Cars and Jails: Dreams of Freedom, Realties of Debt and Prison

“Racism is like a Cadillac, they bring out a new model every year.”
— Malcolm X (a former auto worker)

Written in a lively, accessible fashion and drawing extensively on interviews with people who were formerly incarcerated, Cars and Jails examines how the costs of car ownership and use are deeply enmeshed with the U.S. prison system.

American consumer lore has long held the automobile to be a “freedom machine,” consecrating the mobility of a free people. Yet, paradoxically, the car also fun...