Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 5-6-2020
Journal / Book Title
Women & Criminal Justice
Abstract
This paper contextualizes the struggles and contributions of Black motherhood and reproductive justice under police surveillance in Baltimore, Maryland. We conducted semi-structured interviews with mothers regarding their experiences and perceptions of policing in their community during the aftermath of the police-involved death of Freddie Gray. While the literature disproportionately focuses on Black males, little knowledge is known about the struggles and contributions of Black mothers in matters concerning police brutality and the fight against institutional violence. There still remains the question regarding the role of and impact on Black mothers during matters of institutional violence against Black children. We fill this gap by highlighting narratives and lived knowledges within a Black motherhood perspective. Primary themes show that Black women are subject to terror from police and system agents, they face reproductive justice issues, as they are criminalized as mothers—and are affected mentally, but they employ various resistance strategies that strengthen their resilience. Results indicate that Black women are the backbone and martyrs of their communities, but this comes at a tremendous cost because they remain largely unprotected and subject to immeasurable institutional violence and judgment against their mothering strategies.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.2020.1752352
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Aniefuna, Leah Iman; Aniefuna, M. Amari; and Williams, Jason M., "Creating and Undoing Legacies of Resilience: Black Women as Martyrs in the Black Community Under Oppressive Social Control" (2020). Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 124.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/justice-studies-facpubs/124
Published Citation
Aniefuna, Leah Iman, M. Amari Aniefuna, and Jason M. Williams. "Creating and Undoing Legacies of Resilience: Black Women as Martyrs in the Black Community Under Oppressive Social Control." Women & Criminal Justice (2020): 1-18.
Included in
Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, History of Gender Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Law and Race Commons, Other Law Commons, Other Legal Studies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons