Abstracts

My thesis concerns the institutionalization of racism in the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC), also known as the Criminal Justice System. The Criminal Justice System encompasses all correction and law enforcement agencies including courts, police, prisons, etc. I focus on three questions: (1) why are there proportionally more Blacks incarcerated in the U.S. than any other racial formation in the United States, (2) how does the high incarceration rates of Blacks affect Black youth, and (3) what purpose does incarcerating Blacks serve? These three questions are central to understanding how racism has been institutionalized in the United States and how it directly impacts and shapes the reality of the Black community. I use critical race theory to frame a rhetorical analysis of existing scholarship concerning race, racism, the Cycle of Mass Incarceration, and the Prison Industrial Complex. Through this analysis, the framework of institutions in society is laid bare; i.e., there are implicit and explicit racist actions targeted at specific communities to further hegemonic agendas in the United States. I dispute the claim that the United States is a post-racial society. To the contrary, I argue that racism has percolated into every institution and every American. That said, my project focuses specifically on the Prison Industrial Complex and how this institution affects Blacks.Advisors/Committee Members: Inoue, Asao B (advisor).