Criminalized Knowledge: Defending Race and Justice in the Age of Backlash

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

This panel explores the current landscape of progressive and race-conscious research in criminology amid rising political hostility toward higher education, critical scholarship, and science itself. As attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion intensify and state legislatures seek to restrict academic freedom, scholars engaged in research on race, racism, and systems of criminalization face mounting pressures. Panelists will examine how these developments are shaping the production, funding, and dissemination of research that challenges dominant narratives and centers the experiences of communities of Color. The discussion will highlight the structural barriers to securing grants for race-based inquiry, the stigmatization of critical frameworks such as abolition, and the chilling effects of legislative censorship. Drawing from their experiences navigating these challenges, scholars will share strategies for sustaining transformative research agendas, building community within and beyond academia, and resisting erasure. This session is co-hosted by Race and Justice: An International Journal and the Division on People of Color and Crime, both of which remain committed to amplifying scholarship that interrogates power, affirms marginalized voices, and advances racial justice. The panel aims to foster dialogue, solidarity, and collective vision in the face of escalating repression and institutional retrenchment.

Sub Unit

• Area X. Critical Criminology / 79. Critical Perspectives in Criminology

Individual Presentations

• Defending Race and Justice in the Age of Backlash - Deena A. Isom, University of South Carolina

• Race-conscious research - Jorge Chavez, University of Colorado Denver

• Race, Crime and Justice Scholarship - Miltonette Olivia Craig, Sam Houston State University; Howard Henderson, Texas Southern University; Janice Iwama, American University; Nikki Jones, University of California, Berkeley; Jason M. Williams, Montclair State University

Chair

• Jason M. Williams, Montclair State University

Discussant

• Deena A. Isom, University of South Carolina

Organized by a Division or external group?

DPCC @30