Ethnic Studies Practice Exam

Mass incarceration functions as a new form of racial control comparable to Jim Crow. Michelle Alexander argues that the scale of imprisonment, the collateral consequences of a criminal record, and the loss of rights and opportunities funnel Black and Latino communities into a stigmatized, second-class status. This system operates under a colorblind framework yet reproduces the social and political exclusions that characterized Jim Crow—disenfranchisement, barriers to employment and housing, and lasting social marginalization—so the result is a persistent racial hierarchy conducted through the criminal-legal system. The other options miss the point: the War on Drugs did not end racial disparities; rather, it helped produce them; the system is not fair; and the goal is not to advocate more punitive measures, but to critique how punishment sustains racial inequality.