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 ...

1. 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,

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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