By Margaux Kay LaPointe, '11

To commemorate and honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Center for Peace and Justice Education sponsored “The Freedom School” on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The Freedom School featured one-hour lectures given throughout Connelly Center from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Jill McCorkel, Ph.D., an assistant professor of sociology, delivered a lecture entitled, “Collateral Consequences: Impoverished Women and the Aftermath of the Drug War,” which examined the impact of social policy on this marginalized group.

McCorkel is the author of Unruly Subjects: Gender, Punishment, and the Self, which explores the decline of the rehabilitative ideal in women’s prisons.

For McCorkel, two social policies, welfare and the war on drugs, represent the two arms of the state, aid, and criminal justice. She sees these arms binding African-American women living in poverty in the city.

The war on drugs targeted young African-American males who were trafficking drugs. This “war” caused hyper-incarceration, causing the United States to be the world leader in incarceration. Just under 7 million people are under criminal justice supervision, including prison and probation, McCorkel said. In the mid 1980s, historically high rates of women were being imprisoned, and they now represent 2 million of those under criminal justice supervision.

Women being released from prison are struggling because of the 1996 welfare reform act, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. In addition to a five-year limit on welfare assistance, TANF banned drug felons from living in halfway houses or subsidized housing, and will not provide assistance to caretakers of children with incarcerated parents. Problems are arising now because, as McCorkel explained, “Women are dipping into the drug economy to make ends meet.”

McCorkel is an ethnographic researcher, so she directly observes the subculture to study it. “I’ve interviewed 27 women,” she said, “some of these women for decades.” She believes that these women, like Lisa and Shanna, have been hit by both arms of the state. One woman, Lisa, said, “The state has just traded one cell for another.” Another woman McCorkel interviewed, Shanna, said, “I’m a survivor, and I’m surviving the war.”

To provide a positive outlook and a message of hope for these women, Joanne McCool from the organization The Career Wardrobe joined McCorkel. The Career Wardrobe is a non-profit organization in Philadelphia that provides work appropriate clothing, such as suits and scrubs, for women, often the demographic of women studied by McCorkel. According to its Web site, The Career Wardrobe is the nation’s largest community-based non-profit organization serving women transitioning into the workforce by providing professional attire and innovative educational programs. Since 1995, The Career Wardrobe has assisted over 50,000 women by inspiring the confidence necessary to achieve independence. 

“We help women transition,” McCool said. “We give them the support, the esteem, and the wardrobe they need to reenter the workforce.” Sixty percent of the women The Career Wardrobe serves get a job, and the organization will then supply three more outfits so the women have clothes for the entire work week. The organization also provides classes on creating a résumé reviews and improving interviewing skills.

“I feel like I need to inspire individuals to affect change,” McCool said. Presenting two days after Martin Luther King Day and the day after President Barack Obama’s inauguration, she felt that “it’s history.”


 

Margaux Kay LaPointe, ’11, is a sophomore from Lebanon, Pa. She is an intern in the Office of Communications in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova University. Margaux is majoring in communication with a specialization in public relations.