Race Relations and the Prisoner Subculture

The extensive scholarly literature on prisoner subculture has, until quite recently, virtually ignored race relations. The oversight is significant; prisons have a long history of segregation and racial discrimination. Descriptions and theories of prisoner subculture which do not take racial cleavages into account are incomplete and need to be reconsidered. Since the late 1950s race relations have precipitated enormous changes in prisoner subcultures and in prison organization. The Black Muslims challenged the hegemony of white officials and prisoners and their legal activism led to the intervention of the federal courts in prison administration. Present-day prisoner subcultures are characterized by racial polarization and conflict, and by the dominance of blacks and other minorities who now constitute the majority of the national prisoner population. The next generation of research should link the prison society, including its patterns of race relations, to both the unique characteristics of prisons and the culture and social structure of the larger society.