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Race, Carceral Technoscience, and Liberatory Imagination in Everyday Life

Mark Mitchell

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Published in Captivating Technology: Race Carceral Technoscience And Liberatory Imagination In Everyday Life

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In the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people, there has been a renewed focus on the role of race and carceral technologies in everyday life. Carceral technologies are technologies that are used to control and punish people, such as prisons, jails, police, and surveillance systems. These technologies have a disproportionate impact on people of color, who are more likely to be arrested, convicted, and incarcerated than white people.

Captivating Technology: Race, Carceral Technoscience, and Liberatory Imagination in Everyday Life

by Ruha Benjamin

4.7 out of 5

Language	:	English
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Carceral technologies are not simply tools of oppression, however. They are also sites of resistance and possibility. Through an analysis of everyday practices, this article shows how people of color use carceral technologies to challenge their own oppression and imagine a more just future.

Race and Carceral Technoscience

Carceral technologies are deeply embedded in the history of race in the United States. The first prisons were built in the South after the Civil War to control and punish Black people who were newly freed from slavery. Since then, the prison system has expanded dramatically, and it is now the largest system of mass incarceration in the world.

People of color are disproportionately represented in the prison system. In 2019, Black people made up 34% of the prison population, even though they only make up 13% of the U.S. population. This disparity is due to a number of factors, including racial profiling, biased policing, and harsh drug laws.

Carceral technologies are not only used to punish people of color, but they are also used to control and surveil them. For example, police often use stop-and-frisk policies to target Black and Latino people, and they often use excessive force against people of color. Surveillance cameras are also disproportionately placed in Black and Latino neighborhoods, which creates a chilling effect on free speech and assembly.

Liberatory Imagination and Everyday Life

Despite the challenges posed by carceral technologies, people of color continue to find ways to resist and imagine a more just future. One way that people of color do this is through liberatory imagination. Liberatory imagination is the ability to imagine a world beyond the current system of oppression. It is the ability to see the possibilities for a better future, even in the face of adversity.

Liberatory imagination is not just a theoretical concept. It is a practice that people of color engage in everyday. For example, Black and Latino youth often use music and art to express their resistance to oppression and to imagine a better future. They use these creative forms to challenge stereotypes, to build community, and to envision a world where they are free.

People of color also use liberatory imagination in their everyday interactions with carceral technologies. For example, some people of color use social media to document police brutality and to build awareness of the injustices that they face. Others use technology to create networks of support and to organize for social change.

Carceral technologies are a powerful force in the lives of people of color. They are used to control and punish people of color, and they create a climate of fear and suspicion. However, carceral technologies are not simply tools of oppression. They are also sites of resistance and possibility. Through liberatory imagination, people of color are using carceral technologies to challenge their own oppression and to imagine a more just future.

Captivating Technology: Race, Carceral Technoscience, and Liberatory Imagination in Everyday Life

by Ruha Benjamin

4.7 out of 5