“It’s Hard Out Here if You’re a Black Felon”: A Critical Examination of Black Male Reentry

• Published date: 01 September 2019
• Date: 01 September 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/0032885519852088
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885519852088

The Prison Journal

2019, Vol. 99(4) 437 –458

© 2019 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/0032885519852088

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Article

“It’s Hard Out Here if

You’re a Black Felon”: A

Critical Examination of

Black Male Reentry

Jason M. Williams1, Sean K. Wilson2,

and Carrie Bergeson1

Abstract

Formerly incarcerated Black males face many barriers once they return to

society after incarceration. Research has long established incarceration as a

determinant of poor health and well-being. While research has shown that legally

created barriers (e.g., employment, housing, and social services) are often a

challenge post-incarceration, far less is known of Black male’s daily experiences

of reentry. Utilizing critical ethnography and semi-structured interviews with

formerly incarcerated Black males in a Northeastern community, this study

examines the challenges Black males experience post-incarceration.

Keywords

reentry, employment, familial support, Black masculinity, stigma

Introduction

When compared with other industrialized nations, the United States incarcer-

ates more of its citizens than any other nation (Clear & Frost, 2015). While

95% of imprisoned individuals return to their communities, the outlook

remains bleak for often unattainable employment (Bushway & Apel, 2012;

1Montclair State University, NJ, USA

2William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ, USA

Corresponding Author:

Jason M. Williams, Department of Justice Studies, Montclair State University, 326 Dickson

Hall, 1 Normal Ave., Montclair, NY 07043, USA.

Email: williamsjas@mail.montclair.edu

852088TPJXXX10.1177/0032885519852088The Prison JournalWilliams et al.

research-article2019

438 The Prison Journal 99(4)

Stafford, 2006), personal relationships and social networks that are crimino-

genic or fragile for time in prison (Berg & Huebner, 2011; Travis & Waul,

2003), and unaddressed substance use and mental health disorders (Binswanger

et al., 2012; Mallik-Kane & Visher, 2008). Those who reenter are also more

likely to be without family support and post-secondary education, and experi-

ence basic needs’ insecurities (e.g., food and shelter; Middlemass, 2017;

Petersilia, 2003). Reentering Black males have to deal with the historical

impact of race, which continues to weigh on present-day issues of reentry

(e.g., Jim Crow, War on Drugs, the criminal code; Balko, 2013).

Prisoner reentry is an important policy issue that disproportionately impacts

Black males throughout the United States. Reentry is the process of returning

to society after a prison or jail sentence (Travis, 2005). On average, 600,000

prisoners are released from state and federal prisons throughout the United

States each year (Carson, 2018). Although reentry is an issue that impacts

individuals across racial and ethnic groups, research has found that reentry is

difficult for Blacks (Frazier, 2014). Petersilia (2003) argued that race is the

“elephant sitting in the room” for reentry. Black males are over-represented in

state and federal prisons throughout the United States. For example, Black

males accounted for 41.3% of prisoners in both state and federal prisons in

2016 (Carson, 2018). The imprisonment rate for Black males 18 years of age

or older was 1,609 per 100,000, compared with 857 per 100,000 for Hispanics

and 274 per 100,000 for Whites (Carson, 2018). When sent to prison, Black

males spend more time incarcerated than White males for committing similar

crimes (Alexander, 2012; United States Sentencing Commission, 2010).

Researchers relate these stark disparities in incarceration to racial bias in pub-

lic policy. For instance, the War on Drug that fostered punitive criminal justice

policies expanded the prison population substantially, disproportionately

incarcerating Blacks for drug offenses, even as research documents that Blacks

and Whites use illicit drugs at similar rates (Clear & Frost, 2015; Substance

Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2013). To illuminate the

distinctiveness of Black male imprisonment, Petit and Western (2004) argued

that Black males are more likely to have criminal records than military service

or bachelor’s degrees.

After incarceration, Black formerly incarcerated persons deal with collat-

eral consequences of incarceration that often limit their abilities to reintegrate

into society. Such collateral consequences include disenfranchisement, pub-

lic service ineligibility, student loan restrictions, child custody restrictions,

employment restrictions, housing restrictions, and felon registration laws

(Chesney-Lind & Mauer, 2003; Garretson, 2016). Black males who return to

society after incarceration do so with limited social capital, education, and

employment skills to assist them throughout the reentry process (Jackson,