“I Don’t let These Felonies Hold me Back!”: How Street-Identified Black Men and Women Use Resilience to Radically Reframe Reentry

Abstract

This street participatory action research project trained 15 local residents to document a community sample of street-identified Black men and women’s (ages 18–35 years) experiences with reentry in two low-income Black neighborhoods. The following multi-method data were collected: (a) 520 surveys; (b) 24 individual interviews; (c) four dual interviews; and (d) three group interviews. Descriptive and univariate analysis of variance analysis revealed most participants as a function of gender and age-groups held positive attitudes toward reentry, overall; positive attitudes toward returning citizens; negative attitudes toward reentry programs; and negative attitudes toward the reentry process. Qualitative analysis suggested negative experiences with reentry were the result of a racialized structural violence complex; and strategies employed to navigate reentry included legal and illegal approaches. Also, short and long-term goals with reentry were generally achieved through enduring major bouts of unemployment, economic poverty, and low-wage work.