Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Black Ex-Felons Are Slow to Vouch for Other Former Offenders
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
04 May 2020
🖨️ Print Article

Margaret Kimberley · Black Ex-Felons Are Slow to Vouch for Other Former Offenders

Contrary to the conventional wisdom, Black former offenders “need to see strong evidence" that the formerly incarcerated person has really changed, said Sandra Susan Smith, a University of California professor of sociology who did a study on the subject. Smith discovered that ex-offenders who have good jobs are reluctant to put their own reputations at risk by vouching for recently released friends and relatives. The employed ex-offender’s attitude is, “If I don’t see evidence of real change, then I’m not doing anything.”

Mass Black Incarceration

Related Podcasts

Involuntary Servitude in the Prison System
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Involuntary Servitude in the Prison System
24 June 2022
Savannah Eldrige is the founder of Coaliton to Abolish Slave
White Capitalist Law vs “Uncontrollable Blackness”
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
White Capitalist Law vs “Uncontrollable Blackness”
01 September 2020
The United States “criminalizes Black Americans,” but Black men “are not looking to be controlled” by this racist system, said Douglas
 Getting Out the Word: #PrisonsKill
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
Getting Out the Word: #PrisonsKill
25 August 2020
The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, IWOC, “is committed to the militant organizing of prisoners that takes its leadership and focus from

More Stories


  • How to Help Haiti
    Jemima Pierre , Tanya Golash-Boza , Kevin Alexander Gray
    How to Help Haiti
    15 Mar 2023
    Kevin Alexander Gray co-wrote this article after a trip to post-earthquake Haiti.
  • Obama and Black America
    Kevin Alexander Gray
    Obama and Black America
    15 Mar 2023
    Kevin Alexander Gray analyzed Barack Obama's presidential election and its negative impact on Black people and their politics.
  • Captive Maternal Roundtable: Rebecca A. Wilcox
    Rebecca A. Wilcox
    Captive Maternal Roundtable: Rebecca A. Wilcox
    15 Mar 2023
    The following is part of the first installment of our “Captive Maternal Roundtable” on Joy James’ new book, In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love: Precarity, Power, Communities.
  • Captive Maternal Roundtable: Da'Shaun Harrison
    Da'Shaun Harrison
    Captive Maternal Roundtable: Da'Shaun Harrison
    15 Mar 2023
    The following is part of the first installment of our “Captive Maternal Roundtable” on Joy James’ new book, In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love: Precarity, Power, Communities.
  • Renewed Calls for International Solidarity from Haitian Trade Unions and Civil Society Organizations
    Travis Ross
    Renewed Calls for International Solidarity from Haitian Trade Unions and Civil Society Organizations
    15 Mar 2023
    Haitian trade unions and civil society groups are united in demanding sovereignty for their nation and an end to foreign interference.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us