Navigating Marginality: Black Women's Reentry Experiences Post-Incarceration

Background and Purpose: Black women in the United States often grapple with marginalization due to their intersectional identities of race and gender. Post-incarceration, they face intricate challenges as they reintegrate into society. This study explores how Black women navigate these complexities while transitioning back into their communities.

Methods: Using interpretive phenomenological analysis informed by Intersectionality and Black Feminist Thought, a group of nine previously incarcerated Black women from Maryland, Washington D.C., and Georgia engaged in semi-structured interviews. The aim was to delve into their lived intersectional experiences and feelings of empowerment.

The criteria for participation required individuals to self-identify as Black women, be at least 18 years old at the time of their incarceration, have spent a minimum of six months in prison or jail, have been released for at least six months, and have not been re-incarcerated since their release. Participants were purposefully selected based on these criteria, with additional participants identified through a snowball sampling method, where those who had experienced reentry were asked for referrals. Recruitment took place through nonprofit agencies in Washington, D.C., with a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) established between the agency and the researcher. Interviews were conducted via phone or Zoom and transcribed using Otter.ai software.

Data analysis employed interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to illuminate the core of participants' narratives. Through familiarization with the data, experiential statements deeply rooted in each participant's psychological essence emerged as personal experiential themes (PET). These PETs were crafted for each participant after analyzing their interviews. By identifying patterns among participants, the researcher constructed Group Experiential Themes (GET), which represented collective experiences shared by the group. The recurrence of PETs present in at least half or most participants, resulting in the formation of the GET.

Results: The Essence of the Phenomenon revealed that accumulating marginal identities exacerbates challenges faced during reentry. Six overarching themes emerged, illustrating intersectional experiences and empowerment strategies. Three themes addressed intersectional experiences including (a) Experiencing identity-based inequities, (b) Challenges in securing housing, and (c) Confronting health-related obstacles. Three overarching themes addressed experiencing empowerment, including (a) Finding strength through faith in God, (b) Fostering self-reliance, determination, and motivation in goal achievement, and (c) Deriving empowerment from familial, organizational, and communal support. Despite finding strength in support systems, faith, and self-reliance, participants encountered multiple obstacles due to their marginalized identities, manifesting at micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Conclusion and Implications: The study underscores the need for anti-discriminatory policies to safeguard against inadvertent discrimination towards individuals with criminal records. Furthermore, reentry programming must adopt a person-centered approach, tailoring strategies to the unique needs and strengths of Black women transitioning from incarceration to community life.