Argument

Throughout the book, Alexander argues that in the age of colorblindness, the criminal justice system fights to keep african americans incarcerated and of less opportunity than the rest of society. She finds similarity between the Jim Crow Laws during a segregated era, and the way the criminal justice system handles today's laws in an era we claim to be colorblind. She includes many surveys, facts, and quotes to form a strong argument as to how racist society today really is. She connects society to a Caste System, commonly known in the Hindu religion, which means once born you are to stay in your class, no matter if it is the 'Untouchable' class. Making connections to other cultures and ways of life help build her audience as well as provide more examples of how we are not as different as we had originally though we were.

During the most recent reading from page 130 to page 170, the book was more focused on how prison and incarceration will affect you after you are out. More specifically being, 'a newly released prisoner- homeless, unemployed, and carrying a mountain of debt. How do you feed yourself? (Alexander 157)'. As you can imagine, putting yourself in the shoes of someone in that situation is tough, especially when you're sixteen with no encounters with the law and the thought of being homeless seems impossible because you still live with your parents. Alexander does a really nice job of setting the stage of how people feel in that situation, and asks questions that would make you think about what you would do, which I find to be very helpful by engaging the reader and preparing them for her following statistics. This also helps her argument because the way you feel connected by putting yourself in someone else's position.

When Alexander asks, 'How will you feed yourself?' on page 157, I first thought you need to get a job to get money, then use that money to buy food. Simple enough right? That would potentially be the case, but unfortunately I did not consider the fact that I have to imagine coming out of prison for a felony charge.  Finding a job upon release from prison after a felony will no doubt be a challenge,  Alexander herself faced that challenge when trying to get hired.

She stated her own experience of having her hopes up by being told her start date, to later receive a message telling her upon further investigation she is no longer eligible for the job due to her conviction. Happening on multiple occasions, she explained this would be a depressing cycle to have to face. Alexander mentioned that out of one dozen jobs, she was only considered for two. Fortunately out of those two she was able to be hired, but in many cases some are not as lucky. 'One survey showed that although 90 percent of employers say they are willing to consider filling their most recent job vacancy with a welfare recipient, only 40 percent are willing to consider doing so with an ex-offender (Alexander 149)'. This means that 60 percent of ex-offenders will not even be considered. Although 40 percent are considered, it does not guarantee that they will receive the job, making them go on to search again with slim chances and declining hope.

'Felon is the new N-word (Alexander 168)'.

When released from prison, many find themselves in debt, both to society and financially. 'In this system of control, like the one that prevailed during Jim Crow, one's "debt to society" often reflects the cost of imprisonment (Alexander154)'. I found her connection to Jim Crow at this time to be very thoughtful on not only the debt that people are facing regarding their financial situation, but also the toll society takes on these ex-offenders by treatment. On top of that, there also comes an extra charge being an ex-offender. Once on probation there is a, '$50 monthly supervision fee as a condition of probation. Failure to pay may warrant additional community control or a modification of the offender's sentence (Alexander 155)'. Due to this, even if a convict is provided a house and food, they still must find some way of income.

The way she sections off her paragraphs I found to be very interesting. She would first explain the common troubles that a felon would face when getting a job, then she would explain troubles that specifically African American felons would face. On top of a felony charge, being a person of color in some cases would make it harder to get hired. Breaking down into categories shows the difference between the way white and colored ex-offenders recover very easily.

The way she connects the book to the reader definitely engages the audience and makes for a better experience. Her argument is well organized because of the way she sectioned off the difficulties African American felons face apart from what white ex-offenders face. While reading, her argument is not only strong, but displayed in an easily perceived way so you know she made an effort to construct her writing to make sure the reader understands exactly what she wishes. 

About mid way through the book, I am continuing to enjoy it and am pleased with the amount of factual information I now know about a topic I really did not have much other knowledge about. Again, let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! :)