I think that the message that Angela Davis is trying to convey in the novel Are Prison’s Obsolete is that history is repeating itself. The significance in this novel is that she equated prisons to Slavery, Lynching, and Segregation in America Specifically I’n the Deep South.
Just as these three major historical moments in time were horrifying for black people and clearly fostered a world derived in hatred and unspeakable injustices for Black people prisons are no different in fact they are the absolute same. Claiming to help cause restorative Justice in America but are doing just the opposite not only for Black people in Modern day times but for all Marginalized communities such as Latinos, women and Native Americans.
She argues that these institutions only set those that are not white in America up for failure causing them to be felons and never even having a fair chance in life to restore themselves and even worse they end up dyeing in the system only making prison’s a revolving door for the oppressed to be received with open arms. The growing population of these institutions are only that of black people as history furthers.
She mentions on profound slave turned philosopher Fredrick Douglas who’s had had this same argument and theory throughout the early 1800s that the white American Justice system is far less likely to convict of a crime than the black one proving that the black just system is more punishable by law even if convicted of the same crime. So then the question becomes how can we make prisons Obsolete and stop this disservice of Justice once more.
What can we put in place as an equal Justice system for all and serve as a consequence alternative for crimes how do we even approach crime in a different light and stop White America from ruining peoples lives merely because they think that they are unequal from blacks.
Can this happen will America be open to even considering this as an option and has prisons run it’s course.
Can the oppressors look within themselves and see that they have been the problem all along because of their own selfish hate who will be the ones to speak out against these heinous acts Only fate may answer this question.