Radical Imagination: Formerly Incarcerated African Americans’ Reintegration to Higher Education Through a Counseling Lens

• In Event: Diverse Perspectives on Counseling College-Age Students

Abstract

This paper shares the results of a qualitative study on the reintegration of formerly incarcerated African Americans into higher education. In the study, Project Rebound counselors shared experiences of their formerly incarcerated clients and discussed best practices. The methodology integrates narrative inquiry and analytic autoethnography. The findings reveal four themes: (1) Maintaining the status quo, (2) Behind the wall, (3) Intrinsic strengths: building self-efficacy and purpose; and (4) Beyond the wall mindset: accessing counseling services. The significance of this study highlights counseling practices that embrace the inclusion of formerly incarcerated individuals into a university setting as a first option upon release from state prison.

Keywords: formerly incarcerated African Americans, counseling, racial injustice

Author

• Lauren Sneed, San Francisco State University