Question

Alexander points to Reagan’s presidency as the full development of the Republican revolution and what she later refers to as the "Age of Colorblindness." According to her analysis, how did racial discourse adapt to the needs and demands of this period?

Answer 1

This question refers to the text “Mass Incarceration as a Form of Racialized Social Control” by Michelle Alexander.

In this text, Alexander points to Reagan's presidency as a moment in which the rhetoric of "color-blindness" began. This led to racial discourse being employed in new and adapted ways that reacted to the needs of the period.

She argues that Reagan employed a strategy in which he exploited racial hostility and conflict without openly referencing race. Instead, he used terms such as "welfare queens" and "criminal predators" that did not necessarily mentioned race, but that people understood as having racial connotations. In this way, he appealed to poor, white Republicans who felt angry about the support that the Democratic Party gave to the civil rights movement.