NYACP Racial Equity Media Club Book Discussion

"The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander

Thursday, January 23, 2025
12:00-1:00pm
via Zoom

RSVP for 1/23/2025

As part of our ongoing commitment to promoting racial equity and addressing systemic racism, the NYACP Racial Equity Media Club will be discussing "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander.

Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel a nationwide social movement. The New Jim Crow is such a book. Praised by Harvard Law professor Lani Guinier as "brave and bold," this book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control—relegating millions to a permanent second-class status—even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness. In the words of Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, this book is a "call to action."

You can purchase the book on Amazon HERE for $10.12.

We encourage you to read the book before the discussion to ensure an engaging and insightful conversation. 

Join us as we come together to learn, grow, and advocate for racial equity in our work as collaborative professionals. Together, we can foster positive change and address systemic racism within our communities.

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." –Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution

For some time, the NYACP has been engaged in ongoing conversations about how to support anti-racist work and broaden knowledge and representation within our membership. In 2023, we launched the Racial Equity Committee to facilitate different avenues to increase awareness on issues surrounding racial equity and justice. 

Aside from providing ongoing training programs and discussions for the NYACP membership, the Racial Equity Media Club was created. Every other month there will be a video or book that Club members will view or read a specific selection and then discuss as a group at a Club meeting. Eblasts will go out for each meeting and registration to each meeting will be required. Registration links are below.

There are also suggestions on the website HERE to read, view, and listen to regarding racial equity for your own personal reference.

If you would like more information about the Racial Equity Committee, please contact the NYACP Office.

Both the NYACP Media Club and the media resource list below are intended to encourage engagement with materials and subjects that may be normally overlooked, and to engage our members to be open to different perspectives and experiences.

Log in information will be sent to you in a confirmation email. 

These meetings are for NYACP Members Only.  

Future Meetings: Please mark your calendars!

February Field Trip - Date and Location TBD

Film: 3/27 - Just Mercy

Book 5/22 Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

June Field Trip- Date and Location TBD