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Abstract
Many criminologists, journalists, and social commentators (Alexander, 2010; Lapido, 2001; Schlosser, 1998) have paid attention to this on-going problem of the mass incarceration of African American men that began in 1980 and persists to the present day. Yet, their analysis often remains at the individual level; the impact of incarceration on individual men (Davis, 1998). This paper fills an important gap by examining the linkages between the mass incarceration of African American men by the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) and the consequent bleeding of capital-specifically financial, human, social and political-from the men themselves, their families, and the African American community at large. Second, we will consider the impact of the PIC on the reentry process. Returning thousands of men annually to a community like our own to a small subset of neighborhoods and public housing developments puts severe stress and strain on the agencies already providing services to these under-resourced communities. Thus, the removal of men depletes community capital but their return does as well.
Introduction
African American men- poor and not so poorhave had a tumultuous relationship with the United States Criminal Justice System. This relationship is longstanding (Brunson 2008). In the summer of 2009, prominent Harvard professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr. experienced being handcuffed and arrested as he attempted to enter his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A white female passerby thought his behavior was suspicious, called 911, and the incident brought a national spotlight to this issue of arresting African American men on the basis of a hunch. This practice is what is routinely referred to as racial profiling or in the vernacular of the times - driving while black.
Many criminologists, journalists, and social commentators (Alexander, 2010; Lapido, 2001; Schlosser, 1998) have paid attention to this on-going problem of the mass incarceration of African American men that began in 1980 and persists to the present day. Scholars, journalists and social commentators have done a good job recognizing that mass incarceration devastates the lives of African American men. Yet, their analysis often remains at the individual level; the impact of incarceration on individual men (Davis, 1998). What receives less attention is the role that mass incarceration has on the families of these men; the women who make weekly bus trips...