Part 2 ( Angela Davis: Masked Racism & Prison Industrial Complex) Flashcards
(24 cards)
What is the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC)?
A network of prisons, law enforcement, and private companies that profit from mass incarceration, driven more by racism and capitalism than public safety.
Why does Angela Davis say the PIC matters?
Because it hides major social problems (poverty, addiction, homelessness) by locking people away, mainly from poor and racialized communities.
What happens to social problems when people are incarcerated?
They are “disappeared” from public view instead of solved — but prisons disappear people, not the problems.
What is the racial makeup of the prison population according to Davis?
Over 70% are people of color. Black women are the fastest-growing group, and Native Americans are imprisoned at the highest rates per capita.
What does Davis say about racism in the criminal justice system?
Racist practices affect arrest, conviction, and sentencing. Criminality and deviance are racialized, particularly against Black and brown people.
How does imprisonment function ideologically?
It gives the illusion of solving social problems, creating a false sense of public safety while shifting focus from social welfare to social control.
What is meant by “profitable punishment”?
Prisons are big business—private companies make money off incarceration, especially through prison labor and contracts with the state.
Name two major private prison companies.
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA, now CoreCivic) and Wackenhut Corrections Corporation (now part of GEO Group).
How are corporations outside of criminal justice involved in the PIC?
Companies like IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, Boeing use prison labor for cheap production, profiting from mass incarceration.
What is the cost comparison between public and private prisons?
Private prisons charge less ($20 million vs. $30 million for 5,000 inmates) but provide worse food, fewer resources, and exploit cheap labor.
How does lobbying connect to the prison industrial complex?
Private prison companies lobby politicians to pass punitive laws and expand incarceration, influencing policies for profit.
What companies use lobbying to gain political favor?
Amazon, Meta, and prison companies like GEO and CoreCivic. Lobbying is legal but favors those with money.
What is the value of the lobbying industry?
$3.7 billion — allowing wealthy groups to influence lawmakers far more than ordinary citizens.
What’s the hidden agenda Davis describes?
That imprisonment is sold as public safety, but it’s really about control and profit — a shift from social services to surveillance and punishment.
What does Davis mean by “devouring the social wealth”?
Resources are drained from public needs like housing and education and redirected to fund prisons.
What comparison does Davis make between education and incarceration funding in 1996–97?
California spent 9.6% of the General Fund on corrections and only 8.7% on higher education.
What time period saw massive incarceration growth?
1920–2010 — incarceration rates dramatically increased, driven by punitive laws and political rhetoric.
What motivates longer prison sentences according to Davis?
Political gains (“tough on crime”), lobbying pressure, and the demand for more prisoners to increase profits.
What is the definition of Covert?
Hidden or not openly acknowledged; social problems are covertly categorized as “crime.”
What is Profitable Punishment?
Making money off incarceration rather than addressing social needs.
What are Racialized Assumptions of Criminality?
Society assumes people of color are more likely to commit crimes.
What is Prison Labor?
Exploitative labor done by incarcerated individuals for little or no pay.
What does Parasitic Seduction of Capitalist Profit mean?
The system feeds off and profits from poor and racialized populations.
What is Ideological Trickery?
Making the public believe incarceration is about safety when it’s about control.
