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Guilty by Association: a Critical Analysis of How Imprisonment Affects the Children of Those Behind Bars

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Guilty by Association: a Critical Analysis of How Imprisonment Affects the Children of Those Behind Bars City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2019 Guilty by Association: A Critical Analysis of How Imprisonment Affects the Children of Those Behind Bars Whitney Q. Hollins The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2986 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HOW IMPRISONMENT AFFECTS THE CHILDREN OF THOSE BEHIND BARS by WHITNEY Q. HOLLINS A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Urban Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2019 © 2019 WHITNEY Q. HOLLINS All Rights Reserved ii Guilty by Association: A Critical Analysis of how Imprisonment Affects the Children of those Behind Bars by Whitney Q. Hollins This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Urban Education in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. __________________ _______________________________________________ Date Wendy Luttrell Chair of Examining Committee __________________ _______________________________________________ Date Wendy Luttrell Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Wendy Luttrell David Connor Michelle Fine THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Guilty by Association: A Critical Analysis of how Imprisonment Affects the Children of those Behind Bars by Whitney Q. Hollins Advisor: Wendy Luttrell As 2.2 million individuals in the United States are currently incarcerated and an additional 5 million are under some form of correctional surveillance, the push for prison reform has reached new heights. Intimately and inextricably connected to mass incarceration and the push for its reform (and in some cases abolition) are the children have been impacted by incarceration. About half of the individuals currently incarcerated are parents to at least one child under the age of 18. Current estimates suggest that 2.7 million children currently have an incarcerated parent and that 10 million children in the United States have experienced parental incarceration at some point during their lives. Once deemed an “invisible” population, children of incarcerated parents have recently received more attention in academic literature. However, much of the current literature on this population fails to include their voices and presents them at risk for a variety of adverse childhood outcomes, further perpetuating the deeply ingrained negative view of incarcerated individuals and their families. Aiming to join a growing body of inclusive, authentic and asset based research, this study seeks to work in collaboration with children of incarcerated parents to highlight their story and provide insight into the experiences that are important to them and the worlds they occupy. iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank my committee for understanding who I am and showing me the ways to incorporate myself into this work. First, Dr. David Connor, whose kind spirit gently guided me into new ways of understanding. Next, Dr. Michelle Fine, whose overwhelming knowledge challenged me to make sure I knew what I was talking about. Finally, Dr. Wendy Luttrell, my chairperson, whose “warm demander” style expected my best, while providing a safe space for me to grow and learn. It is because of them that I could submit a work that I am proud to say is purposefully authentic and true to who I am. I would also like to acknowledge my friends and family who supported me in many ways. To my mother, Pamela, who moved in with me while I finished writing. To my father, Carl, who unknowingly fueled the fire that led to this dissertation. To my brothers Joshua and Nicholas, who always made me feel extremely special. To my grandmother Varnice, who always suggested that it would be better for me to express my feelings about my father’s incarceration instead of holding them inside. Also, to the many friends who watched my son so I could work or encouraged me along the way, thank you. Lastly, I would like to pay special tribute to my son, Andrik Churchill, who was not yet thought of when I began this process, but who shaped the final product in more ways than I can count. Andrik, you have forever changed my life. I love you. I am grateful for you. I hope you are proud. