Abstract
This article explores how incarcerated youth and adult supervisors contest claims to identity via language of “representing”. Comparing how youth and adults “represent” in discussions of their own past and future selves sheds light on the constrained universe of discourse within which both groups work to express identities and on the basis of which we counsel, mentor, and educate young people. Acknowledging these constraints can contribute to understanding what I call exceptionalism—the idea that only exceptional poor and raced young men, through great personal effort and sacrifice, may resist the lure of the “street”. I conclude by discussing implications of this work for education and youth development work both inside and beyond the juvenile justice system as well as for research across lines of difference by committed “outsiders”.
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Notes
Names of people, places, and organizations are pseudonyms.
I draw on Snow and Anderson’s (1987, p. 1347 ff.) concept of “identity work” to characterize identity contests as competing efforts to articulate dignified, empowered identities as both individuals and group members in the face of social stigma.
Adult supervisors in San Angelo County Juvenile Hall are referred to as “counselors.” Some “counselors” do indeed actively and constructively counsel youth while others simply supervise, in a manner not unlike prison guards.
An indication of how contentious these issues were in California can be found in sampling some popular ballot initiatives contested during between 1995 and 2000. These include: Proposition 187 “Illegal Aliens—Ineligibility for Public Services,” Proposition 227 “English Language in Public Schools Initiative Statute,” Proposition 184 “Increased Sentences—Repeat Offenders (Three Strikes),” Proposition 21 “Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act of 1998,” and Proposition 209 “Prohibition Against Discrimination or Preferential Treatment by State and Other Public Entities Initiative Constitutional Amendment” [ending affirmative action admissions policies at California universities]. For a listing of California ballot propositions, see the Office of the California Secretary of State at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_j.htm (Last accessed June 27, 2008).
The two other Uhuru leaders at the time were Mike Anderson and Esau Villarreal. Mike works part-time in juvenile hall and as an instructor in the department of physical education at a local community college; he is former semi-pro football player who grew up in a poor community in the south. Esau Villarreal is a university graduate, San Angelo County Juvenile Probation Officer, former professional soccer player, son of immigrants, and, by his own description, a happily married family man.
One might usefully ask just what constitutes “crisis” in a young person’s schooling. I raise this question in the context of what is for me a familiar and somewhat alarming exchange with high school students: “How’s school going?” “It’s going good, I’m passing all my classes.” The exchange can be alarming because of the way it suggests/implies that (just) “passing” is doing well in school, regardless of the potential number of Cs, Ds, and absences or tardies a young person has accumulated. See Dow (2007).
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Gardner, J. “What are you Representing?” Contesting Identities of Incarcerated Youth. Urban Rev 41, 174–197 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-008-0101-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-008-0101-2