerged as a far more extreme form of physical and residential segregation than Jim Crow segregation. Rather than merely shunting people of color to the other side of town, people are locked in literal cages - en masse. Michelle Alexander

People Sense Other Side Jim Jim Crow Extreme Locked Physical Emerged Rather More Crow Segregation Color Merely Mass Town Masse Than Literal Form Far Incarceration Residential

Our nation has slashed budgets for education, job training, economic development, and drug treatment while investing billions in prisons and militarized police. A penal system unprecedented in world history has been born. Millions have been arrested and stripped of basic civil and human rights. Michelle Alexander

Education History Rights Economic Development Training World Police Job Nation Human Rights Our Stripped System Job Training Has-Been Unprecedented Civil Born Economic Investing Development Budgets Arrested Prisons Been Human While Billions World History Basic Millions Treatment

If everyone charged with crimes suddenly exercised his constitutional rights, there would not be enough judges, lawyers, or prison cells to deal with the ensuing tsunami of litigation. Michelle Alexander

Rights Prison Enough Crimes Everyone Charged Would Constitutional Constitutional Rights Lawyers Judges Deal His Cells Litigation Suddenly

Prosecutors frequently overcharge, load up charges on individual defendants, knowing that three strikes laws and harsh mandatory minimum sentences will force people to plea bargain and essentially convict themselves because they're terrified of doing a life sentence for a relatively minor crime. Michelle Alexander

Life People Crime Will Three Mandatory Plea Relatively Strikes Harsh Minimum Charges Minor Laws Individual Prosecutors Knowing Force Terrified Because Frequently Doing Up Essentially Sentence Sentences Convict Themselves Bargain Load

Exposing police lying is difficult largely because it is rare for the police to admit their own lies or to acknowledge the lies of other officers. This reluctance derives partly from the code of silence that governs police practice and from the ways in which the system of mass incarceration is structured to reward dishonesty. Michelle Alexander

Silence Police Reward Rare Practice Own Difficult Other Lying Ways System Lies Admit Reluctance Structured Mass Partly Because Governs Officers Dishonesty Acknowledge Which Incarceration Derives Exposing Code Largely

I believe this system of mass incarceration would have Dr. King turning in his grave. There's no doubt in my mind that Dr. King would be doing everything in his power to build a movement to end mass incarceration in the United States; a movement for education, not incarceration. Michelle Alexander

Education Mind King Power Build Doubt Believe Everything States System Would Would-Be No Doubt Mass Doing His End Movement Turning Incarceration United Grave United States Dr Dr. King

After years as a civil rights lawyer, I rarely find myself speechless. Michelle Alexander

Myself Rights Lawyer Speechless Find Civil Rarely Civil Rights Years After

My experience and research has led me to the regrettable conclusion that our system of mass incarceration functions more like a caste system than a system of crime prevention or control. Michelle Alexander

Me Experience Crime Control Research Our System More Caste Prevention Mass Like Conclusion Led Than Regrettable Incarceration Functions

If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for life. These men are part of a growing undercaste - not class, caste - a group of people who are permanently relegated, by law, to an inferior second-class status. Michelle Alexander

Life You Class People Law Men Group Status Some Caste Area Take Part Like Majority Permanently Prisoners Been Chicago Labeled Account Inferior American African African-American Urban Urban Areas American Men Who Large Growing Second-Class

Private landlords as well as public landlords are free to discriminate against people with criminal records for the rest of their lives. You come out of prison, and where are you expected to go? Michelle Alexander

You People Rest Free Prison Criminal Out Records Come Well Go Private Discriminate Expected Where Against Public Landlords Lives

Martin Luther King Jr. could have argued that separate water fountains were too expensive, a waste of money. He would have been right about that. But cost was beside the point. Michelle Alexander

Money Water King Too Beside Would About Cost Martin Martin Luther Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr Point Could Argued He Were Been Expensive Separate Waste Right Luther

I believe it is possible to bring an end to mass incarceration and birth a new moral consensus about how we ought to be responding to poor folks of color and a consensus in support of basic human rights for all. But it is going to take some work. Michelle Alexander

Work Rights Human Rights Believe Birth Ought Responding Possible Moral Folks Some About Color Take Support Mass New How End Going Human Poor Incarceration Basic Basic Human Rights Bring Consensus

If there is any hope that we in America might one day overcome our own history of genocide, slavery, discrimination, and oppression and create a justice system that is truly a source of international pride rather than shame, I suspect Rwanda may have as much to teach us about what is required as any tour of a Norwegian prison. Michelle Alexander

Hope Day History Justice Genocide Oppression Pride Overcome Prison Own Our One Day System About Rather Shame Tour Source Truly Discrimination Than America Suspect Any May Norwegian Might Us Create Much Required Teach International Slavery

Black men with criminal records are the most severely disadvantaged group in the labor market. Michelle Alexander

Black Men Group Market Criminal Records Disadvantaged Most Labor

Perhaps there should be a box on the census form that says, 'I'm a criminal.' Everyone who has ever committed a crime would be required to check it. If everyone were forced to acknowledge their own criminality, maybe we, as a nation, would second-guess our apparent zeal for denying full citizenship to those branded felons. Michelle Alexander

Crime Nation Own Second-Guess Criminal Everyone Our Criminality Those Says Would Citizenship Would-Be Check Perhaps Forced Box Were Branded Denying Committed Maybe Form Census Acknowledge Required Should Full Apparent Who Zeal Ever

I believe that Trayvon Martin's life might well have been spared if many of us who care about racial justice had raised our voices much, much sooner and much, much more loudly about the routine stereotyping and profiling of young black men and boys. Michelle Alexander

Life Justice Care Black Men Young Believe Our About Martin More Voices Had Sooner Stereotyping Well Boy Been Loudly Might Spared Racial Us Much Who Many Routine Profiling Raised

Public housing is off-limits to you if you have been convicted of a felony. For a minimum of five years, you are deemed ineligible for public housing once you've been branded a felon. Discrimination in private housing market's perfectly legal. Michelle Alexander

You Legal Market Once Minimum Perfectly Felony Housing Private Been Years Five Discrimination Branded Public Convicted Public Housing Deemed

Those labeled felons may be denied the right to vote, are automatically excluded from juries, and may be legally discriminated against in employment, housing, access to education, public benefits, much like their grandparents or great grandparents may have been discriminated against during the Jim Crow era. Michelle Alexander

Education Great Vote Benefits Jim Jim Crow Those Crow Excluded Like Employment Housing Access Era Been Denied Labeled Discriminated Legally Juries May Automatically Against Public Much Grandparents Right

The clock has been turned back on racial progress in America, though scarcely anyone seems to notice. All eyes are fixed on people like Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey who have defied the odds and achieved great power, wealth, and fame. Michelle Alexander

Great Eyes People Progress Wealth Power Odds Back Defied Though Has-Been Obama Scarcely Seems Great Power Like Been Oprah Oprah Winfrey Clock Fame Fixed America Achieved Anyone Barack Barack Obama Turned Racial Notice Who

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