Critique

The new Jim Crow(Alexander pp 95-120) The thought of mass incarceration and crime has been directly associated with being black.

Being black was somehow linked to being a criminal, a potential criminal or a drug dealer

educated, or not all black people were covered with this blanket of judgment. White ex-convicts

had a better chance at rebuilding their lives when out of prison than the blacks since no matter

what they did or how they changed they were still viewed as a criminal and faced all sorts of

challenges one being stigmatization. It seemed to be that whiteness mitigates crime and

blackness define crime. Black youth faced a myriad of challenges because of their skin color;

they were considered suspects, detained, exclusion from employment and housing, denial of

educational opportunity, and some were pushed out of schools through racial bias school

policies. For the black youth, their first arrest or interrogation was like a rite of passage since it

was considered as being ‘made black.' Mass incarceration, however, shouldn’t be considered as the new Jim Crow since the two are said to have a number of differences to them. Mass

incarceration like Jim Crow was both as a result of racial opportunism, individuals and

institutions such as the legal system took advantage of the racism factor and, as a result bent over

sideways and turning a blind eye to the fact that the blacks were most affected by the mass

incarceration, the blanket judgment of all blacks as criminals justified the incarceration. The Jim

Crow era believed that African Americans were morally and intellectually inferior and seen to be

slaves and could not be considered equal to whites in any way. Mass incarceration like any other

caste system has been supported primarily by racism, the lack of care for people of other races.

Incarceration in the article has been attributed to a number of things; such as racial bias and

discrimination, politics of respectability has been widely adopted such that for the blacks to be

considered equal then they must prove it by getting an education and working hard and having

equally influential jobs, and this has caused the ‘successful’ blacks to shun their fellow blacks who are poor and cannot afford an education as them. The politics of respectability does not take

away the blanket of judgment from the blacks and does not solve the mass incarceration it does

not end the racism. Civil rights groups have also fallen victim to the politics of respectability by

only telling stories of racial injustice that evoke the sympathy of the whites clearly distancing

themselves from those convicted and stigmatized daring not to step outside their comfort zone

and ruffle feathers. All in all, the main issue is not about the race of the people standing, seating

or living next to us or working with or for us it all boils down to caring for all the people we see

regardless of their race once we care for each other then we lift the blanket of racism, and we

bring an end to incarceration.

The San Patricios: Mexico's Fighting Irish Immigrants, mostly of Irish origin in 1986 had enrolled in the United States army and were

sent to invade Mexico with general Zachary Taylor’s army in the said war of Manifest Destiny, what can be termed as a change of heart in the immigrants as a result of ill-treatment and

doubting why they were fighting a catholic country they changed allegiance and joined forces

with Mexico under Captain John Riley and went by the name of the St. Francis Battalion. Once

the US had control over the halls of Montezuma and Mexico surrendered nearly half its territory

to the United States some of the members of the St. Francis Battalion were captured, and those

that weren’t killed were branded with a ‘D’ on their cheek to symbolize they were deserters. Captain Riley saw the Mexicans as friendly and hospitable people when he was a prisoner in

Mexico. The Irish and Mexicans shared many similarities, their struggles to get to America,

domination from oppressors, communal and family values, common spirituality, love for art,

music and dance, these similarities brought the two groups together and as analysts wonder,

"what could have motivated a group of drunken adventurers to don the enemy's uniform and

fight to the death", their similarities did. The war of Manifest Destiny brought together two

immigrant groups, which fought to the death during the war that lasted two years, and to date are

growing closer and working hand in hand in commemoration of their loved ones and sharing in

their religion and cultures for instance through exhibits.

Sacco and Vanzetti: murdered in an American crusade against ‘terrorism’ One of the most notorious legal murders in the United States of America was the execution of

the two Italian anarchists (Sacco and Vanzetti), a shoemaker and fish seller. The paymaster was

shot dead amidst the scuffle when robbers snatched wages from him and the two Italian

anarchists despite their strong alibis were charged with first-degree murder and thrown into jail.

The defense of the two was headed by the anarchist Italian defense committee and the Industrial

workers of the world (IWW) and was divided amongst carrying out bomb attacks or building a

broader campaign. The presiding judge stated that, despite the fact that Sacco may not have

committed the crime, he is accused of; he is culpable because he is an enemy of the existing

institutions. For several years, a massive defense team tried to save Sacco and Vanzetti but the

legal system ignored the evidence but instead of breaking the people's hope it brought them

together within the Unites States and across the globe. Protests and rallies took place

campaigning to save the two. The ruling class was determined to see the two men die, and Judge

Thayer ordered the execution of the two. Their death may have been seen as a win for the ruling

class but none the less a victory for the people since it brought them together and as they

marched arm in arm, behind their grief was a determination by the workers that would not be

cowed into submission these two simple men of humble backgrounds a shoemaker and fish seller

changed the lives off workers in the US and in the whole world. All people came together and

made their efforts one trying to provide evidence on the innocence of Sacco and Vanzetti, and

when the legal system turned them down they resulted to other means keeping hope alive and

trying to prove a point to the ruling class, their efforts drummed up support far and wide but,

unfortunately, wasn’t enough to change the desire of the ruling class which prevailed over the will of the people. This, however, was the start of a new dawn for the workers of the whole

nation and world showing them that there is strength in unity. The win by the ruling class to have

their way can be seen as a shortly lived victory since the workers all around gained something

more valuable and had the last laugh, and this is echoed in Vanzetti’s final words: “If it had not been for these things, I might have lived out my life talking at street corners to scorning men. “I might have died unmarked, unknown, a failure. Now we are not failures. Our words, our lives,

our pains, nothing! The taking of our lives – lives of a good shoemaker and a poor fish-peddler – all! That last moment belongs to us – which the agony is our triumph.” Presentation by Professor Edward Gomez