Banned Book Spotlight - The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Each week we spotlight one of the more the 800 books banned in school districts across Texas.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander is included on the Krause List and is currently banned in the Northeast school district.
The premise reads: The New Jim Crow is a stunning account of the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class status—denied the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights Movement.
Being on the Krause List isn’t the first time The New Jim Crow found itself in a controversial situation. When the book was first published in 2010, it began to face backlash for causing divisiveness between the races, and was subsequently banned in several prisons in the state of New Jersey. The ACLU took up the cause and was able to correct the ban, and the book was once again widely available. Fast-forward to several years later, and State Representative Matt Krause began compiling a list that would lead to the current situation of book banning in Texas school districts. Any book that had a history of controversy found its way onto the list, regardless of content or previous decisions. Such is the case with The New Jim Crow. The claims that the books contents might cause certain individuals discomfort or guilt should not be taken lightly. The book is meant to do just that, as it details the current penal system’s purpose—which is to deny the constitutional rights of a person because of their race. But does that give cause for banning in schools? One could argue that the material and subject matter isn’t appropriate for younger children, but high school age kids should be allowed access to controversial material—especially in regard to race and injustice in our country.
Content concerns in fictional books are often due to personal disagreement with lifestyle choices, and pearl clutching, but when non-fiction books are called into question, it can only be due to a desire to erase accurate accounts of historical evidence. After all, isn’t history determined by the victors?