Born Black in the “Age of Mass Incarceration”
Reading & Media List
A Historical Outlook:
Establishing Blackness in America
In order to confront the structural challenges that pervade black communities in America, we must begin by studying the history of black America, charting back to the eras of slavery, Jim Crow, Civil Rights, and post-Civil Rights. The selected media creatively direct our understanding of black life and racial suppression using historical literature as a structural framework. “13th” employs a multitude of legal, sociological, and historical experts to narrate how our carceral system got to where it is now, disproportionately affecting black communities; The Underground Railroad utilizes magical realism to direct its reader through the American South, exposing timeless truths on race, family, and freedom along the way.
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Redefining the Black Family:
The Power of Whiteness
Astutely stated by Michelle Alexander, the U.S. prison system has become an extension of black communities. Because of the infusion of the carceral system into black communities, the structure and dynamic of the black family has drastically altered. While contemplating the intersections between race, family, and incarceration, the work of Ta-Nehisi Coates stands out. His article, “The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration”, masterfully summarizes the detrimental implications that mid to late-20th century U.S. policies and legislation had on reshaping the black family then and now. Further, not only does his novel, Between the World and Me, written by a father to his son, guide its readers on how to navigate America as a black boy, it also frames the concept of race in America (particularly its disproportionate effect and abuses on black bodies) in a way that feels intimate and powerfully relevant.
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Intergenerational Trauma
A legacy of trauma permeates many black communities in America. By recognizing the generational effect of the various forms of subjugation and imprisonment that African Americans have endured in the U.S., we can more comprehensively understand how to heal as a nation, and equitably proceed into the future. The listed collection reflects the stories of struggle and resiliency indicative of black communities in America. The primary texts utilize tools of psychology, personal history, and healing techniques to innovatively approach generational trauma.
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Profiting off Punishment:
Crime & Punishment in Black America
Examining the U.S. criminal justice system is vital to understanding how and why incarceration skyrocketed in recent decades. By employing a literary lens to consider how crime in America has historically worked to disenfranchise people of color, we will be able to analyze media and literature that addresses and informs our understanding of punitive and racialized targeting. The primary texts offer a fundamental outlook on the state of the U.S. criminal justice system, utilizing psychology, journalism, expert accounts, and historical evidence. In particular, Phillip Goff’s Ted Talk effectively merges the present and future of race and policing to introduce innovative approaches that aim to improve policing strategies and combat racial profiling.
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The American Crusade to Criminalize Blackness
Spanning back to the 19th century, the portrayal of black criminality has consistently been used as a ploy to demonize black bodies, particularly black men. In doing so, those in power could frame blackness as criminal, volatile, and fear-inducing. However, this historic trend has bled into modern day, influencing U.S. policy, politics, media, and even the daily interactions we have with each other. In the context of this reading list, America’s image of black criminality has especially influenced our criminal justice and carceral systems. Considering the racialization of criminality, it is no surprise that those disproportionately imprisoned consist of people of color. Employing a mixture of non-fiction, prose, and video, the collection below provides a literary context to frame racialized criminality and its repercussions on communities of color.
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Roots of Mass Incarceration
The roots of mass incarceration span far and wide. This collection aims to study them as comprehensively as possible. Traveling as far back as slavery to extensively analyze the roots of this problem, particular milestones include the War on Crime to the War on Drugs, the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act to the 1994 Clinton Crime bill. By incorporating texts pertaining to social welfare, law, policy, and American history, there arises an inclusive picture on the true causes of mass incarceration. The selected primary texts provide a solid historic, economic, and legal foundation for understanding how the U.S. carceral system strengthened to the extent that it is today, imprisoning over 2 million Americans. Furthermore, they allow us to see how history has fooled Americans, especially white Americans, into thinking it has not been repeating itself, when, in actuality, it has been.
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An Imprisoned Body Liberates a Mind
In his poem, “Prison, Where is Thy Victory?”, Huey P. Newton proclaims “the ideas which can and will sustain our movement for total freedom and dignity...cannot be imprisoned”. Some of the most influential calls for change, justice and truth arose within the confines of a prison. As demonstrated in our course, the prison has the potential to offer a restorative space that revolutionizes the thinking and actions of those confined. It validates the idea that escape does not need to be physical- a mind can be freed from the constraints of imprisonment through the development of ideas and insight. The works below provide a refreshing and radical perspective on American racism, the prison system, the perils of capitalism, and the need for hope using the prison space they were written from or inspired by to elevate their work.
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Our Prison Landscape:
Physically removed. Perpetually present
The prison as an entity is a geographically distinct part of our built environment. Despite its physical separation, the prison manifests in all aspects of society. Its social, cultural and economic influence has had a lasting and irreparable presence in America. Not only has the prison reshaped the fabric of black communities, it has restructured how we approach crime, capitalism, race relations, and justice. Utilizing prose, poetry and visual storytelling, the primary texts embody the all-encompassing presence of the prison system in the U.S., exploring its impact on family, communities, labor, and our physical world.
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Second-Class Citizens
Once an incarcerated person is released from the prison system, their debt to society has been paid. Or, so it should seem. In 2018, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, roughly “68% of released prisoners were arrested within 3 years, 79% within 6 years, and 83% within 9 years” (Alper). These statistics beg the question: what forces are at play which prevent released prisoners from remaining out of prison. Compiling a list of literary materials aimed at addressing this question, we confront legal and societal restrictions that impair one’s ability to access quality housing, employment, healthcare, and voting rights. Particularly, the primary texts focus on the widespread struggles centered around unemployment, societal re-acclimation, and voting limitations that arise beyond the walls of the prison.
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What the Future Holds
In reflecting on the plight of black communities in America using the materials listed above, it is easier to gain a holistic picture of what it means (and has meant) to be black in America. Historically, black communities have been racialized, demonized, hunted down, and stripped of their dignity, and this history seeps into the present day. Confronting the repercussions of history and modern day will prove challenging and uncomfortable for all involved, but it is a necessary step towards progress. Americans need to be open to the exploration of radical ideas that advance our thinking around society’s function as a whole, particularly regarding its treatment of people of color, all in an effort to make American society more equitable and just. This collection recognizes this need, and initiates conversation around topics of prison reform, abolition, and reparations.
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Reference:
Alper, Mariel, et al. “2018 Update on Prisoner Recidivism: A 9-Year Follow-up Period (2005-2014).” Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Office of Justice Programs, 13 May 2018, www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=6266.