Black Women in Prison

Overview

This book explores Black women’s experiences in one open and one closed prison in England. It is the first of its kind that uses intersectionality to explore and provide a comprehensive overview of Black women’s unique experience in prison. Race, gender and class are interweaved throughout the whole book to highlight just how interconnected they are for Black women in prison.

Research Methods

Beyond focusing solely on imprisonment, the book also uses an original form of data analysis to explore the ways that race and gender impacted Black women prior to their imprisonment, through the visual research method of identity trees. The women wrote down key events of their lives relating to race and gender on a tree template with each part of the tree representing a period in their lives — thus moving beyond traditional forms of research methods.

Significance

The book is unique as it focuses on an under-researched area and a group of individuals who have been largely rendered invisible in the prison field of academia. It has a wide scope that spans continents because issues of race, discrimination and the prison estate can be found in all areas of the globe and although some of the nuances are different, some key areas such as systemic disadvantage and oppression are present worldwide.

Educational Value

The book is educational through its discussions of intersectionality, Black feminism, and visual research methods. It offers teachable moments for students as well as those already in academia wanting to explore non-traditional forms of conducting research.