The TRRA Book Club hosted by the DEI Committee is back! Our first conversation will cover chapters 1-4 of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Ring in the new year by joining us for the first virtual meeting on Sunday, January 2nd at 7:00 PM. The meetings are open to everyone, so bring a friend!
Go to The New Jim Crow to find a complete list of locations to purchase both a physical and digital copy of the book, or an audiobook.
The New Jim Crow Schedule & Objectives:
Weeks | Dates | Chapters | Focus & Objectives |
|---|---|---|---|
1 & 2 | 12/4 - 12/12, 2021 | 1 & 2 | Explain how categories of race were socially constructed as a method of controlling slaves and perpetuating the institution of chattel slavery. Describe how slavery was maintained by systematically preventing white and black members of poor and lower classes from forming alliances. Begin to trace the evolution of racial hierarchy after emancipation Supplemental Materials: A Convo with Michelle Alexander |
3 - 5 | 12/13/2021 - 1/2/2022 | 3 & 4 | Describe white opposition to desegregation and the search by white conservatives for a new racial order after the civil rights movement. Describe the role race played in the political realignments that took place in the decades following the civil rights movement. Explain how fear mongering, rhetoric and imagery were used to build support for the War on Drugs. Juxtapose race-neutral rhetoric about crime with the racially disproportionate impact the War on Drugs has had on communities of color. Supplemental Materials: Louder than a Riot-Hip Hop and Mass Incarceration |
5 | 1/2/2022 | 1 - 4 | Book Club Virtual Conversation #1 Register Here |
6 - 7 | 1/3 - 1/16, 2022 | 5 & 6 | Identify racial disparities in the rates of arrest, conviction and sentencing for drug crimes. Analyze how political rhetoric and media imagery have fed racial stereotypes about drug crime. Define implicit bias and discuss its prevalence in drug law enforcement. Evaluate how the Supreme Court has ruled with regard to discrimination in the criminal justice system. |
7 | 1/16/2022 | 5 & 6 | |
8 - 9 | 1/7 - 1/30, 2022 | 5 & 6 | Compare and evaluate different ideas about how to end racial caste and bring about racial justice in the United States. Think about what they can do to be part of the solution and begin making plans to “Do Something" especially in the context of our sport and in our communities Supplemental Materials: "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin "The Fire This Time" by Jesmyn Ward |
9 | 1/30/2022 | 5 & 6 | Book Club Virtual Conversation #3 Registration here! |
10 | 2/6/2022 | MOVIE | Watch the movie “13th” (Netflix) A common misconception surrounding the abolishment of slavery following the passing of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is that white Americans no longer had the legal means to strip African Americans of their freedom. The 13th Amendment, instead of creating a nation of equality, created a new way for white Americans to covertly enslave African Americans called mass incarceration. Since the passing of the 13th Amendment in1865 there have been various events that have instigated the effectiveness of this new form of slavery. Specifically, the “War on Crime” has been a key component for fueling this system of oppression. This lesson plan seeks to introduce students to the topic of mass incarceration as one of the most pressing civil rights issues of the 21st century. |
