Racial Racism In Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow

In Michelle Alexander’s article The New Jim Crow, she addresses the importance of educating people on the harsh reality of racial caste in America. As a civil rights lawyer and with previous work experience at the ACLU in northern California, Alexander knows the importance of getting relevant information to the public in order to inform them of important information. In The New Jim Crow Alexander uses a specific wring style through rhetorical devices to convey her message that the US justice system is turning into the modern day laws of Jim Crow, outlawing African Americans and taking away their basic natural rights while creating a new racial caste system and the possibility of the system to change.
Throughout the article Alexander utilizes
In the second paragraph Alexander mentions “Orwellian doublespeak”, making reference to the novel 1984 (Alexander 7). In the novel, doublespeak is a term used when someone is saying one thing while meaning another. The author uses this allusion when talking about post- racialism and how people who talk that it is still a driving force in today’s society. By using an allusion that many readers know, the author is able to say that the American people don’t believe what they say or they don’t have any basis for their speech. Although many Americans say that racial tension is a thing of the past, many of them know that it is still a driving
Alexander writes, “I came to see that mass incarceration in the United States had, in fact, emerged as a stunningly comprehensive and well-disguised system of racialized social control that functions in a manner strikingly similar to Jim Crow” (Alexander 8). The author is telling the audience that, after her experiences, she now believes the justice system in America is becoming more closely related to the laws of Jim Crow. This establishes her tone through sharing her believes and opinions about what she is talking about. She uses phrases such as “in my experience” and “I believe” (Alexander 19). These not only contribute to her tone but also to her credibility. This a obviously an opinion piece so by the author expressing her opinions, she is adding to her argument. Each sentence she writes gives insight to the way she feels about the new laws of Jim Crow.
In this article, The New Jim Crow, the author applies rhetorical devices to show her audience the new Jim Crow laws and how they relate to the new caste system in America. She uses her opinions to inform people on how to end racial tension and includes herself in the revolution. Alexander states, “Our criminal justice system functions more like a caste system than a system of crime control” (Alexander 11). She firmly believes in the new caste and uses this article to inform people of the problem and accurately