We rely on readers to keep our website open to all. Help sustain a public space for collective reasoning and imagination—make a tax-deductible donation today.
Michael Javen Fortner is assistant professor and academic director of Urban Studies at the Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies at the City University of New York. He is the author of Black Silent Majority: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of Punishment.
Mass incarceration is so politicized that we can't talk about its origins.
A political and literary forum, independent and nonprofit since 1975. Registered 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more about our mission
Just in time for the holidays, get any three print issues of Boston Review for just $35 – that’s 40% off the cover price!
Before December 9, mix and match any three issues for one low price using code 3FOR35.
Just in time for the holidays, get any three print issues of Boston Review for just $35 – that’s 40% off the cover price!
Before December 9, mix and match any three issues for one low price using code 3FOR35.
That’s what sociologist Alondra Nelson says of Boston Review. Independent and nonprofit, we believe in the power of collective reasoning and imagination to create a more just world.
That’s why there are no paywalls on our website, but we can’t do it without the support of our readers. Please make a tax-deductible donation to help us create a more inclusive and egalitarian public sphere—open to everyone, regardless of ability to pay.