THE COMEBACK QUEENS: UNDERSTANDING BLACK WOMEN’S TRANSITION FROM INCARCERATION TO HIGHER EDUCATION A Dissertation submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education In Educational Leadership by Marilyn Denise Jones San Francisco, California May 2019 Copyright by Marilyn Denise Jones 2019 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read The Comeback Queens: Understanding Black Women’s Transition from Incarceration to Higher Education by Marilyn Denise Jones, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Doctor of Education: Educational Leadership at San Francisco State University. Jamal Cooks, Ph.D. Dean of Language Arts Chabot College Assistant Professor San Francisco State THE COMEBACK QUEENS: UNDERSTANDING BLACK WOMEN’S TRANSITION FROM INCARCERATION TO HIGHER EDUCATION Marilyn Denise Jones San Francisco, California 2019 To identify the social/emotional and academic characteristics of formerly incarcerated Black women (F1BW), a qualitative narrative analysis research study was conducted. Data were drawn from participants’ written responses to writing prompts given over a six-week period. Participants included 7 FIB W between the ages of 44-63 who all shared a history of substance abuse and were either engaged in a postsecondary educational program or completed one. The Strong Black Woman schema emerged as an overarching life perspective that impacted the participants’ behavior, coping strategies and development of characteristics. Three characteristics emerged from die data: Strong Advocacy Skills, Socially Resourceful/Excellent Hustler, and Spiritually Connected. The implications from this study suggest: 1) There is a need for culturally affirming training for educators at all levels of education (K-20) to better inform them of approaches for working with Black females. 2) Certain street behavior was useful for reaching academic goals; 3) Gender responsivity does not address the intersectionality involved with being a Black woman. An approach for building on Black women’s unique strengths, needs and characteristics, the Araminta Approach, was also introduced. This narrative inquiry research demonstrates the tremendous potential that exists among FIBW, and it provides a pathway for the criminal justice system and academia to unleash it. I certify that the Abstract is a correct representation of the content of this dissertation. Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank God for loving and nurturing me when I was unable to love and nurture myself. Second chance is a jargon that is thrown around, but I want to acknowledge that I have been given umpteen chances. Thank you Lord. I would like to give a shout out to Dr. Jamal Cooks for not quitting me during this process, Dr. Robyn Fisher for being a ride or die, and Dr. Stanley Pogrow for being patient with me and for keeping his hands off of my computer (inside joke). This dissertation was written in remembrance of every member of my tribe that was lost in the crack epidemic. I love and miss you all dearly. Fillmoe for life! I would like to thank my deceased grandparents, Mai Mai and Pa Pa (pronounced May May and Paw Paw), for taking on the responsibility of raising me for the first 9 years of my life, loving me unconditionally throughout my adulthood while they lived, and introducing me to the importance of education. Carlotta Marie Francois, your daughter is a doctor now! Rest in peace knowing that! Black sheep are often misunderstood, so I misunderstood who you were and what you meant to me. I’m dedicating this entire dissertation to you Carlotta. I love you, and I miss you so much! I had to show up and out just for you. You were my mom, and I never called you mom while you were on this earth because I didn’t know how to. It was complicated. Today, I am saying RIP MOMMY. To the six people I gave birth to, I wish I could undo what I’ve done, but I can’t Nevertheless, I hope this changes our family’s, your babies’ and future babies’ legacy. This is my version of saying sorry. Please forgive me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Appendices............................................................................................................viii Preface.................................................................................................................................. 1 My Journey .......... 2 Chaptei One: Background Information and Purpose of the Research.................................7 Statement of the taoblem~....................................................................................... 7 Study Significance............................... 9 Chapter Two: Literature Review....................................................................................... 13 Theoretical Framework: Intersectionality and Black Feminist Thought...............13 The School to Prison Pipeline and Black Females................................................ 15 The Strong Black Woman Schema........................................................................ 18 Gender Responsivity vs. the Strong Black Woman Schema.................. 2 4 Spirituality .............. -29 Conclusion__________ 32 Chapter Three: Methodology.................... 35 Methodological Approach: Narrative Inquiry......................................................35 Participants’ Background.......................................................................................37 Data Coiiectior ________________________ .48 Data Analysis___________________________________________ 50 Chapter Four: Findings.................................................... 54 Strong Advocacy Skills....................................... 54 Self-Advocacy............................................................................................55 Community Advocacy...................................................... 62 Socially Resoi irceful/Excellent Hustler. ___________________________64 The Husde..................................................................................................64 Ability to Build Social Capital...................................................................67 Spiritually Connected.............................................................................................70 Existential Pmpose________________________________._______ 71 But God_____________________________ 73 Chapter Five: Discussion and Implications.......................................................................77 D iscussion.............................................................................................................77 Implications ---------------------- 85 Limitations ■»■■»■»»«»■»■■«»■»»»»»■»■■«■»■»■»»«««»««■■«■»■»«■»»■■■»‘97 Conclusion________________________________________________97 References ____ ................................. .99 Appendices__________________________________ 107 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page 1. Demographic Survey........................................................................................... 100 2. Writing Prompts___________________________ 102 1 Preface I searched my heart to find the message I would like to leave you with today. Who knows the next time I will be able to speak to such a large crowd? Some of us have a rougher time attending college than others. For some, the road to college is a wide road; for others, it is like walking on a tightrope. For some the war in Iraq is the issue of top priority, but for some of us it is the war right outside our doors. Just the other day my community buried a 17-year-old Black boy who was killed in the streets of San Francisco. Ironically, while we were attending the funeral, another young Black man was killed a few blocks away. I had a final that night, and I couldn’t bring myself to concentrate, so I left early. This scenario is just a glimpse of what people living in the ghetto have to endure while pursuing an education. This has been a rough battle, but I had something to prove to society and myself, so I kept climbing. I had to set an example. Media, where are you? I know you are up in here because the mayor is up in here. I need you to do me a favor because my community is experiencing a lot of disappointments, and we need some good news, so I was sent here to represent. I need you to tell the people that a Black woman, an ex-convict, an ex-addict, living in the projects, graduated with the highest honors this morning...(Jones, 2013, p. 112). This is an excerpt from my Salutatorian speech during my community college graduation. The scene was a mixture of standing ovations, people screaming and hollering, and young Black men from the Black Student Union literally barking. My five- year-old son clapped for me and shouted “Mommy!” the entire speech. My entire family was there: my grandmother, my husband, my aunt, my cousins, my children, my mom and my sister on my mom’s side. As I ended with the above statement, I saw people jumping out of their seats in approval of my words. That night we (my family, friends and neighbors) partied until 4 a.m. Every few hours, I would raise my hands in the air and everyone would cheer, “Yay, Marilyn!” I took full advantage of that, and I had them to do that one final time before I announced I was going to sleep and the party was over 2 around 4 a.m. the morning following the graduation. To this day, people from my community remind me that I am educated and praise me for it (Jones, 2013