Publication date:
26 August 2014Length of book:
206 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksDimensions:
236x161mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9780739183120
Rethinking Prison Reentry: Transforming Humiliation into Humility describes a prison-based education pedagogy designed to address a prevalent racial politics of shaming, self-segregation, and transgenerational learned helplessness. So many incarcerated black men face insurmountable psychosocial obstacles when attempting to make the successful transition back into ownership of their lives. Tony Gaskew confronts the issue of redemption and reconciliation head-on by critically examining the “triads of culpability” when it comes to crime and justice in America: (1) of those who commit crimes; (2) of those who enforce criminal laws; and (3) of those who stand by and do nothing.
He explores the growth of a black counterculture of crime that has created modern-day killing fields across urban neighborhoods and challenges the incarcerated black men trapped within its socially constructed lies, helping them to draw upon the strength of their cultural privilege to transform from criminal offender into incarcerated student.
He explores the growth of a black counterculture of crime that has created modern-day killing fields across urban neighborhoods and challenges the incarcerated black men trapped within its socially constructed lies, helping them to draw upon the strength of their cultural privilege to transform from criminal offender into incarcerated student.
'Black bodies, white justice' is just one proposition calling for rethinking raised in this provocative book. Prior to his academic career, Gaskew was a detective with the Melbourne (Florida) Police Department, where he became a member of Florida's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. Since 2007, he has taught prisoners at McKean Federal Correctional Institution. From this experience the author has evolved a passionate, highly personal critique drawn from his life experiences. The author's argument might be summarized as follows: whites are numerically the greatest criminal offenders, whereas blacks disproportionately offend and are incarcerated. Black crime causation initially stems from slavery, then from Jim Crow policies, and most recently from racism, thanks to white privilege. Persistent white supremacy keeps prisons full of black bodies. But Gaskew, who is African American, has plenty of sharp words for his own race. Many black convicts are narcissistic and show scant regard for their communities and children left behind. Black cultural privilege is a pedagogical resource that, once fully understood, can redirect lives. This is a timely, fact-filled stem-winder. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, professionals.