Hello again and welcome back. This week's post will be my last, and I must say that I'm sad to end this blog; I had a great time working on it!
In this final post, I will be giving an overview of what I learned from The New Jim Crow. Michelle Alexander's book is one of the most powerful pieces of text that I've interacted with, and I thoroughly enjoyed deepening my own understanding of racial inequality.
As someone who doesn't personally experience the concepts discussed in The New Jim Crow, learning about the many facets of systematic racism was incredibly stimulating. I've never been exposed to the vast majority of topics that Alexander examines, and I think that this is because I live in rural New Hampshire. As someone who has grown up here in the "Live Free or Die" state, I've developed in an environment where, according to the US Census Bureau, 93.6% of people are White.
This statistic is extremely significant because it highlights the fact that Granite Staters live in a racial bubble. The state's lack of diversity has drastically affected the personal development and prejudices its constituents hold. This statistic may even personally affect me less than it appears because I've grown up in a small town in NH; a place that demographically consists of an even higher percentage of white people as opposed to larger cities like Manchester or Nashua.
The first time that I truly became aware of this fact was my freshman year of high school. This is because when I was a freshman I read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I read Coates' book as part of a program my town was putting on called: "Hopkinton Reads." Part of the program was a panel discussion at our town library, which I attended. The discussion consisted of four accomplished panelists discussing the book, and an audience Q & A. I was certainly the youngest person in the room, so I felt that there was a lot of attention drawn to my presence. One of these questions from the audience was actually directed at me; it was something along the lines of: "As a young person, how do you feel that this book personally affected your understanding of race?" At first, I was a bit taken aback by this question because, as a naive fourteen-year-old, I didn't fully understand this complex work, but after about ten seconds of gathering my thoughts: I responded. I explained that as someone who has lived in New Hampshire for the entirety of my life, I never understood what the significance of race was because I'd never been physically around it; but after reading Between the World and Me I could comprehend what people described as "White Privilege." Before experiencing Coates work I never understood what "White Privilege" was because I never had anyone who was of a different race to compare myself to.
Now, two years later, I feel as if I'm able to grasp the concept of racial inequality more comprehensively. Reading The New Jim Crow has been more effective than Between the World and Me was because I've had another two years to build up grey matter.
I particularly thought that Alexander's illustration of Mass Incarceration was incredibly powerful and completely applicable to my observations of American society; outside of racially-uniform rural New Hampshire.
In the last chapter "The Fire This Time," which is a reference to Civil Rights leader James Baldwin's 1962 letter entitled The Fire Next Time, Alexander writes:
This quotation beautifully encapsulates what is reverberated throughout The New Jim Crow. Our society is only focused on portraying itself as accepting to others, when in fact we continue to marginalize people of color by locking them in a prison cell. America must come to terms with its tendency to consistently penalize people who aren't White and focus on deepening the societal understanding of a multitude of cultures. We must learn from our differences; not exacerbate them. That is how we can ensure the end of systematic racism.
“U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: New Hampshire.” Census Bureau QuickFacts, www.census.gov/quickfacts/nh.
In this final post, I will be giving an overview of what I learned from The New Jim Crow. Michelle Alexander's book is one of the most powerful pieces of text that I've interacted with, and I thoroughly enjoyed deepening my own understanding of racial inequality.
As someone who doesn't personally experience the concepts discussed in The New Jim Crow, learning about the many facets of systematic racism was incredibly stimulating. I've never been exposed to the vast majority of topics that Alexander examines, and I think that this is because I live in rural New Hampshire. As someone who has grown up here in the "Live Free or Die" state, I've developed in an environment where, according to the US Census Bureau, 93.6% of people are White.
This statistic is extremely significant because it highlights the fact that Granite Staters live in a racial bubble. The state's lack of diversity has drastically affected the personal development and prejudices its constituents hold. This statistic may even personally affect me less than it appears because I've grown up in a small town in NH; a place that demographically consists of an even higher percentage of white people as opposed to larger cities like Manchester or Nashua.
The first time that I truly became aware of this fact was my freshman year of high school. This is because when I was a freshman I read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I read Coates' book as part of a program my town was putting on called: "Hopkinton Reads." Part of the program was a panel discussion at our town library, which I attended. The discussion consisted of four accomplished panelists discussing the book, and an audience Q & A. I was certainly the youngest person in the room, so I felt that there was a lot of attention drawn to my presence. One of these questions from the audience was actually directed at me; it was something along the lines of: "As a young person, how do you feel that this book personally affected your understanding of race?" At first, I was a bit taken aback by this question because, as a naive fourteen-year-old, I didn't fully understand this complex work, but after about ten seconds of gathering my thoughts: I responded. I explained that as someone who has lived in New Hampshire for the entirety of my life, I never understood what the significance of race was because I'd never been physically around it; but after reading Between the World and Me I could comprehend what people described as "White Privilege." Before experiencing Coates work I never understood what "White Privilege" was because I never had anyone who was of a different race to compare myself to.
Now, two years later, I feel as if I'm able to grasp the concept of racial inequality more comprehensively. Reading The New Jim Crow has been more effective than Between the World and Me was because I've had another two years to build up grey matter.
I particularly thought that Alexander's illustration of Mass Incarceration was incredibly powerful and completely applicable to my observations of American society; outside of racially-uniform rural New Hampshire.
In the last chapter "The Fire This Time," which is a reference to Civil Rights leader James Baldwin's 1962 letter entitled The Fire Next Time, Alexander writes:
We should hope not for a colorblind society but instead for a world in which we can see each other fully, learn from each other, and do what we can to respond to each other with love.(244)
This quotation beautifully encapsulates what is reverberated throughout The New Jim Crow. Our society is only focused on portraying itself as accepting to others, when in fact we continue to marginalize people of color by locking them in a prison cell. America must come to terms with its tendency to consistently penalize people who aren't White and focus on deepening the societal understanding of a multitude of cultures. We must learn from our differences; not exacerbate them. That is how we can ensure the end of systematic racism.
Sources
As your classmate (and fellow town-member), I completely agree with your experience of race where we live. Nearly everyone I know is white, and those that are not are adopted by white parents and are raised in completely white culture. I never feel qualified to talk about racial issues because I have little to no experience with people of different cultures all together. In theory, I think I understand racial injustice, but my understanding is significantly limited because all I have done is read about it. I've never seen it. It isn't close enough to home.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed Alexander's discussion of colorblindness. I never really understood what the politically correct behavior was; is it disrespectful to acknowledge that someone's skin has more melanin? Is that defining their appearance by their race? When I point out a non white person in a crowd, is it offensive to mention their race? By no means do I want to separate these people by differentiating them based on race, but I also don't want to ignore their race altogether because that seems disrespectful to the group as a whole.
As a whole, I really enjoyed reading your blog posts. You always seemed to get something a little different from me out of each chapter. It was interesting to see your perspective on the same topic.
Hi again Georgia,
DeleteI'm glad that we were both able to share in the experience of reading this book. I think that due to both of our relationships with demographics this book was unequivocally worthwhile. I also enjoyed the analysis of colorblindness that Alexander provided in "The Fire This Time" because I have found myself asking the same questions you pointed out. I agree that we both had slightly different takeaways from each chapter, and I always valued reading your perspective. This has been a really beneficial assignment and process. Thanks again!
Colby, I've enjoyed your voice and style in your blog posts. They have been a pleasure to read.
ReplyDelete