Date of Conferral

5-2-2025

Date of Award

May 2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Nancy Blank

Abstract

Rising incarceration rates of Black women in the United States highlight the urgent need to examine factors contributing to this trend. This study investigates how Elijah Anderson’s Code of the Street influences behaviors that lead to incarceration among Black women in low-resource neighborhoods. Via the social disorganization theory, the research explored how economic instability, weakened social institutions, and community disorder contribute to adopting the street code and how adherence to the code contributes to participants’ incarceration. This qualitative study employed thematic analysis of interviews with 11 formerly incarcerated Black women, focusing on their perceptions regarding how the street code shaped their responses to threats and conflicts and subsequently their incarceration. This study led to key themes. These themes were respect and boundaries, conditional acceptance of violence, community support deficiencies, reputation as social currency, nuanced responsibility, and voicelessness. Findings suggest adherence to the code reinforces rigid expectations involving respect and self-defense, leading to violence and incarceration. This study highlights gender-specific implications, demonstrating that Black women engage with the code in ways that prioritize self-defense and family protection rather than the dominant characteristics of men. Emphasis on respect and retaliation, operate in a gender-neutral manner, influencing both genders’ behaviors in low-resource neighborhoods. These findings highlight opportunities for positive social change, underscoring the potential for targeted interventions that disrupt cycles of violence and incarceration by fostering economic empowerment, community cohesion, and alternative conflict resolution strategies.

Download

Included in

Criminology Commons

Share

 
COinS