Argument and Relevance
Nick M
Blog Post #3
Arguments and Current Events
PART ONE
In this section of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, I felt that Alexander depended heavily on logical reasoning and specific or statistical information, continuing a trend that I appreciated from the previous section of the book.
I know that I have been critical of Alexander's arguments in the past, so for this post I have chosen to analyze and focus on common ground where she and I agree. The first piece begins at the very start of the section, where Alexander begins to discuss the intrinsic problems with our criminal justice system.
She begins by providing evidence that black men are severely disadvantaged when leaving prison, and provides a specific citation which states that "Black men convicted of felonies are the least likely to receive job offers of any demographic group, and suburban employers are the most unwilling to hire them" (Alexander 151).
To me, this specific example was quite convincing - it provided me with a concrete assertion that I could hold on to when thinking about the problems faced by ex-convicts when re entering society. As a reader, though, I could also put myself in the shoes of an employer who isn't interested in hiring a felon who, if from the inner city, likely has very little or no education.
Alexander follows up on page 152, where she states "...It should come as no surprise that a huge percentage of African American Men are out of work. Nearly one-third of young black men in the United States today are out of work. (Alexander 152)."
This relates back to further problems that Alexander identified earlier in the book - the cycle of poverty that keeps African Americans down in our society. In this context, I think that her characterization of post-prison life is correct. When employers won't hire people if they possess even minor criminal records, it condemns future generations to poverty and by extension potential future criminality.
With that being said, I think it is wrong to pass legislation that bars all criminal offenses from appearing on a job application process. I think that it is important for employers to know, for example, if the person they are hiring to be a cashier has a history of theft, so I have to disagree with Alexander when she states that "grassroots initiatives" like a California law that made it illegal for employers to demand to see any criminal offenses on a job application are a good idea (Alexander 152).
On the other hand, Alexander and I do find common ground in believing that the system is in need of some reform. For example, on page 153, she cites a few examples of job listings which preclude any ex convicts from ever finding employment. I don't think such questions are fair to employees.
But there needs to be balance.
While I don't think that it is fair for employers to discriminate against employees with criminal histories that date back many years, I think it not only fair but just for employers to be aware of any recent criminal history that their employees may have. I think the best way to address the problem is to institute a policy that excludes criminal history that predates a certain time constraint, which would reward people who stay clean for an extended period of time.
This would inspire employer confidence in who they are hiring, as people who don't commit repeated crimes are unlikely to resume criminal activity in the future, while also ensuring that companies or small businesses aren't hiring people who are unfit for their jobs because of recent or repeated criminal activity.
PART TWO
Statistically, the African American community is disproportionately represented in the US prison population, which directly causes some of the problems that Alexander spoke about - including the high rate of unemployment among young black men - to persist.
In 2019, Congress signed the First Step Act into law, which aims to address some of these problems. For starters, it aimed to reduce the sentences of prison inmates convicted of various offenses which include gun and drug charges (Lopez).
It also allows inmates to participate in "earned time credits" which is a program that encourages them to participate in "Vocational and rehabilitative programs" which include education (Lopez). These programs aim to make former prisoners more qualified in the workplace once they leave, which will hopefully decrease the amount of ex-convicts returning to prison for a repeated offense.
The Trump Administration has touted this legislation as particularly helpful to the African American community that Alexander references in her book. If it succeeds, it will represent a possible approach to deal with the problems African Americans face - high unemployment, overrepresentation in prison, and pervasive criminality being a few examples.
While the legislation takes minor steps to help criminals get jobs, education is still just that - a step in the right direction. The hope is that this legislation will discourage future generations from going to prison, meaning that less people, particularly in the African American community, will avoid the stigmas associated with it.
Let us hope that it succeeds.
Lopez, German. "The First Step Act, explained." Vox Media, Vox, 5 Feb. 2019,
www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/18/18140973/
state-of-the-union-trump-first-step-act-criminal-justice-reform. Accessed
24 Mar. 2020.
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York : [Jackson, Tenn.] :New Press ; Distributed by Perseus Distribution, 2010.
Blog Post #3
Arguments and Current Events
PART ONE
In this section of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, I felt that Alexander depended heavily on logical reasoning and specific or statistical information, continuing a trend that I appreciated from the previous section of the book.
I know that I have been critical of Alexander's arguments in the past, so for this post I have chosen to analyze and focus on common ground where she and I agree. The first piece begins at the very start of the section, where Alexander begins to discuss the intrinsic problems with our criminal justice system.
She begins by providing evidence that black men are severely disadvantaged when leaving prison, and provides a specific citation which states that "Black men convicted of felonies are the least likely to receive job offers of any demographic group, and suburban employers are the most unwilling to hire them" (Alexander 151).
To me, this specific example was quite convincing - it provided me with a concrete assertion that I could hold on to when thinking about the problems faced by ex-convicts when re entering society. As a reader, though, I could also put myself in the shoes of an employer who isn't interested in hiring a felon who, if from the inner city, likely has very little or no education.
