The New Jim Crow Lesson Plan

What is Alexander’s argument in Chapter 2? How does it connect to her overarching argument for the book as a whole?

Chapter 2 is largely about the War on Drugs and how it contributed to mass incarceration. Alexander’s argument is that “the system of mass incarceration is structured to reward mass drug arrests and facilitate the conviction and imprisonment of an unprecedented number of Americans, whether guilty or innocent” (61). She supports this argument by talking about changes/violations to the Fourth Amendment and incentives for local law enforcement agencies to become involved in the drug war. Alexander strongly hints at the fact that these polices by local and state...