Benjamin Lee 2/18/14 Prison Andrea Martinez (Th 10-11) Unit One Reflection Many have attributed the

United States exceptional mass incarceration system as a purely contemporary development that has only been manifest following the war on drugs. And indeed, it is the modern idea of the prison-industrial complex that explains the exponentially increasing number of incarcerated persons from the 1980s. However, to label Americas carceral system as an incipient idea disregards the pivotal role that history has played in establishing the various elements that uphold the system. Michelle Alexander uses a birdcage metaphor to illustrate the idea that the bars and wires that trap the victims in are more than just modern ideas of racism or a desire to fight crime. She asserts that todays prison-industrial complex is historically manufactured with wires arranged in a specific way over time that have formed the basic structure of the cage (179). Thus, it is only by exploring history that one may recognize the longstanding roots of purportedly modern ideas like the racial marginalization of African Americans or overarching themes like social control. Alexander explores the idea of a new Jim Crow (Alexander 180), in which she asserts that todays prison system largely rests upon the same race-based policies and racist ideals in the post Civil War era. Prison studies today must understand how communities of color have come to be increasingly marginalized by the prison-industrial complex. Alexander writes that the Jim Crow laws were born, in part, due to a desire among white elites to exploit the resentments, vulnerabilities, and racial biases for political or economic gain (Alexander 186). The notion of racism was an element that was introduced as an integral part for those wielding power in America; the distinction between racial and ethnic groups within society was powerfully evident

in the Jim Crow era and the years preceding it as well. And in the same fashion, the allegedly colorblind carceral system today is largely steered by the disproportionate imprisonment of persons of color. It is not merely a coincidental trend, as crime rates such as drug usage - do not fluctuate greatly between African Americans and whites. Furthermore, the agenda of effectively legalizing the aforementioned racial discrimination also reflects norms that were established in that era. Alexander explains the rather tacit distinction between the Jim Crow era and contemporary times. The Jim Crow era sought an agenda of overt discrimination in the form of employment, housing, public benefits, and public accommodations (Alexander 186) that created a society in which African Americans were segregated and victimized in plain sight. Today, however, the delicate interplay of stripping the incarcerated felons of every aspect of social, political, and economic life (Alexander 186) and ensuring that felons are disproportionately black surreptitiously uphold the powerfully racialized system. Thus, it is only by discerning the historical roots of the racial bias of our prison system that we can better understand the space in which it exists today. Broader themes of the modern prison-industrial complex can also be traced back to historical traditions and norms; for example, the powerful idea of social control was visible as early as the colonial period and first contact with Native Americans. The imposition of the Puritan way of life upon Native Americans, as seen with religious and educational practices, exemplifies much more than a simple agenda of trying to civilize the natives. Walter Littlemoon describes this Anglo desire for control in school, like how if [he] spoke Lakota, [he] was hit on Sundays, [he] was required to attend church twice a month [his] head would be shaved (Littlemoon 43). It was within the European colonial agenda to mitigate and control a fictionalized threat that Native Americans posed to their expansionist enterprise, whether it was

physical danger or a fear of cultural differences. The culmination of all of these rather innocuous practices over time indicates the pervasive idea of controlling marginalized societies that is rampant today. The subjugation of African Americans through incarceration seems to similarly instill a sense of safety within a society a misguided perception that African American citizens must be controlled and stowed away from the rest of society. And indeed, Dolovich asserts that it is the primary function of the American penal system to control those people officially labeled as criminals (Dolovich 261) both inside and outside the physical prison system. The historic desire for control by particular individuals tragically prompts a society that is willing to partake in this tragic carceral bargain (Dolovich 267) defined by powerful social control. Of course, there are components of the prison-industrial complex that are unique to the 21st century. For example, Jim Crow laws were constructed with an explicit orientation against the black community while todays mass incarceration system does not. Furthermore, there is an absence of overt racial hostility (Alexander 190) in the general public today, contrasted by very unapologetic politicians who constructed Jim Crow laws as well as rules for Native American conduct. However, it is essential to grasp the idea that all of these preceding phases have contributed to the grand system of covert racism and control today the phase of explicit exploitation influenced the development of subordination that has now birthed an era of tacit marginalization (Alexander 207). Although manifesting in different forms, there is no element of our carceral regime today that stands independently in space or time. Prison studies inherently depend upon the examination of history because the prisonindustrial complex is a system that was manifested in the earliest stages of American development. Excluding particular groups from society is a theme that has been ever-present since colonialism and is undoubtedly palpable today. However, history need not and ought not

 dictate the continuation of this crooked tradition. Just as it sheds light on the critiques of our system, so it also brings forth direction on how to remedy those issues. Given that we understand that our contemporary carceral practices are longstanding traditions, it should be clear that we must not only target surface-level issues like policing per se, but also overarching societal customs of racial discrimination and social control that have cemented into the justice system.

Works Cited: Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York. The New Press. 2010. Print. Dolovich, Sharon. Exclusion and Control in the Carceral State, 16 BERKELEY J. CRIM. L. 259 (2011). Littlemoon, Walter. They Call Me Uncivilized: The Memoir of an Everyday Lakota Man from Wounded Knee. Bloomington, New York. iUniverse Inc. 2009. Print.