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Perspectives on Race and Incarceration, Part II
1
Anthropology News • February 2009 20 ASSOCIATION BUSINESS JOSEPH JONES RACE PROJECT This month’s RACE Project column, by Tony Whitehead, continues on the January AN topic of incarceration, addressed last month by Faye Harrison in “The Paradox of Democracy in the New Racial Domain” (AN 50[1]:15). From Incarceration Epidemic to a Prison- Community Cultural Continuum TONY L WHITEHEAD U MARYLAND Nearly two decades ago (in 1989) I initiated an applied research and technical assistance unit, the University of Maryland’s Cultural Systems Analysis Group (CuSAG), which proceeded to carry out a number of small ethnographic and qualitative research studies in several predom- inantly black communities in the Baltimore- Washington Urban Corridor (www.cusag.umd. edu/work-history.html). These studies focused on highly publicized health and social issues at that time such as the spread of HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and drug trafficking, crime and violence. These issues, also prevalent in similar urban communities throughout the country, were commonly used to justify the mass incarceration of young black men. In 1991, 23% of black men between the ages of 18 and 35 across the country were either in prison or jail, on probation or parole, or were being sought on arrest warrants, according to Mauer and Huling of The Sentencing Project (Young Black Americans and the Criminal Justice System: Five Years Later 1995). According to the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (1992), the percentage of black men under some form of penal supervision at that time was substantially higher in some cities, such as Washington DC (44%) and Baltimore (56%). In 2000, I published a chapter in John May’s volume Building Violence discussing some implications of what I dubbed an “incar- ceration epidemic” for black men and its impact on black family structure and commu- nities. I raised several important questions in that paper that continue to warrant further research: 1) How high will the US allow black youth incarceration rates to climb, particularly among young males? 2) Is this mass incarceration (rather than education) of so many of its youth of color an indicator of a sick society? 3) What will be the impact of prisons becoming major socializing institutions for so many young Americans of color? 4) What are some of the long-term impacts of this US “Black Incarceration Epidemic” on black individuals, families and communities, that is, on the very biological and sociocul- tural survival of black people as a distinct US population segment? 5) What are some of the long-term impacts of this epidemic on the wider American society, and the United States’ position as a global economic and political leader? 6) Are US policymakers asking themselves what happens when incarcerated people are released and return to their communities? With regard to the first question, it seems that the beat goes on in terms of national mass incarcera- tion trends for blacks and other racialized minor- ities. Our research focused on black commu- nities, but as early as 1990 we saw increasing incarceration rates for Latino youth, particu- larly in urban communities with growing Latino populations. Meanwhile, incarceration rates for Native American youth actually exceeded those observed for African American youth in some states with significant Native American popula- tions. More recently, in 2008 the US Department of Justice reported that black males currently constitute 12% of the national population but 44% of the prison population, and 60% of the under-18 prison population is black. In 2006, CuSAG was given an opportunity to further explore these and other emerging ques- tions through a contract from the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency. This ongoing research in Washington DC neighborhoods has indeed offered us new insights on the ques- tions posed above. One of the new issues that has emerged from this work is the appearance of a prison-to-community cultural continuum, prompted by a large and growing number of incarcerated persons in communities with histo- ries of high incarceration rates, persons with high rates of repeated re-incarcerations, the blur- ring of differences between community and prison behaviors and attitudes, and a “normal- izing” of the prison experience within the world- views of community members. CuSAG has also begun sharing our research with colleagues in a variety of venues, including sessions co-organized with Faye Harrison (U Florida) and Charles Williams (U Memphis) for the 2008 AAA and SfAA annual meetings, respec- tively. Participants in those sessions are committed to continuing with the exploration of these and other issues related to US and global policies and practices of mass incarceration. We invite other engaged scholars interested in these issues to join us. To facilitate this process, this spring we will develop a blog at the CuSAG website cited above. In the meantime, those seeking more information should email me at [email protected]. To submit your comments on the AAA’s RACE Project and related topics, contact Joseph Jones at [email protected]. Perspectives on Race and Incarceration, Part II The AAA has awarded the Minority Dissertation Fellowship to a deserving doctoral student each year since 1999. We are pleased to invite minority doctoral candi- dates in anthropology to apply for the 2009–10 fellowship award of $10,000. Doctoral students who require financial assistance to complete the write-up phase of their dissertation are urged to apply. Application deadline is February 15, 2009. Completed application pack- ages should be sent to: American Anthropological Association, Min- ority Dissertation Fellowship Pro- gram, 2200 Wilson Blvd, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22201-3357. For more information about the fellowship program and profiles of past recipients, please go to www.aaanet.org/cmtes/minority/ Minfellow.cfm or email us at [email protected]. AAA Minority Dissertation Fellowship Program
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Transcript of Perspectives on Race and Incarceration, Part II
Anthropology News • February 2009
20
A S S O C I A T I O N B U S I N E S S
Joseph Jones RACe pRoJeCt
This month’s RACE Project column, by Tony Whitehead, continues on the January AN topic of incarceration, addressed last month by Faye Harrison in “The Paradox of Democracy in the New Racial Domain” (AN 50[1]:15).
