African American Men Who Give Voice to the Personal Transition from Criminality to Desistance

168 Pages·2017·14 MB·English

Antioch University
AUR - Antioch University Repository and Archive
Student & Alumni Scholarship, including
Dissertations & Teses
Dissertations & Teses
2014
African American Men Who Give Voice to the
Personal Transition from Criminality to Desistance
Naomi Nightingale
Antioch University - PhD Program in Leadership and Change
Follow this and additional works at: htp://aura.antioch.edu/etds
Part of the Criminology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Gender and
Sexuality Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, and the Social
Psychology Commons
Recommended Citation
Nightingale, Naomi, "African American Men Who Give Voice to the Personal Transition from Criminality to Desistance" (2014).
Dissertations & Teses. 82.
htp://aura.antioch.edu/etds/82
Tis Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student & Alumni Scholarship, including Dissertations & Teses at AUR - Antioch
University Repository and Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations & Teses by an authorized administrator of AUR - Antioch
University Repository and Archive. For more information, please contact
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN WHO GIVE VOICE TO THE PERSONAL TRANSITION
FROM CRIMINALITY TO DESISTANCE
NAOMI NIGHTINGALE
A DISSERTATION
Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Program
of Antioch University
in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
February, 2014
This is to certify that the Dissertation entitled:
AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN WHO GIVE VOICE TO THE PERSONAL TRANSITION
FROM CRIMINALITY TO DESISTANCE
prepared by
Naomi Nightingale
is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
Leadership and Change.
Approved by:
Carolyn Kenny, Ph.D., Chair date
Annie E. Booysen, DBL, Committee Member date
Aretha F. Marbley, Ph.D., External Reader date
Copyright 2014 Naomi Nightingale
All rights reserved
Acknowledgements
So many people helped me to complete the journey of acquiring the PhD in Leadership
and Change. My brother Laurence E. Nightingale, Sr. was my most vocal and rallying
supporter. We talked nearly every single day and each conversation would end with, “Now, go
to work kid. Let’s get this done.” I am so grateful to my children Brian L. Jackson and Felicia
Nightingale-Collier who were inspirations for me to keep moving forward toward my goal as
each of them took on demanding challenges for their own personal and professional growth.
Camilla Vignoe and I kept each other on task, striving for focus and balance as we traveled the
research-laden road keeping our eyes on the PhD prize. I am forever grateful for her friendship.
Diane Langley, my roommate for the first two years always seemed to call at the right time to
boost my morale and remind me of the worthiness of my efforts. She celebrated my every
achievement, no matter how small. Every person in Cohort 6 of the Leadership and Change
program holds a special place in my heart. The photo book that Karen Geiger, Cohort member,
gifted to us is a keepsake and reminder of the memories of each person and our times together.
Toward the end when finishing those final chapters seemed near impossible, the collaboration
formed with fellow Cohort Sixers Norman Dale, Janet Dewart Bell, Carolyn Smith Goings,
Camilla Vignoe and Merrill Mayper boosted me across the finish line. I am so grateful.
The staff, the leadership team and the professors of the Leadership and Change doctorate
program are fabulous. I extend a special thank you to a most remarkable person, Deb Baldwin,
Antioch University Librarian—there is no other like her, and I cannot imagine her talent,
expertise, deep commitment and caring for every student could ever be matched. There are no
words to express my respect and gratitude for Dr. Carolyn Kenny who was not only one of the
most influential teachers and scholars I have ever been privileged to learn from, but she was also
i
the Chair of my Dissertation Committee. She is an incredible individual. My appreciation is
extended to the other members of my Dissertation Committee—Dr. Annie E. Booysen, Antioch
University and External Reader, Dr. Aretha F. Marbley, Texas Tech University.
Thank you Donald Holt, Gerald Brown, Stephanie Buriel, , Melanie Burris, Pamela
Anderson, Kirk Spencer, Aaron Soil, Anthony Brinker, Sherwood Fleming, John W. Grigsby,
Michael Murray, Michael Ridley, Lynn Featherstone, Bobby Neal Lott, Anthony Blockmon,
Stanley Mitchell and the many friends, family and members of the community who supported
me throughout the journey.
ii
Abstract
The United States of America has more than 2.3 million persons incarcerated in state and federal
prisons. In 2011 more than 700,000 prisoners were released from prisons back into the
communities, mostly urban, from where they came. Upon their attempt to reenter society,
persons released from prison are faced with overwhelming odds threatening their successful
reentry at every critical element necessary for life and wellbeing—food, housing, health care,
treatment for drug addictions, employment, counseling, family support and close personal
relationships. This research reflects the voices of African American men who tell their personal
stories of criminal life, imprisonment, recidivism, and the point at which they turned from crime
to desisting—breaking the cycle of recidivism. African American Men Who Give Voice to the
Personal Transition from Criminality to Desistance discusses the attractions of criminal life,
challenges to desisting and finally making it through society’s unforgiving social, economic and
political gauntlet. Narrative is story and narrative inquiry is a way to understanding and valuing
lived experiences through story. Narrative inquiry methodology is the qualitative methodology
used in reflecting the stories as voiced by the participants in this study. This dissertation is
accompanied by 16 MP4 video files and a Dissertation Summary [PDF]. Six of the MP4 files
are embedded in the Dissertation PDF and 10 are embedded in the Dissertation Summary. All
are accessible as supplemental files. The electronic version of this dissertation is at AURA
http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd

iii
Author’s Video Introduction
DissClip 1.01 Author Introduction
iv
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. i
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii
Author’s Video Introduction .............................................................................................. iv
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................v
List of Supplemental Files ................................................................................................. ix
Chapter I: Introduction .........................................................................................................1
Situating the Researcher ...............................................................................................1
The Personal Imprint of Civil Injustice ........................................................................3
Race Identification: Black and African American ........................................................6
Activism Uncovers a Deep Social Problem ..................................................................7
Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................................10
The Gap in the Research .............................................................................................15
Research Question ......................................................................................................17
Summary of Chapters to Follow .................................................................................19
Chapter II: Review of the Literature ..................................................................................21
The Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck Longitudinal Study: Seminal Research ................25
Recidivism and Desistance .........................................................................................29
The State of the Literature and the Need for the Study ..............................................31
Analysis of the Literature ...........................................................................................33
Summary .....................................................................................................................36
Chapter III: Method: Narrative Inquiry .............................................................................38
v
Introduction .................................................................................................................38
Why I Chose Narrative Inquiry ..................................................................................42
Overview and Definition of Narrative Inquiry ...........................................................44
Historical Roots and Theoretical Premises .................................................................49
Methodology ...............................................................................................................50
Narrative Inquiry Research Project ............................................................................54
The Narrative Inquiry Research ..................................................................................54
Narrative Inquiry Interviews .......................................................................................55
Participant Consent Form and Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval ..............56
Leadership and Change Within the Ex-offender Participant Group ...........................56
Chapter IV: Discussion ......................................................................................................59
My Life Story: The Long Way to Finding Myself as Told by Tony ..........................61
Tony’s Background .............................................................................................61
This Is Tony’s Story ............................................................................................63
Researcher’s Discussion .............................................................................................88
From the Lens of the Researcher .........................................................................90
The Absent Father ...............................................................................................90
The Environment .................................................................................................90
Tony’s Turning Point ..........................................................................................91
My Lived Experience: My Personal Transition from Crime to Desistance as
Told by A.S. ....................................................................................................91
The Background of A.S. ......................................................................................91
A.S.’s Story .........................................................................................................92
vi