Writing Assignment

Reading: “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander

Read 1 Chapters 1 & 2 Assignment for “The New Jim Crow”

The following is information regarding your reading assignment and written assignment for each week of our book read. Each week you will need to read two chapters and answer the discussion questions below. Answers for each question should be at least 200 words.  Each week you will answer 2-4 questions. Some questions will have multiple parts. You should avoid answering with short yes/no answers.  These are discussion questions designed to make you reflect on the information you are reading and to think through your answers. Answers should flow as if they were short “essay” papers.

Book read: Chapters 1 and 2. Answers For Each Question Should Be At Least 200 Words. 

Question 1: “When you opened the book, what beliefs about race, racial progress, and our criminal justice program did you hold? What biases, stereotypes, or assumptions might influence your thinking? What life experiences have shaped your views?”

Question 2: “When you read chapter 1, was any of this history new to you? Do you see similar ‘divide and conquer’ dynamics at work today?”

Question 3: “How does mainstream media portray our criminal justice system? How are ‘criminals’ depicted? What voices are heard in news coverage of crime? Whose voices are missing? What are the images, ideas, and messages that have most influenced your beliefs and attitudes about our criminal justice system”?

Question 4: “Who benefits from the ‘War on Drugs’? Who is harmed?”