Formerly Incarcerated Black Mothers Matter Too: Resisting Social Constructions of Motherhood. (September 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mitchell, Michael B.; Davis, Jaya B.
• Other Names: Williams Jason M. guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Prison journal. Volume 99:Number 4(2019)
• Page Start: 420
• Page End: 436
• Publication Date: 2019-09
• Subjects: formerly incarcerated -- motherhood -- Black women -- Black feminist theory; Prisons -- Periodicals; Prisons -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 365.6
• DOI: 10.1177/0032885519852079
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0032-8855

Abstract

Mass incarceration as a system of racialized and gendered social control has disproportionately impacted Black women, many of whom are mothers. Contrary to dominant social constructions of motherhood, these women employ their own strategies of mothering unique to their lived experiences. This study relies on interview data to understand Black women's motherhood experiences post-incarceration. Drawing from five semistructured interviews of Black mothers across a large urban area in Texas, we argue for more critical, qualitative research of formerly incarcerated Black women, grounded in Black feminist theory (BFT).