Question 1

The &#34;prison boom&#34; described in &#34;The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration&#34; is&#10;A) largely a consequence of illegal drugs, most of which are smuggled across the U.S.-Mexican border.&#10;B) the main source of jobs for men and women in rural areas who have low educational attainment.&#10;C) one of many factors, including segregated housing, poor schools, crime-ridden environments, and job discrimination, that limits upward mobility and the escape from poverty for black Americans.&#10;D) driven by large corporations' drive for profits from the creation of a private prison system.

Accepted Answer

"The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration" describes the prison boom as one of many factors that limit upward mobility and the escape from poverty for black Americans. It is not solely driven by the illegal drug trade or the creation of a private prison system, but is influenced by a complex interaction of historical and social factors.

Question 2

According to Coates in &#34;The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration,&#34; the historically popular and political conclusion regarding the problems of poverty experienced by many African Americans was that&#10;A) only black women could rescue the black family given the large number of black males who are languishing in prison.&#10;B) the black family was a failure because women had driven men away, and men had abandoned their responsibilities.&#10;C) far too many women were becoming mothers before they were prepared to raise children.&#10;D) the War on Poverty helped white families but, for racist reasons, &#34;pulled the plug&#34; on blacks.

Accepted Answer

Coates discusses how the narrative around the black family's struggles with poverty often unfairly blamed the family structure itself, particularly criticizing the roles and behaviors of black men and women, suggesting a breakdown in family responsibilities and dynamics.

Question 3

How does Coates conclude his essay, &#34;The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration&#34;?&#10;A) He questions the limited goals of the civil rights movement to only end injustice.&#10;B) He insists that racial justice requires a major effort to engage in &#34;affirmative action for entire communities&#34; through rebuilding, improving schools, providing jobs, and reducing crime.&#10;C) He suggests there is a need for &#34;reparations&#34; to whole categories of people damaged for generations by racism and institutional discrimination.&#10;D) He concludes his essay with all of the above points.

Accepted Answer

Coates concludes his essay by arguing that racial justice requires a multi-faceted approach that involves more than just ending injustice. He emphasizes the need for affirmative action initiatives that support entire communities through efforts to rebuild schools, provide jobs, and reduce crime. Additionally, he suggests that reparations may be necessary for communities that have been damaged by generations of institutional discrimination. Coates thus argues for a comprehensive approach to addressing systemic racism and its effects on Black families in America.

Question 4

Who is Ta-Nehisi Coates profiling and responding to in his essay, &#34;The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration&#34;?&#10;A) Karl Marx&#10;B) Max Weber&#10;C) James Q. Wilson&#10;D) Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Accepted Answer

In his essay, "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration," Ta-Nehisi Coates is profiling and responding to Daniel Patrick Moynihan's 1965 report "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action." Coates critiques Moynihan's argument linking the black family's perceived disintegration to poverty and the welfare system, and instead attributes it to the systemic impact of mass incarceration on black communities.

Question 5

What does Coates mean by &#34;the Gray Wastes&#34; in his essay, &#34;The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration&#34;?&#10;A) the growing population of elderly people who depended on working people for support&#10;B) the rapid increase in the number of prisons and jails housing a vast portion of the U.S. population&#10;C) that portion of the national economy that is neither illegal activity (the black economy) nor the conventional, tax-paying, and legal labor market (the white economy) but something in between&#10;D) urban slums and the streets areas where the homeless live

Accepted Answer

In the essay, "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration," Coates refers to the Gray Wastes as the rapid increase in the number of prisons and jails housing a vast portion of the U.S. population. This is a term used to describe the areas of the country where large numbers of people are incarcerated, creating a societal "waste" of people who are isolated from their families and communities.

Question 6

Coates cites many statistics that show what about drug laws, longer prison sentences, and the stigma of having been in prison?&#10;A) They have all made black males much more likely to be in prison and fail to find work once they are released.&#10;B) They inhibit young white men from committing crimes they otherwise might have committed.&#10;C) They have reduced the crime rate by almost 50% in the last 20 years.&#10;D) All of the above are true.

Accepted Answer

Coates cites statistics showing that drug laws and longer prison sentences have disproportionately affected black males and that the stigma of having been in prison makes it difficult for them to find work once released. There is no evidence presented to support choices B or C.

Question 7

Which of the following is TRUE?&#10;A) Since 1960, both violent crime and imprisonment have risen together.&#10;B) Since 1960, violent crime has increased while imprisonment has declined.&#10;C) Since 1960, violent crime has declined but imprisonment has increased.&#10;D) After 1960, both violent crime and imprisonment rose, but thirty years later violent crime began to decline while imprisonment continued to rise.

Accepted Answer

Since 1960, there has been a complex relationship between violent crime rates and imprisonment rates in the United States. Initially, both rates increased, but starting in the early 1990s, violent crime rates began to decline while imprisonment rates continued to rise, reflecting changes in criminal justice policies rather than direct correlations with crime rates.

Question 8

The document Coates describes in detail, &#34;The Negro Family: The Case for National Action,&#34; was written&#10;A) soon after the Civil War.&#10;B) just as the Great Depression of the 1930s was getting underway.&#10;C) in 1965, about the time of the passage of major civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.&#10;D) during the presidential administration of Barack Obama.

Accepted Answer

Coates describes "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action" as being written in 1965, which was a pivotal year for civil rights legislation. The document was actually written by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, an assistant secretary in the Department of Labor, and presented to President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Deck 34: Ta-Nehisi Coates, the Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration