The 'New Jim Crow' label fits because the outcome is the same: a group of people is locked into a permanent subordinate status. It is a modern-day racial caste system that functions without ever needing to mention race, because 'criminal' has become the surrogate for 'Black.'
Creado por exalumnos de la Universidad de Columbia en San Francisco
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Creado por exalumnos de la Universidad de Columbia en San Francisco

Lena: You know, Miles, I was reading about Jarvious Cotton, and it’s one of those stories that just stops you in your tracks. His great-great-grandfather couldn’t vote because he was enslaved. His great-grandfather was killed by the Klan for trying. His father was barred by poll taxes. And today, Jarvious can’t vote because he’s labeled a felon. It’s this unbroken chain of exclusion.
Miles: It really is heavy, Lena. It challenges that common idea that we "triumphed over race" with the Civil Rights Movement or the election of Barack Obama. In reality, while Jim Crow laws were wiped off the books, we’ve seen the birth of a new caste-like system. Today, it’s perfectly legal to discriminate against someone labeled a "criminal" in all the ways it was once legal to discriminate based on race—housing, jobs, even jury service.
Lena: Exactly, and it’s all happening under this "colorblind" facade. Let’s explore how these systems of control actually evolved from the old Jim Crow into what we see today.