April 3, 2015
Event explores mass incarceration, racial justice
The United States imprisons a larger percentage of African Americans than South Africa did at the height of apartheid. In Washington, D.C., three out of every four young black men are likely to serve time in prison, according to projections.
Those stark facts are found in Michelle Alexander’s 2012 book “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.”
In a searing indictment of the U.S. criminal justice system, Alexander argues that mass incarceration is a system of social control that relegates millions of black people to second-class status and allows them to be discriminated against for the rest of their lives.
The book will be the focus of a May 7 community discussion about race and mass incarceration hosted by the UW College of Education.
A panel of experts will discuss issued raised in Alexander’s book from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center’s Unity Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public.
Panelists are:
- Naomi Murakawa, associate professor at Princeton University’s Center for African American Studies
- Joy Williamson-Lott, associate professor of the history of education at UW College of Education
- Richard Delgado, a scholar of critical race theory and John J. Sparkman Chair of Law at University of Alabama School of Law
- Jean Stefancic, professor and Clement Research Affiliate at University of Alabama School of Law
The talk will be moderated by Manka Varghese, associate professor of education, and is being organized by the Associated Students of the College of Education.
