Over the past four decades, the rate of incarceration for women has risen significantly. Black women are disproportionately represented among incarcerated women. Formerly incarcerated women and men face similar barriers upon release from incarceration, such as obtaining stable and gainful employment, securing safe and affordable housing, and reconnecting with children and family. However, existing research shows that formerly incarcerated women face unique challenges upon their reentry from incarceration back to the community that are shaped by gender. Moreover, many of these challenges are exacerbated by the additional presence of racial discrimination given that Black women are overrepresented among formerly incarcerated women. Even so, the particular experiences of formerly incarcerated Black women remain understudied. This dissertation adds to the growing body of research that examines the experiences of formerly incarcerated Black women. Through in-depth interviews with thirty-four formerly incarcerated women, this dissertation demonstrates how negative impacts from incarceration reverberate throughout the lives of Black women as they age. Specifically, these reverberations of incarceration significantly shape their long-term economic mobility and stability, relationships with adult children, and mental and physical health. Through these narratives from formerly incarcerated Black women, I argue that from both a scholarly and policy standpoint, the reentry process must be framed and approached as a lifelong process without a definite endpoint.

Creator

• Banks, Erica

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-fvca-9679

Subject

• African American studies
• Criminology
• Sociology

Language

• en

Alternate Identifier

• http://dissertations.umi.com/northwestern:16414
• etdadmin_upload_962304

Keyword

• black women
• criminal justice
• reentry
• incarceration

Date created

• 2023-01-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright