African Americans and punishment for crime: A critique of mainstream and neoliberal discourses

Williams, Jeffrey P.; Battle, Nishaun T.

doi:10.1080/10509674.2017.1363116

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Yet, if ideological social control mechanisms around race (see e.g., Williams & Battle, 2017) is such that Black males must be controlled in ways that are latent because slavery and Jim Crow are now outlawed, then ICAC more than gets the job done. ICAC alongside already existing social abnormalities such as structural inequality and racism, divergent masculinities, and a criminal legal system that targets Black communities, creates a perfect storm behind which modern day anti-Black policy and inclinations may hide, and because of this Black men like those in this sample morph into a massive public health crisis in pure silence, with mass incarceration at its forefront.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Implications of Incarceration and Reentry on Returning Citizens: A Qualitative Examination of Black Men’s Experiences in a Northeastern City

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While a great deal of research captures the lived experiences of Black men as they navigate through the criminal legal system and onto reentry, very little research is grounded in how those processes are directly connected to their health. Although some research argues that mass incarceration is a determinant of poor health, there is a lack of qualitative analyses from the perspective of Black men. Black men face distinct pathways that lead them into the criminal legal system, and these same pathways await them upon reentry. This study aims to examine the health implications associated with incarceration and reentry of Black men. While adopting a phenomenological approach alongside interviews, our findings show both race- and gender-specific outcomes for the men in our sample. For example, health and wellness appears to be a significant theme that governs their (in)ability to matriculate society. Moreover, their contact with the criminal legal system appears to exacerbate health concerns and hindrances toward reentry. Other themes include mental health and the role of masculinity. We conclude with implications on policy and future research.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Implications of Incarceration and Reentry on Returning Citizens: A Qualitative Examination of Black Men’s Experiences in a Northeastern City

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Convict leasingthe practice of leasing prisoners' labor -was slavery by another name (forced labor was expressly allowed to persist in the 13 th Amendment's ban on slavery) and disproportionately impacted Black people (Bolden 2020;Mancini 1996). Finally, mass incarceration, often motivated by the U.S.'s "War on Drugs" and "Tough on Crime" policies, destroyed Black communities, devastated Black families, and disproportionately impacted people of color, particularly young Black men (McCoy 2003;Alexander 2010;Western 2006;Williams and Battle 2017;Newell 2013). Though the impacts have been less pronounced among Latinos, White policy makers have worked to exclude and demonize Latinos as well (Chavez 2008).…”

Section: Race As An Organizing and Oppressing Principle Within Societies Of Captivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Captives in Society: The Role of Race in the Carceral Cycle

Gundur

Kavish

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Though Gresham Sykes identified several aspects of prisoner life in his classic text The Society of Captives, he failed to consider the role of race. In this chapter, we offer a critique of this oversight by exploring race from the time Sykes was writing to the present day. We show that race has been and continues to be an organizing principle within American society, including prison society and the free world to which exprisoners return. The consequences of discrimination and inequitable treatment have manifested in an intergenerational cycle of captivity, whereby Black, Latino, and Native Americans have been disproportionately subjected to punishment in the United States. Echoing Sykes's own call for reform, we argue that, to move towards an America that has equal treatment under the law and within society, regardless of race, thus breaking this cycle, criminological research must investigate how various individual, social, structural, environmental, and other contextual factors intersect within social phenomena. More importantly, criminological research must encourage social action to improve outcomes.

show abstract

“…Thus, the prolonged punishment and preoccupation with state-sanctioned violence against Black women’s bodies may be rendered ideological (e.g., Williams & Battle, 2017). While Black women have always resisted violence of all kinds, institutions have always pushed back, ensuring that they remained “in their place” (Berry & Gross, 2020; James, 1996).…”

Section: Navigating Resilience While Under State Supervisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

I am Not Your Felon: Decoding the Trauma, Resilience, and Recovering Mothering of Formerly Incarcerated Black Women

Williams

Spencer

Wilson

2020

Crime & Delinquency

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Black women are increasingly targets of mass incarceration and reentry. Black feminist writers call attention to scholars’ need to intersectionalize analyses around how Black women interface with state systems and social institutions. This study foregrounds narratives from Black women to understand their plight while navigating reentry through a phenomenological approach. Through semi-structured interviews, narratives are analyzed using critical frameworks that authentically unearths the lived realities of participants. Themes reveal that for Black mothers, reentry can be just as criminalizing as engaging crime itself. These women face dire consequences around their mothering that induce them into tremendous bouts of trauma. Existing interlocking oppressions enflame newfound barriers due to their contact with the criminal legal system—yet they survive via divergent forms of resilience.

show abstract

African Americans and punishment for crime: A critique of mainstream and neoliberal discourses

Cited by 8 publications

References 34 publications

Health Implications of Incarceration and Reentry on Returning Citizens: A Qualitative Examination of Black Men’s Experiences in a Northeastern City

Health Implications of Incarceration and Reentry on Returning Citizens: A Qualitative Examination of Black Men’s Experiences in a Northeastern City

Captives in Society: The Role of Race in the Carceral Cycle

I am Not Your Felon: Decoding the Trauma, Resilience, and Recovering Mothering of Formerly Incarcerated Black Women

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About