Alexander follows up on page 152, where she states "...It should come as no surprise that a huge percentage of African American Men are out of work. Nearly one-third of young black men in the United States today are out of work. (Alexander 152)."
This relates back to further problems that Alexander identified earlier in the book - the cycle of poverty that keeps African Americans down in our society. In this context, I think that her characterization of post-prison life is correct. When employers won't hire people if they possess even minor criminal records, it condemns future generations to poverty and by extension potential future criminality.
With that being said, I think it is wrong to pass legislation that bars all criminal offenses from appearing on a job application process. I think that it is important for employers to know, for example, if the person they are hiring to be a cashier has a history of theft, so I have to disagree with Alexander when she states that "grassroots initiatives" like a California law that made it illegal for employers to demand to see any criminal offenses on a job application are a good idea (Alexander 152).
On the other hand, Alexander and I do find common ground in believing that the system is in need of some reform. For example, on page 153, she cites a few examples of job listings which preclude any ex convicts from ever finding employment. I don't think such questions are fair to employees.
But there needs to be balance.
While I don't think that it is fair for employers to discriminate against employees with criminal histories that date back many years, I think it not only fair but just for employers to be aware of any recent criminal history that their employees may have. I think the best way to address the problem is to institute a policy that excludes criminal history that predates a certain time constraint, which would reward people who stay clean for an extended period of time.
This would inspire employer confidence in who they are hiring, as people who don't commit repeated crimes are unlikely to resume criminal activity in the future, while also ensuring that companies or small businesses aren't hiring people who are unfit for their jobs because of recent or repeated criminal activity.
PART TWO
Statistically, the African American community is disproportionately represented in the US prison population, which directly causes some of the problems that Alexander spoke about - including the high rate of unemployment among young black men - to persist.
In 2019, Congress signed the First Step Act into law, which aims to address some of these problems. For starters, it aimed to reduce the sentences of prison inmates convicted of various offenses which include gun and drug charges (Lopez).
It also allows inmates to participate in "earned time credits" which is a program that encourages them to participate in "Vocational and rehabilitative programs" which include education (Lopez). These programs aim to make former prisoners more qualified in the workplace once they leave, which will hopefully decrease the amount of ex-convicts returning to prison for a repeated offense.
The Trump Administration has touted this legislation as particularly helpful to the African American community that Alexander references in her book. If it succeeds, it will represent a possible approach to deal with the problems African Americans face - high unemployment, overrepresentation in prison, and pervasive criminality being a few examples.
While the legislation takes minor steps to help criminals get jobs, education is still just that - a step in the right direction. The hope is that this legislation will discourage future generations from going to prison, meaning that less people, particularly in the African American community, will avoid the stigmas associated with it.
Let us hope that it succeeds.
- Works Cited -
Lopez, German. "The First Step Act, explained." Vox Media, Vox, 5 Feb. 2019,
www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/18/18140973/
state-of-the-union-trump-first-step-act-criminal-justice-reform. Accessed
24 Mar. 2020.
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York : [Jackson, Tenn.] :New Press ; Distributed by Perseus Distribution, 2010.
I appreciate the way you compare your ideals to the author's, creating a stepping point for your blog to talk about current events that relate to this section of the book. The way you connect Alexander's ideas about prisoners limited options when they leave prison to earned time credits is well thought out and you have good points about keeping people out of prison in the future.
ReplyDeleteHey Nate,
DeleteThanks for your comment. I do think that inner cities are structured in a way that keep poor people poor, and while I may be more conservative in a lot of my views on poverty and how it should be addressed, I do see the problem especially in those communities. I think that education is the key (as a lot of research shows) in generating wealth, and wealth spawns choice.
I think that providing many African Americans with the means to invest in themselves will keep people out of prison and narrow the interracial net worth gap in this country.
A good overview of the focus of the section that you read. I do find it a sad fact that, as you seem to accept, African Americans from the inner city will have less education than their peers. It's an interesting cross-section with the book some of your classmates are reading (The Shame of the Nation). Do you think the lack of education (and thus empolyment opportunities) relates in part to the increased crime rates among African Americans?
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. LaClair,
DeleteI absolutely think that there is a correlation between lack of education and crime rates. I think that when people are trapped in an environment that is very difficult to escape from, they are more likely to engage in behaviors they otherwise would not.
This is why I think the solution to many of our current racial problems is to invest in the inner city school systems. While schools that are funded by property taxes may work in other areas of the country, they traps poor people from poor districts by ensuring that their quality of education is comparatively worse than wealthier districts.
This is why, as a general matter, I oppose slavery reparations, but support initiatives to fund inner city schools. I don't believe that handing money around is the solution to the problems many African Americans face today, but I do think that providing them with the tools they need to invest in themselves would work.
It's the "Hand a man a fish and he will be satisfied for a day, teach a man to fish and he will never go hungry" type of thing.
Nick