Gord's Notebook : Racist Jim Crow Laws Replaced By Mass Incarceration of African-Americans

Monday, May 09, 2011

Racist Jim Crow Laws Replaced By Mass Incarceration of African-Americans

Lest we forget this is part of America's history and of Western Civilization that is racism, prejudice, bigotry etc.

Lynching in America-"Waiting for the show to start"

As a follow up to the last post about racism in America here is a video dealing with the Lynchings of African Americans which illustrates the perniciousness of prejudice, bigotry and racism. By marginalizing , dehumanizing and demonizing of certain groups such as African Americans it becomes much more acceptable to discrimiate against and even to kill.
Throughout most of American history various groups of people were dehumanized in this way and were seen as being inferior to White Protestant Americans .
So Native Americans, African Americans and others were deemed to be not quite human as being of lower intelligence and being without any sense of morality compared to White Americans .

NOTE: Black men make up 6.5% of the US population, but 40.2% of the prison population

One of the claims is that the old forms of racism aimed at African Americans such as lynchings and discrimination in the form of a legal system known in the southern United States as Jim Crow has been replaced by current laws which are used to incarcerate and marginalize African Americans and other people of color in the United States.

The disproportionate incarceration of people of color in America compared to White Americans reflects systemic and deliberate discrimination and racism.

Those in positions of power whether at the federal level or state by allowing this to continue in America are themselves guilty of marginalizing, demonizing a whole sector of the nation's population . One could argue that this is just another form of oppression of people of color in America and in the long run a form of ethnic cleansing.

Why doesn't president Obama address this issue
Why doesn't Obama put an end to the ineffective discriminatory war on drugs.
Obam could start by insisting that felons once they have served their prison time be given back all their rights as a citizen ie voting rights, the right to housing , jobs etc.
Obama could put pressure on states to eliminate the harsh sentencing of those convicted on a simple possession charge.

President Obama should also take issues concerning the legalization of drugs as a serious subject instead of merely making fun of those in favor of decriminalization & the legalization of various drugs or at least Marijuana.

War on Drugs used for rationalizing more people of color than whites in the usa.
And yet stats show African Americans are not more involved in use and sale of drugs than are white Americans.
People of color in the US are targeted for incarceration disproportionately to their actual numbers in the USA population.
America has over two & a half million people in jail

The Young Turks
More Blacks In Prison Than Slaves In 1850 - War On Drugs
studies show black Americans use drugs at the same rate as white Americans

New Jim Crow - Michelle Alexander - Part 1 - Democracy Now!

"President Obamas election a year and a half ago continues to be lauded for ushering in a new era of colorblindness. The very fact of his presidency is regarded by some as the final nail in the coffin of Jim Crow. Yet, today there are more African Americans under correctional control, whether in prison or jail, on probation or on parole, than there were enslaved in 1850. And more African American men are disenfranchised now because of felon disenfranchisement laws than in 1870.

A new book by legal scholar and civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander argues that although Jim Crow laws have been eliminated, the racial caste system it set up was not eradicated. Its simply been redesigned, and now racial control functions through the criminal justice system."

The "War on Drugs" is a "war" on the U.S. Constitution. It is a "war" on the poor. It is a "war" on communities of color. It is the end result of the GOP's "Southern Strategy," and has disenfranchised an entire generation.

Michelle Alexander: Is Mass Incarceration the New Jim Crow?

Black men make up 6.5% of the US population, but 40.2% of the prison population

From racist anti-immigration laws to even banning any sort of ethnic studies programs in schools or universities to making it illegal to speak any language other than English in public or even in the kitchen of a restaurant.
As racist such as Glenn Beck and others see even advertisements on billboards using Spanish (or any other non-english languages) as being pernicious and undermining American culture and values.

If they could these nativists racists would ban Hispanic radio and TV networks or those using other languages rather than good old American English.

From Education to Action: Inside the Arizona Ethnic Studies Battle by Mike Ludwig via truthout.org May 7, 2011

also see earlier relate posts:

The " NOOSE" Symbol of Hate: DOMESTIC TERRORIST TOOL of Intimidation, Nov. 22, 2008