Research Update

Having read through The New Jim Crow I have found several selections throughout the book that speak to the stigma of being labelled "criminal," which I may use to substantiate my findings on artistic resistance of this label. The chapter "The Cruel Hand" speaks to this especially. I definitely need to explore more projects online like the ones I have been discussing since the start of this project, but so far I have only revisited the websites for Performing Statistics and Everyday Life in Incarceration Nation. One of the stories that stood out to me was the story of Vinny and David, two young brothers who have cycled in and out of the prison system from an early age: http://www.isadorakosofsky.com/albums/vinny-and-david/. Also, I would like to check out the books that Joel recommended, 

Donald Braman, Doing Time on the Outside: Incarceration Makes Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Worse (Michigan, 2004). (Amazon.)

Todd Clear, Imprisoning Communities: How Mass Incarceration Makes Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Worse (Oxford, 2007). (Amazon.)

Still so much to do! I am also interested now (after having read TNJC) about the reclamation and/or owning of a "criminal" identity and the effects that may have on individuals. Maybe those who have been in the system, but also those who have not? Whose identities are criminalized before they are even admitted into the system? (Michelle Alexander speaks to this).