Scholar to visit UF, discuss new book on racial justice in the U.S.

September 22, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Legal scholar and Ohio State University Moritz College of Law professor Michelle Alexander will visit the University of Florida Levin College of Law to discuss her new book, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,” at noon today UF Law’s Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom (Holland Hall, Room 180).

The book examines the current state of race and racial justice in the United States, stating that the racial caste system that existed during the pre-civil rights era is still in place, it has just been redesigned.

Alexander points out that even though the U.S. has elected its first black president, the fact remains that many young black men remain disadvantaged in major U.S. cities because they are labeled as felons or are already behind bars. The criminal justice system – while maintaining an outward stance of colorblindness – serves as a modern means of racial control, according to the book.

Her book calls for a reevaluation of the current system and seeks to bring the issue of mass incarceration to the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in the U.S.

The discussion is sponsored by the Center on Children and Families and the Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations. The event is free and open to the public