Jarvious Cotton

Jarvious Cotton perhaps best illustrates the consequences in "The New Jim Crow". He committed a drug-related felony and as a result, was stripped of his voting rights. The tragic irony of Cotton's story is that he is not the first in his family to lose such a right. His great-great grandfather was a slave, not considered a human being under the law. His great-grandfather was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. His grandfather's life was threatened by the Ku Klux Klan if he tried to vote. Lastly, his father was unable to vote due to literacy tests and poll taxes. Colorblindness has confused the public into believing that racism is dead, but Cotton's story symbolizes the continuation of legalized racial discrimination, up until the present moment.

President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama is the symbol of black progress in America in "The New Jim Crow". A triumphant...