Gains Made During Civil Rights Movements and Mass Incarceration of African Americans

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RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
Being rhetoric is the art of persuasion to get something done. It refers to how writers use words to convince the audience. This excerpt on rhetorical analysis gives details on Michelle Alexander’s claims on the law. She speaks more of the freedom of democracy, racism and how the law is ironically twisted to fit the needs of specific individuals. In her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander asserts that the great accomplishments and gains that were made during the days of the civil rights movements have sadly been watered down by the mass incarceration of African Americans under the pretext of war on drugs. This paper aims to delve deeper into this argument.
The central argument made by the author is that, while the previously oppressive Jim Crow laws are no longer in application, there is still a new form of oppression that affects the blacks. The criminal justice system, she argues, has been designed in such a way that backs who commit minor crimes face extremely punitive measures, which leave them hopeless and wit a feeling of marginalization (Alexander). The essence of analyzing a piece of literary work rhetorically is to establish the major points that stand out, and the subsequent impacts that these points have on the reader (University Writing Centre). Jarviors Cotton, a black American man was denied rights to vote since he was a felon at some point in his life. This has affected most of the members of his lineage due to the unfair law of the state. He says, “The more things change the more they remain the same”.
Many at times, the law is used in reverse depending on who it fits best. As Alexander states, people expect the pass law to shield them from harm yet the same law punishes them when they commit crime. The rights people fight for are rights to vote, employment, housing, educational opportunity, food stamps and other public benefits. However, once a black man is convicted of a felony, this law ceases to apply. They struggle to get back to the society after prison since all these laws stop them from getting any service.
The election of a black President in America was received with a lot of hope and expectation from the normal black man. It was believed that a lot would change for the better since he understood more about these people. Unfortunately the law is still manipulated. Racism has since not ceased in the country. Police brutality is on the rise. It is a more likely scene to find a black man being tortured on the street by the police without intervention from the public than a white man.
She further explains how racial stereotyping has extended even to institutions, both public and private. She argues giving an example of the Criminal Justice system. She says that in as much as two people (a black and a white man) are convicted ...