From Incarceration Epidemic to a Prison-Community Cultural Continuum
tony L WhiteheAd U MARyLAnd
Nearly two decades ago (in 1989) I initiated an applied research and technical assistance unit, the University of Maryland’s Cultural Systems Analysis Group (CuSAG), which proceeded to carry out a number of small ethnographic and qualitative research studies in several predom-inantly black communities in the Baltimore-Washington Urban Corridor (www.cusag.umd.edu/work-history.html). These studies focused on highly publicized health and social issues at that time such as the spread of HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and drug trafficking, crime and violence. These issues, also prevalent in similar urban communities throughout the country, were commonly used to justify the mass incarceration of young black men. In 1991, 23% of black men between the ages of 18 and 35 across the country were either in prison or jail, on probation or parole, or were being sought on arrest warrants, according to Mauer and Huling of The Sentencing Project (Young Black Americans and the Criminal Justice System: Five Years Later 1995). According to the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (1992), the percentage of black men under some form of penal supervision at that time was substantially higher in some cities, such as Washington DC (44%) and Baltimore (56%).
In 2000, I published a chapter in John May’s volume Building Violence discussing some implications of what I dubbed an “incar-ceration epidemic” for black men and its impact on black family structure and commu-nities. I raised several important questions in that paper that continue to warrant further research:
1) How high will the US allow black youth incarceration rates to climb, particularly among young males?
2) Is this mass incarceration (rather than education) of so many of its youth of color an indicator of a sick society?
3) What will be the impact of prisons becoming major socializing institutions for so many young Americans of color?
4) What are some of the long-term impacts of this US “Black Incarceration Epidemic” on black individuals, families and communities, that is, on the very biological and sociocul-tural survival of black people as a distinct US population segment?
5) What are some of the long-term impacts of this epidemic on the wider American society, and the United States’ position as a global economic and political leader?
6) Are US policymakers asking themselves what happens when incarcerated people are released and return to their communities?
With regard to the first question, it seems that the beat goes on in terms of national mass incarcera-tion trends for blacks and other racialized minor-ities. Our research focused on black commu-nities, but as early as 1990 we saw increasing incarceration rates for Latino youth, particu-larly in urban communities with growing Latino populations. Meanwhile, incarceration rates for Native American youth actually exceeded those observed for African American youth in some states with significant Native American popula-tions. More recently, in 2008 the US Department of Justice reported that black males currently constitute 12% of the national population but 44% of the prison population, and 60% of the under-18 prison population is black.
In 2006, CuSAG was given an opportunity to further explore these and other emerging ques-tions through a contract from the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency. This ongoing research in Washington DC neighborhoods has indeed offered us new insights on the ques-tions posed above. One of the new issues that has emerged from this work is the appearance
of a prison-to-community cultural continuum, prompted by a large and growing number of incarcerated persons in communities with histo-ries of high incarceration rates, persons with high rates of repeated re-incarcerations, the blur-ring of differences between community and prison behaviors and attitudes, and a “normal-izing” of the prison experience within the world-views of community members.
CuSAG has also begun sharing our research with colleagues in a variety of venues, including sessions co-organized with Faye Harrison (U Florida) and Charles Williams (U Memphis) for the 2008 AAA and SfAA annual meetings, respec-tively. Participants in those sessions are committed to continuing with the exploration of these and other issues related to US and global policies and practices of mass incarceration. We invite other engaged scholars interested in these issues to join us. To facilitate this process, this spring we will develop a blog at the CuSAG website cited above. In the meantime, those seeking more information should email me at [email protected].
To submit your comments on the AAA’s RACE Project and related topics, contact Joseph Jones at [email protected].
Perspectives on Race and Incarceration, Part II
The AAA has awarded the Minority Dissertation Fellowship to a deserving doctoral student each year since 1999. We are pleased to invite minority doctoral candi-dates in anthropology to apply for the 2009–10 fellowship award of $10,000.
Doctoral students who require financial assistance to complete the write-up phase of their dissertation are urged to apply.
Application deadline is February 15, 2009.
Completed application pack-ages should be sent to: American Anthropological Association, Min-ority Dissertation Fellowship Pro-gram, 2200 Wilson Blvd, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22201-3357.
For more information about the fellowship program and profiles of past recipients, please go to www.aaanet.org/cmtes/minority/Minfellow.cfm or email us at [email protected].
AAA Minority Dissertation Fellowship
Program
