The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America is a 2014 non-fiction book by political scientist Naomi Murakawa, a professor of African American studies at Princeton University.

[2] It addresses causes of the rapid increase in U.S. incarceration rates since the 1970s and of racial inequality in the U.S. prison system.

Specifically, it traces the roles of liberal politicians, particularly national-level Democrats, in shaping racially unequal incarceration policies.

[3] Murakawa's approach specifically "discounts intentions, recognizing that racial power is not necessarily exerted by will.

Minimum sentencing and drug laws have also significantly increased incarceration rates for nonviolent offenders.