Reference no: EM133392040

Question

The author of the New Jim Crow addresses voter disenfranchisement as another form of the social exile of African Americans. She also highlights the following ironic effect; "The Census Bureau counts imprisoned individuals as residents of the jurisdiction in which they are incarcerated. Because most new prison construction occurs in predominately white, rural areas, white communities benefit from inflated population totals at the expense of the urban, overwhelmingly minority communities from which the prisoners come. This has enormous consequences for the redistricting process. White rural communities that house prisons wind up with more people in state legislatures representing them, while poor communities of color lose representatives because it appears their population has declined" (p. 193). What does this macro-level action mean for dealing with inequalities in society? What should be done to ensure the right to vote and be represented in government?