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Pursuing Peace Amidst the 
Mass Incarceration of 
Black Males 
A Challenge for Community Engaged Researchers 

JAMES WALLACE 

There can be no peace in this nation without first addressing the crisis of mass 
incarceration among Black males. To address this concern, it is necessary to 
explore the experiences of those affected through community engaged research and 
involve these individuals in developing solutions to address this problem. I am a 
graduate student in the IU School of Education at IUPUI pursuing a doctorate in 
Urban Studies. I am studying about the impacts on communities when Black boys 
are poorly educated in leaky K-12 pipelines and grow up to be disproportionately 
incarcerated. My research asks, what were the motivations, barriers and resources 
impacting the experiences of African American males who were incarcerated and 
then decide to pursue an education after they have been released into our 
communities. I want to know in what ways does achieving more education, getting 
a high school diploma or a bachelor’s degree, affect their lives and our 
communities? Community engaged and community based participatory 
researchers need to ask questions about the effects of this phenomenon. 

The United States of America incarcerates more of its citizens than any other 
industrialized nation (Alexander, 2010). An evaluation of data from the U.S. 
Census and the Federal Bureau of Prisons reveals that while African Americans 
comprise only 13% of the population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019), they represent 
38% of those incarcerated in the U.S. (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2020). Further, 
the U.S. Justice Department reports well over 40% of those who have been 
incarcerated in state and federal prisons lack a high school diploma or its 
equivalent (Palmer, 2012; Patrick, 2016; Sakala, 2014). The absence of a quality 
education or ability in a skilled trade often creates a challenge for ex-felons 
searching for employment upon release. 

Author 

JAMES WALLACE  
Doctoral student in the IU 
School of Education at IUPUI 
Urban Education Studies 
program 

The prison industrial complex does not exist in a vacuum. Other social 
systems create conditions that funnel individuals into it. The seeds of the 
system are sown by the nation’s miseducation for Black youth, which has 
consistently failed to adequately serve African Americans in this country. 

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The prison industrial complex does not exist in a 
vacuum. Other social systems create conditions 
that funnel individuals into it. The seeds of the 
system are sown by the nation’s miseducation for 
Black youth, which has consistently failed to 
adequately serve African Americans in this 
country (Beaudry, 2015). Many schools serving 
Blacks in urban communities are in disrepair, 
underfunded, or overcrowded (Morgan & 
Amerikaner, 2018). There is significant disparity 
in the way students are disciplined in schools 
(Gregory, 2008; Okonofua, Walton & Eberhardt, 
2016). This last condition is particularly harmful 
as the excessive discipline endured by African 
American male students can precondition them 
for the correctional institutions in which they may 
find themselves when they join the 7% of African 
American males between the ages of 16 and 24 
who dropped out of high school in 2017 (National 
Center for Educational Statistics, 2018). While 
these numbers may seem a reasonable rate of 
attrition to some, it is important to consider the 
last comprehensive survey of correctional 
institutions by the Department of Justice showed 
41% of the nation’s state and federal inmates and 
31% of the nation’s probationers do not have a 
high school diploma or its equivalent (Harlow, 
2003; Klick, 2011). Moreover, African Americans, 
who currently comprise only 13.2% of the U.S. 
population, make up more than 37.5% of those 
incarcerated creating another category in which 
they are over-represented, a disproportionate 
measure by any standard (Federal Bureau of 
Prisons, 2020; Sakala, 2014). 

For African American males involved as 
defendants in the criminal justice system the 
stakes are high. Upon release, many of those 
unable to find work resume habits, which were the 
source of their initial troubles with the law. Soon, 
they find themselves back in jail. Studies have 
shown the recidivism rates, defined as the rate of 
re-arrest and conviction, has increased over the 
last twenty-plus years. In 1997, Stevens & Ward 
reported a recidivism rate of 43% in the U.S. 
across all racial categories (Stevens & Ward, 
1997). Nearly twenty years later, Bureau of 

Justice Statistics data on individuals released 
from custody in 2005 reports 67.8% of inmates 
return to prison within three years of release and 
76% returned within five years of release; with 
56% of those being re-arrested within the first 
year (Bureau of Justice, 2018). Studies also 
indicate inmates who participate in correctional 
education and vocational programs have a 43% 
better chance of not returning to prison (Brower, 
2015; Chappell, 2004; Irving, 2016; & Halkovic, 
2014). These results demonstrate the value of 
such programs and should drive our justice 
system and correctional institutions to increase 
educational availability because of the possible 
impact on recidivism and the concurrent 
reduction of taxpayer burden to incarcerate 
citizens.  

Approaches such as these are in alignment with a 
rehabilitative approach to incarceration that 
values the humanity of ex-offenders offering them 
an opportunity to successfully transition back into 
society, to our communities.  Significant research 
exists on the variety of benefits for education both 
pre-and post-incarceration with former inmates 
(Davis, Bozick, Steele, Saunders, & Miles, 2013). 
These benefits include: increased self-efficacy and 
self-esteem (Rose & Rose, 2014); decreased 
disciplinary infractions while incarcerated 
(Karpowitz, 2017, Lagemann, 2016); development 
of skills to improve their employability upon 
release (Ross & Richards, 2009), and reduced 
recidivism (Lichtenberger & Ogle, 2006; Nally, 
Lockwood, Knutson, & Ho, 2012). So, is there a 
way to make a difference, reduce recidivism, offer 
better educational opportunities, and increase 
self-efficacy using our research capabilities?   

Community-engaged researchers (CEnR) strive to 
form partnerships and involve community 

Community engaged research has the 
potential to create conditions where ex-

offenders can legally increase their earning 
potential while becoming productive and 

contributing members of their communities. 

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members as co-researchers in all aspects of a 
study, with people in the community contributing 
their knowledges and sharing in the decision-
making and ownership to make a difference. The 
aim is to increase and deepen understandings of a 
given issue and to develop ways to bring about 
social change benefiting the community members. 
According to Miller, 2009, cited in Evans, et al., 
community-based research can improve the lives 
of individuals in the community, organization, or 
association, or can affect the larger social agenda 
for comprehensive social action bringing about 
social change. This is community empowerment. 

The benefits of a high school education have been 
documented for those both within and outside the 
criminal justice system. Those who participate in 
correctional education and vocational programs 
have a 43% better chance of not returning to 
prison (Irving, 2016). Additionally, individuals 
with a college degree earn more over their 
lifetimes than those with only a high school 
diploma (Torpey, 2018). Thus, community 
engaged research has the potential to create 
conditions where ex-offenders can legally increase 
their earning potential while becoming productive 
and contributing members of their communities. 

The current economic crises have affected families 
from all backgrounds and looks to get worse the 
longer the COVID-19 pandemic continues. When 
inmates are released, they have responsibilities for 
rent, transportation, and food just like anyone 
else. However, the label of being a felon made the 
experience of acquiring those resources more 
difficult for the men in this study.  

Thus, institutions would be wise to develop 
clearinghouses of information for such resources 
for the benefit of all its students, not just ex-
offenders. CEnR may improve outcomes by 
helping coordinate access to educational 
resources, institutions can help reduce financial 
anxiety allowing the students to concentrate on 
their academics and ultimately graduate. Again, 
this is community empowerment.  

For African American males involved as 
defendants in the criminal justice system 

the stakes are high. Upon release, many 
of those unable to find work resume 

habits, which were the source of their 
initial troubles with the law. Soon, they 

find themselves back in jail. 

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REFERENCES 

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Brower, R. (2015). Against all odds: From prison to graduate school. Journal of African American Males in 
Education, 6(1), 1-24. 

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