Michelle Alexander facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michelle Alexander
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Alexander in 2017
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| Born | October 7, 1967 |
| Education | Vanderbilt University (BA) Stanford University (JD) |
| Known for | The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Race in the United States criminal justice system Racial profiling Racism in the United States |
| Institutions | Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York |
Michelle Alexander (born October 7, 1967) is an American writer, lawyer, and activist for civil rights. She is famous for her 2010 book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. She also writes opinion articles for the New York Times.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Michelle Alexander was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 7, 1967. Her parents were John and Sandra Alexander. In 1977, her family moved to the San Francisco area.
She went to high school in Ashland, Oregon, with her younger sister, Leslie Alexander. Leslie later became a professor of History and African American Studies.
For college, Michelle went to Vanderbilt University and then earned a law degree from Stanford Law School.
Career as a Lawyer and Professor
From 1998 to 2005, Alexander worked for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Northern California. There, she led a project to fight against racial profiling, which is when police unfairly target people based on their race.
She also worked as a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Harry Blackmun. Later, she taught at Stanford Law School and was a visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
In 2018, she began writing for the New York Times. She worked with her sister on a piece for "The 1619 Project," a famous project about American history.
The Book That Made Her Famous
What is The New Jim Crow About?
In 2010, Alexander published her most famous work, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. In the book, she argues that unfair treatment based on race didn't end with the Civil Rights Movement.
She says that new systems were created that harm Black communities. She compares this to the old Jim Crow laws, which were unfair laws that separated Black and white people in the past.
Her book focuses on how many African American men have been sent to prison. Alexander writes that this new system depends on "racial indifference," which means not caring about the problems that different racial groups face.
Impact of the Book
The New Jim Crow explains how people who have been to prison face legal discrimination. This can make it hard for them to find jobs or housing.
The book became a bestseller, appearing on the New York Times and Washington Post bestseller lists. Many schools and universities, like Brown University, have had their students read it.
Some scholars have different views. For example, law professor James Forman Jr. agrees with many of Alexander's ideas but thinks she focuses too much on the War on Drugs and not enough on other types of crime.
Work in Documentaries
Hidden Colors 2
Alexander was in the 2012 documentary Hidden Colors 2: The Triumph of Melanin. In the film, she talked about how sending so many people to prison affects Black communities. She stated that more African American adults were in the justice system than were enslaved in 1850.
13th
She also appeared in the 2016 documentary 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay. The film explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, from slavery to modern times.
In the film, Alexander says, "So many aspects of the Old Jim Crow are suddenly legal again once you've been branded a felon. And so it seems that in America, we haven't so much ended racial caste but simply redesigned it."
Personal Life
In 2002, Alexander married Carter M. Stewart, who is also a lawyer. They have three children.
Awards
- 2005: Soros Justice Fellowship from the Open Society Institute
- 2016: 21st Annual Heinz Award in Public Policy
- 2017: The Ohio State University's MLK Dreamer Award
See also
In Spanish: Michelle Alexander (abogada) para niños
- Joe Biden Supreme Court candidates
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 2)
