Read the text, A new Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander as part of
their online hours. Upon completion of the book, students will write a reaction paper integrating the concepts
and information they have read and discussed in class. Your reaction paper should attend to the following
questions:
- How does what Michelle Alexander presents fit with your understanding, your experience, or what you
previously knew about race and racial control in the United States? - What pieces of information, or ways of looking at information, were new to you?
- What insights did you gain from the book?
- Has the evidence Michelle Alexander presents of a racial caste system, a new Jim Crow in the United States,
given you a new perspective? - Does her work confirm the existence of a system of which you were already aware?
- When have you been silent, or turned away, from evidence of this system?
- How does the argument in this book influence how you view clients’ experience based on their race?
- How do you envision using this knowledge to approach micro and macro social work practice?
- Were you aware that in many states, being convicted of a criminal offense could result in the loss of the right
to vote? What do you think of this policy? Explain your position.
Preferred language style Simple (Easy vocabulary, simple grammar constructions)
Sample Solution