Alexander argumenta que "no hemos erradicado las castas raciales en Estados Unidos; las hemos meramente rediseñado". Al apuntar a hombres negros por medio de la Guerra contra las drogas y diezmando las comunidades de gente de color, el sistema de justicia criminal de Estados Unidos funciona como un sistema contemporáneo de control racial.
Black girls account for more than one in every three girls arrested in schools, and just under one in every three girls referred to law enforcement. This despite the fact that only about one in every seven female students is black. Monique W. Morris explores the myriad ways that black girls are being unfairly criminalized in schools and allowed to fail and/or fall through the cracks.