10:00am to 12:00pm
Impact Arizona
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Join the conversation at the Book Discussion Group!
Explore the critically-acclaimed best seller, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander. The September session will focus on chapters 4 and 5.
FREE | Open to the public | Ages 18 years+
New participants welcome...even if you haven't read the book!
Chapters 4 and 5:
In chapter four, Alexander focuses on the many challenges that people face once they have been released from prison. The formerly incarcerated are often stigmatized and the excessive denial of opportunities sometimes far outweighs the wrongs committed. Those released from prison on parole can be returned to prison for the most minor of infractions. Lynch mobs may be long gone, but the threat of police violence is present, and while the “whites only” signs may also be gone, new signs have gone up informing the public that “felons” are not wanted.
Chapter five provides an overview of Alexander’s central argument – that mass incarceration functions in a similar manner to the Jim Crow laws of a hundred years ago – while acknowledging the differences between the two systems. In the author’s view, both systems are “structured to lock [those caught in the system] into a subordinate position” and it is African American men who, like their grandfathers, who are disproportionately affected by Jim Crow’s latest iteration. Alexander divides this insidious system into three parts: the roundup, formal control, and invisible punishment.
Directions & Parking
Venue:
The Book Discussion Group will be held at:
Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church
1401 E. Jefferson Street
Phoenix, AZ 85041
Directions:
Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church is located on E. Jefferson Road between 14th & 15th Streets and is easily accessible from the I-10.
For detailed driving directions from your location, visit GoogleMaps (https://goo.gl/maps/Zbcpcya8iCk) and select "Directions" on the map. You can also contact our office for assistance at 602-496-1376.
Parking:
Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church's main parking lot accessible from 15th Street. Additional parking is located west of the church on 14th Street south of E. Jefferson. This lot is unpaved.
Public Transportation:
Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church is conveniently accessible by public transporation and is on the lightrail line. Visit http://www.valleymetro.org/ for lightrail and bus schedules.