“Are you supposed to be here?”: Formerly incarcerated men of color navigating positions of authority

Abstract

The current study sought to understand the lived experiences of 10 formerly incarcerated Black and Latino men in an apprentice program for physical trainers using directed content analysis. Participants described a variety of microaggressions, including those representing known themes (e.g., assumption of criminality) and new (sub)themes (e.g., borrowed legitimacy). They also described new opportunities afforded to them by virtue of their involvement in the apprentice program and their newly found authority. Results indicate that formerly incarcerated men of color experience daily discrimination and re-entry challenges that may be destabilizing and contribute to recidivism, thus reinforcing the cycle of mass incarceration. The authors suggest further investment in tertiary interventions to buffer against the harmful effects of microaggressions, as well as further research with a critical race lens and primary interventions aimed at ameliorating the societal conditions that lead men of color to come into contact with the criminal legal system.