First Strike: Educational Enclosures in Black Los Angeles PDF
Preview First Strike: Educational Enclosures in Black Los Angeles
First Strike This page intentionally left blank First Strike Educational Enclosures in Black Los Angeles Damien M. Sojoyner University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis • London The University of Minnesota Press gratefully acknowledges financial support for the publication of this book from Scripps College. “Fear Not of Man” words and music by Dante Smith. Copyright 2000 EMI Blackwood Music Inc., Empire International Music Inc., and Medina Sounds Music. All rights ad- ministered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 424 Church Street, Suite 1200, Nashville, Tennessee 37219. International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Reprinted by per- mission of Hal Leonard Corporation. Copyright 2016 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy- ing, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 Minneapolis, MN 55401- 2520 http://www.upress.umn.edu Printed in the United States of America on acid-f ree paper The University of Minnesota is an equal-o pportunity educator and employer. 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sojoyner, Damien M., author. First strike : educational enclosures in Black Los Angeles / Damien M. Sojoyner. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016019157 (print) | ISBN 978-0-8166-9753-3 (hc) | ISBN 978-0-8166-9755-7 (pb) Subjects: LCSH: African Americans—Education—Social aspects—California—Los Angeles. | Educational sociology—California—Los Angeles. | Racism in education—California— Los Angeles. | Discrimination in criminal justice administration—California—Los Angeles. | School discipline—California—Los Angeles. Classification: LCC LC2803.L6 (print) | DDC 371.829/96079494—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016019157 To Elaine and Godfrey, whose love has always been unconditional. To Shana, whose love has enabled me to reach levels I never thought possible. To Naima and Nesanet, whose love gives my life true meaning. This page intentionally left blank Contents Introduction: The Problematic History between Schools and Prisons ix 1. The Problem of Black Genius: Black Cultural Enclosures 1 2. In the Belly of the Beast: Ideological Expansion 33 3. Land of Smoke and Mirrors: The Meaning of Punishment and Control 71 4. Troubled Man: Limitations of the Masculinity Solution 117 5. By All Means Possible: The Historical Struggle over Black Education 147 Conclusion: Reading the Past and Listening to the Present 189 Acknowledgments 197 Notes 203 Bibliography 239 Index 251 This page intentionally left blank Introduction The Problematic History between Schools and Prisons I sat on the hard, black rubberized seat feeling the tight coil of the en- meshed springs wanting to release years of pent-u p tension upon my legs. The bus driver, towing a group of rambunctious teenagers who were all- too- excited to get out of the confines of school, took very gently to the precarious conditions of our route. The circuitous road curved and twisted along a path that led us to an area known as Rancho Palos Verdes. Although a mere ten miles from my hometown of Carson, California, I had never ventured along these streets and was slowly taking in my new surroundings. We were on a field trip to study the various life forms that inhabited the Pacific Ocean, and I for one was excited; though I had lived relatively close to water all of my life, it was a rare occurrence to go to the coastline other than to play along the beach. As the bus driver nimbly took the mass of yellow steel along an avenue that cut through a valley of small hills, I was awestruck by the size of huge houses that sat along the hillside. With massive windows that provided panoramic views of the ocean, the homes rested in a fashion that gave the appearance that they had been built in isolation. From my vantage point there was no access road that led to their location, and there definitely were not any street markers that provided directions to these monstrosities on the tiny mountain. As the bus slowly pulled up to a stop sign for what felt like forever, I was stuck in a momentary feeling of confusion. Outside of the thick pane window I saw what I thought to be a large park. It had all of the signifi- ers of what a park in a neighborhood of such wealth should be— a series of very well- kept buildings outlined by a large, painstakingly manicured landscape. Flanked by children play areas on the property, I looked to the sign posted along the street to find out the name of the park, only to be shocked to read that it was not a park. It was a school. My first and most long- standing memory of the event since then was one of befuddlement: there were no gates, no fences, no large imposed barriers. These had been the signifiers of a school in my childhood and early teenage years. Every ix
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