NCJ Number
74428
Date Published
1980
Length
10 pages
Annotation
The dynamics of the violent behavior of black Americans and the role of prison staff in helping to change that behavior are discussed.
Abstract
Violent behavior among blacks has been learned from and is largely a response to the violence and dehumanizing oppression heaped upon them by the dominant white culture. Until recently, black anger has been controlled by the black subculture through close-knit communities and families strongly influenced by religious norms of nonviolence. Anger was also defused through fantasy, music, and other forms of entertainment. Similar to much of the rest of Amercan society, the informal social controls in the black subculture are now breaking down. The authority of religion, family, and school has lost its force for many young blacks, such that violence is acted out. To understand the reasons for blacks' violent behavior is not to excuse it. To treat black people as if they were children incapable of making moral decisions or of assuming responsibility for their own actions and choices is a form of patronizing racism. For the most part, the prison inmate subculture has reinforced rather than countered black violence, as the expectations and demands of inmates and prison staff stimulate the tendency to challenge authority and find identity in violence. While there are no clear or easy remedies for the prevalence of violent behavior among blacks, one important constructive step would be for prison staff to take seriously its responsibility for directing the development of inmate subculture, such that inmates are humanized rather than dehumanized. No references are given.