Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

“Respectable” Black Women Fought Mass Incarceration
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
02 Mar 2020
🖨️ Print Article

Back in the days when 90 percent of southern prison inmates were Black, socially conservative Black clubwomen fought for prison reform, believing that “putting Black women in jail was hurting the Black community,” said Nikki Brown, professor of history at the University of New Orleans. The National Association of Colored Women, who practiced what we today call “respectability” politics, played a key role in creating alternatives to incarceration, said Brown, who authored an article titled, “Keeping Black Motherhood Out of Prison: Prison Reform and Woman-Saving in the Progressive Era.”

Mass Black Incarceration

Related Podcasts

Involuntary Servitude in the Prison System
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Involuntary Servitude in the Prison System
24 June 2022
Savannah Eldrige is the founder of Coaliton to Abolish Slave
White Capitalist Law vs “Uncontrollable Blackness”
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
White Capitalist Law vs “Uncontrollable Blackness”
01 September 2020
The United States “criminalizes Black Americans,” but Black men “are not looking to be controlled” by this racist system, said Douglas
 Getting Out the Word: #PrisonsKill
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
Getting Out the Word: #PrisonsKill
25 August 2020
The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, IWOC, “is committed to the militant organizing of prisoners that takes its leadership and focus from

More Stories


  • Hunger in America, Especially for Children, Has “Skyrocketed” During Pandemic
    Jon Schwarz
    Hunger in America, Especially for Children, Has “Skyrocketed” During Pandemic
    30 Sep 2020
    Census data show 19 percent of Black households did not have enough food to eat in the past week, compared to 7 percent of white households.
  • How Criminal Cops Often Avoid Jail
    Andrew Ford
    How Criminal Cops Often Avoid Jail
    30 Sep 2020
    Dozens of New Jersey officers who have been criminally charged with official misconduct avoided the jail time called for under the law.
  • Fear and Russia-Loathing in the National Lawyers Guild
    Riva Enteen
    Fear and Russia-Loathing in the National Lawyers Guild
    30 Sep 2020
    Trump’s election, Russiagate and the smear campaign against Julian Assange have deluded and disoriented many “left” organizations.
  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of September 28, 2020
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of September 28, 2020
    28 Sep 2020
    This Movement Has “Reach and Longevity”
  • The People Will Establish a Green New Deal
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    The People Will Establish a Green New Deal
    28 Sep 2020
    With corporate Democrats no more receptive than Republicans to Green New Deal legislation, it will be up to “the movement” to combat the climate crisis, said Yolian Ogbu, and
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us