Release in the Era of BLM: The Nexus of Black Lives Matter and Prisoner Reentry

• Date: 01 September 2019
• Author: CalvinJohn Smiley
• DOI: 10.1177/0032885519852077
• Published date: 01 September 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885519852077

The Prison Journal

2019, Vol. 99(4) 396 –419

© 2019 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/0032885519852077

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Article

Release in the Era of

BLM: The Nexus of

Black Lives Matter

and Prisoner Reentry

CalvinJohn Smiley1

Abstract

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement is a challenge and resistance to

White Supremacy and state-sanctioned violence. The proliferation of social

media and smart technology has allowed the recording, documenting,

and archiving of police misconduct and brutality against Black bodies.

Furthermore, BLM is critical of various institutions that create disparities,

including the criminal justice system. This article examines the nexus of BLM

and prisoner reentry. Using qualitative research conducted in the weeks and

months following the death of Trayvon Martin in February 2012, a collective

of formerly incarcerated and recently released Black men discussed and

analyzed this death and its impact on the Black community. Here, these

individuals shared their ideas surrounding punishment and justice as well as

reflected on their own past, present, and future roles in their community.

Keywords

Black Lives Matter, Trayvon Martin, prisoner reentry, resistance, justice

Introduction

In February 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was walking to his father’s

home from a local store when he was followed, confronted, and ultimately

1Hunter College, City University of New York, New York City, USA

Corresponding Author:

CalvinJohn Smiley, Department of Sociology, Hunter College, City University of New York,

1622 Hunter West, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.

Email: csmiley@hunter.cuny.edu

852077TPJXXX10.1177/0032885519852077The Prison JournalSmiley

research-article2019

Smiley 397

shot and killed by self-proclaimed neighborhood watchman, George

Zimmerman. Prior to confronting Trayvon, Zimmerman called 911; he was

instructed not to pursue the teenager. Despite the fact that Zimmerman disre-

garded commands by law enforcement, his defense team used the Florida

“Stand Your Ground” law that establishes a right to defend one’s self against

threats or perceived threats and to apply lethal force (Robles, 2012). In other

words, Zimmerman centered himself as the victim and Trayvon as the perpe-

trator. On July 13, 2013, the trial jury found Zimmerman not guilty of sec-

ond-degree murder. Furthermore, on February 24, 2015, the United States

Department of Justice declined to prosecute as well.

Initially, the death of Trayvon Martin did not make headlines outside of

the local Florida community. However, news spread with the proliferation of

social media and news-sharing across various digital platforms. The case

even reached the White House when President Barack Obama stated, “If I

had a son, he would look like Trayvon” (Thompson & Wilson, 2012). Within

weeks, demonstrations demanding justice for Trayvon commenced.

Mainstream news outlets, politicians, and other pundits began to weigh-in,

many focusing on the fact that Trayvon had been wearing a hooded sweat-

shirt, something Zimmerman mentioned during his 911 phone call. The polit-

icization of the “hoodie” became a point of contention, and it exposed both

overt and covert forms of racial bias. For example, FOX news reporter,

Geraldo Rivera, stated that he believed that Trayvon’s hoodie was as much to

blame for his death as Zimmerman (Castellanos, 2012). In addition, Dallas

Mavericks’ owner, Mark Cuban, said this article of clothing worn by Black

men was just as suspicious as “White men with bald heads and facial tattoos”

(e.g., skin heads) (Plaschke, 2014). Many seeking justice for Trayvon began

to wear hoodies to express solidarity and resistance.

Trayvon Martin’s death, trial, verdict, and significance in American pop-

ular culture was catalytic and a driving force for starting conversations on

race, gender, and class in American society. Issues such as policing, moni-

toring, and criminalizing the Black body became extremely important in this

case and in subsequent cases related to the perception of Black bodies and

how location, expression, and image convey and justify lethal force. In the

case of Trayvon, the hoodie was important to defend the argument of his

supposed criminality. For others, such as Akai Gurley, location in a New

York City Housing Project was used to deflect his death by a New York City

police officer. Freddie Gray was stopped, questioned, and subsequently

arrested, dying after a Baltimore police officer felt that Gray’s eye contact

was suspicious. Philando Castile’s “wide set nose” somehow warranted him

being pulled over and shot and killed by a police officer when retrieving his

identification.