Examining the experiences of formerly incarcerated black men at community colleges: the role of community cultural wealth

Abstract

This study directs attention to an oft-overlooked group of students in higher education: formerly incarcerated Black men (FIBM). Specifically, we aim to generate knowledge about how FIBM experience the college-going process to inform policy and practice aimed at broadening their participation and increasing their persistence. Two research questions guide our analysis: (1) How do FIBM understand and conceptualize the importance of college? (2) What factors help facilitate their access to and persistence in college? Employing qualitative research methods, we draw on Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural Wealth perspective as a conceptual frame. Three major findings were identified: “Choosing Community College as a Life-or-Death Decision,” “Education as Liberation,” “Critical Role of Institutional Agents.”

Keywords:

• College choice
• formerly incarcerated
• community college
• college access

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Royel M. Johnson

Dr. Royel M. Johnson is Associate Professor of Higher Education and Social Work at the University of Southern California, where he is also affiliated with the Pullias Center for Higher Education and USC Race and Equity Center. He is a nationally recognized scholar whose research examines issues of educational access, racial equity and student success.

Laura Manyweather

Dr. Laura Manyweather is Associate Professor in Business at Los Angeles Community College and a consultant for Tetra Core Consulting, LLC. Her research focuses on Critical Race Theory, the Prison Industrial Complex, and Black men in higher education. Her work aims to affect policy and to shift the negative and pervasive paradigm that some faculty and private employers tend to hold toward formerly incarcerated individuals.