This week we share the first part of a lecture by Elizabeth Hinton delivered at IU on October 12. In her talk, she traces the creation and rise of mass incarceration as a strategy of America’s ruling class. Her historical research, which culminated in a book last year called “From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime,” demonstrates that the explosion of prison construction predated any rise in crime, but was instead a response to the spread of social unrest and black protest.
We will follow up with the rest of Elizabeth Hinton’s talk, as well as our interview with her about riots, race, and rebellion, in the next episodes of Kite Line.