Disrupting Carcerality in Schools: The Value of Racial Spatial Analysis

• In Event: Disrupting Carceral Logics and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Abstract

In our experiences conducting ethnographic research in schools on both coasts of the U.S., carceral logics dominate school practice. They manifest both in overt practices of exclusion that directly feed the school-to-prison pipeline and in subtle, more covert norms that limit the freedom and well-being of students of color. Here, we examine how carceral logics are shaped by underlying racial spatial logics. Racial spatial logics draw on intersecting conceptualizations of race and space to justify the surveillance and disciplining of students of color and sustain segregationist spatial arrangements where white supremacy and interrelated forms of oppression determine access to educational space. By developing an awareness of racial spatial logics, school personnel can better disrupt the daily normalization of white supremacy.

Authors

• Benjamin Blaisdell, East Carolina University

• Mariama Gray, California State University - East Bay