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Overview 1 Personal Interest 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review 9 Prison: The Boom 9 Prison: The Industrial Complex 18 Prison: The Carceral Continuum 28 Adverse Outcomes 44 The Lower Intelligence Fallacy 44 Path to Prison: The Criminals Breed Criminals Fallacy 47 Broken Home: The Destined for Failure Fallacy 48 To Move to Include and Understand 52 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework 58 Critical Childhoods 58 Stigmatization 61 Emotional Labor 66 Figured Worlds 67 Chapter 4: Research Questions and Methods 68 Methodologies 68 vi Participant Recruitment, Selection and Participation 70 Data Collection 71 Validity 73 Chapter 5: Participant Profiles 77 Amber: The Straight Shooter 77 Delilah: The Survivor 81 Emmanuel: The Athlete 84 Jacqueline: The Social Butterfly 88 Orlando: The Nonconformist 91 Sky: The Invisible One 94 Vanessa: The Humanitarian 97 Tres: The Man of the House 101 Chapter 6: Life Prior to Incarceration 105 The Household 107 When “It” Happened 110 Chapter 7: Life During Incarceration 115 School as a Figured World 115 Bonds and Parenting while Incarcerated 128 Obstacles to Staying Connected 137 The Parentified Child 146 Chapter 8: Resistance and Resiliency 152 Support 152 vii Identity 156 Stigma 161 Chapter 9: The Future 165 Aspirations 166 Parent Plans 169 Chapter 10: Family 171 Staying Connected 172 The Importance of Moms 176 Chapter 11: My Story, My Terms 181 Amber’s Narrative 181 Delilah’s Narrative 182 Emmanuel’s Narrative 184 Jacqueline’s Narrative 186 Orlando’s Narrative 187 Sky’s Narrative 189 Tres’ Narrative 191 Vanessa’s Narrative 193 Conclusion 194 Chapter 12: The Push Forward 195 Findings 195 Implications 197 The Push Forward 198 viii Conclusion 199 Appendices 203 Appendix A: Poverty 203 Appendix B: Guiding Interview Questions 204 Bibliography 205 viiii 1 Introduction In Angela Davis' 2003 thought-provoking book Are Prisons Obsolete?, she wrote “Because it would be too agonizing to cope with the possibility that anyone, including ourselves, could become a prisoner, we tend to think of the prison as disconnected from our own lives” (p.15). In the 15 years since Davis' assertion, many things have remained the same, while much has changed. For example, the United States still incarcerates more of its citizens than any other country in the world; a statistic that was true in 2003 and remains true today. According to the 2018 Bureau of Justice report on Correctional Populations, the United States currently has almost 2.2 million incarcerated individuals, with an additional 4.6 million being monitored in some supervisory manner such as parole, probation or house arrest (p.2). Despite these figures representing a 20-year low (and nine consecutive years of decreasing numbers), the U.S. is still the world's leading incarcerator1, much as it was when Davis' book was published. While the numbers show minimal variance, there has however been a change in the amount of disconnection or rather connection that U.S. citizens have with incarceration. In 2015, Dr. Crystal T. Laura, assistant professor at Chicago State University, stated, "It has become trendy to talk about prison reform.” (Columbia University's School of Social Work: An Agenda for Transformative Change Panel). Her statement has only increased in its validity over the last three years. For example, musician Meek Mill has been a source of recent media attention concerning prison reform. The rapper, who was sent back to prison in 2017 after a 1 According to World Prison Brief the United States places first in terms of prison rates (655 per 100,000) followed by El Salvador (610 per 100,000) and Turkmenistan (583 per 100,000). The World Prison Brief measures the incarceration rate differently than the Bureau of Justice Statistics. While the BJS measures the prison rate per 100,000 adults, the WPB measures the number of incarcerated individuals of any age per 100,000. (Walmsley, 2018). 2 probation violation, was recently released after it was found that not only was his original conviction questionable, but that the length and terms of his probation were ridiculously harsh. This situation is not new; young people, especially young men of color are disproportionally targeted and jailed in this country starting from a very early age. However, what was different about Mill’s situation was the amount of media attention his case received. Everyone from entertainers such as Jay-Z to sports franchise owners such as Robert Kraft spoke out in support of Meek Mill and the case received unprecedented consideration in the mainstream media. The rapper has acknowledged that without his celebrity, his situation could have ended differently stating, “Although I’m blessed to have the resources to fight this unjust situation, I understand that many people of color across the country don’t have that luxury and I plan to use my platform to shine a light on those issues” (Victor, 2018, p.1). A month after Mill’s release, reality television star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian met with President Donald J. Trump to discuss sentencing and prison reform. While the mixing of pop culture and politics is not new, the topic and the way it was handled was. What some referred to as a “media stunt” eventually succeeded in guaranteeing a pardon for 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson, a first-time, non-violent offender who served over 20 years in prison.
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