The Importance Of The Criminal Justice System By Michelle Alexander

Through her appeals to emotion and credibility, as well as the exigency with which she writes with, author Michelle Alexander attempts to communicate to the reader the misconception that racism and segregation have been eradicated from modern American society. She gears her argument specifically toward the criminal justice system. She also expands upon the belief that there exists a racial caste system in the United States today. Her appeal to emotion helps her communicate the struggles of Black-Americans to the reader, allowing them to empathize with these individuals and the daily hardships they experience due to the society’s perception of them. Alexander writes with an exigency that is evident throughout the entirety of the publication,

One reason being the prevalence of the issue at hand in today’s society. In the last five years, racial tensions have quickly shifted to the forefront of societal issues in the United States. Recent incidents involving police violence towards Black Americans have left a schism in trust between the Black community and the police force, which subsequently leads to a strong mistrust of the criminal justice system as well. This all culminates in the publication reaching a higher level of accessibility because of its relevance in current societal affairs. As many Americans turn on their televisions and hear about the plethora of questionable police shootings against Black-Americans, some go on to further in an attempt to expand their knowledge on the subject. This leads to a surge in readers interested in learning more about social injustice in America, allowing Alexander’s piece to receive more of the spotlight. Another reason for her exigency is her bias toward the issue. Michelle Alexander is a Black-American that previously served as the Racial Justice Project at the ACLU of Northern California. This comes into effect as Alexander holds an innate bias towards the discrimination against Black-Americans. This plays into her exigency as she desperately yearns for a reformation of the criminal justice system, in order to decrease or even cease the unfair treatment of minorities such as