The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
In light of the civil unrest and my ignorance of black history and being black in America, I have embarked on a journey to change from being non-racist to anti-racist. A large part of that journey is listening to and learning about the black experience. A local, black-owned, independent bookstore is hosting a virtual social justice book club which I joined.
The New Jim Crow was written in 2010 and a 10-year anniversary edition was published this year with a new preface. I read the 2010 edition in print, but I listened to the audio of the newest edition.
This was an eye opener to the systemic racism that has plagued and continues on in our justice system. The War on Drugs, which led to much of the mass incarceration and decline of legal rights such as due process, 4th amendment, etc. was and is played out very differently than what I recall growing up in the 80's in my all-white community.
At times I felt great despair because the changes that need to occur for there to be true equality in America seem insurmountable. Yet, I have hope - this book as well as other anti-racism books have been on the best-seller list either again or for the first time. There seems to be a louder call for equality and justice - certainly louder than I've heard in my lifetime. We cannot allow the voices to be silenced again or for those of us who were silent before, we cannot return to silence. This is a fight we all must partake in, it's a fight for humanity.
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