Marked: Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration

“The phenomenon of mass incarceration has filtered into the public consciousness through cycles of media coverage and political debates. But a more lasting source of information detailing the scope and reach of the criminal justice system is generated internally by state courts and departments of corrections.”

Pager argues that the credentialing of stigma plays a central role in perpetuating racial stereotypes and racial discrimination. The criminal record, a paradigmatic example of a negative credential, marks ex-offenders and restricts their access to opportunities in the long term by remaining publicly available years after an offender is released from prison.

“Despite the vast political and financial resources that have been mobilized toward prison expansion, very little systematic attention has been focused on the potential problems posed by the large and increasing number of inmates being released each year.”

One of the distinguishing aspects of Pager’s book is its focus on what happens to convicted criminals after they are released from prison. The number of ex-offenders has ballooned alongside mass incarceration. Pager studies their transition and reentry into mainstream society, focusing on the struggles of young Black men in the entry-level labor market.

“‘Ask many politicians, newspaper editors, or criminal justice ‘experts’ about our prisons, and you will hear that our problem is that we put too many people in prison. The truth, however, is to the contrary; we are incarcerating too few criminals, and the public is suffering as a result.’”

This quote from a 1992 US Department of Justice report is about mass incarceration, a central theme in Pager’s book. The criminal justice system grew exponentially starting in the 1970s, in large part because the policy had widespread support from the public and politicians. This quote attests to the federal government’s strong and enduring support for mass incarceration.

“Crime did not become more serious over this period, but punishment surely did.”

This passage addresses a key shift in sentencing practices: the move from indeterminate to determinate sentencing. Through much of the 20th century, judges used their discretion in sentencing. The 1970s marked the beginning of mandatory sentencing. As a result, low-level and first-time offenders received the same harsh sentences as high-level and repeat offenders, which drove mass incarceration.

“Apart from its general impact on rising incarceration rates, targeted enforcement associated with the war on drugs has had a large and disproportionate impact on African Americans. No single offense type has more directly contributed to contemporary racial disparities in imprisonment than drug crimes.”

Mass incarceration is a system of racialized social control fueled by the war on drugs. Studies show that most drug users are white. However, Black people vastly outnumber white people in state prison for drug crimes, underscoring racial bias in the criminal justice system.

“Whereas once prisoners represented only a tiny fraction of the population, today the United States houses enough inmates to staff an entire global fast-food empire.”

Pager’s book is dense with facts and statistics. Drawing a parallel with the fast-food industry helps readers understand the scope of mass incarceration through a visual metaphor.

“Prisons are not stationary institutions.”

This quote is about reentry, the focus of Pager’s book. Prisoners have been flowing in and out of prisons in increasing numbers, yet few scholars have studied the issue, and few resources have gone to helping ex-offenders reenter mainstream society.

“A criminal record is the archetypal negative credential.”

Pager argues that criminal records function as credentials. Positive credentials, such as college degrees, open doors for their holders. By contrast, negative credentials function as official markers that restrict access and opportunities.

“Fully two-thirds of employers would not knowingly hire an ex-offender.”

This statement clearly presents the obstacles that formerly-incarcerated people encounter when seeking employment. The stigma against ex-offenders ties into presumed ideas of morality, one of the book’s major themes; many people believe that people commit crimes because they are intrinsically bad people. As such, they assume that anyone who has committed a crime will do so again, no matter that they served time as punishment. 

“Tracking the level of attention, encouragement, or hostility testers elicit can provide important information about the experiential aspects of the job-seeking process.”

One of the advantages of in-person audits is that they yield both quantitative and qualitative data. Pager’s audits not only provided indicators of positive and negative responses in the form of employer callbacks and rejections, but also revealed differential treatment in subtle ways, such as attentiveness, encouragement, and hostility.

“Incarceration is intended to serve as punishment for individuals who have broken the law. And yet, there is reason to believe that the punishing effects of prison do not end upon an inmate’s release.”

Pager’s book uncovers the long-term effects of incarceration. Her experiments show that ex-offender status dramatically impacts job prospects, which has social and economic consequences for ex-offenders, their families, and society. Punishment does not end after offenders complete their sentences. Rather, it continues long into the future.

“Wisconsin has more expansive fair employment regulations than most states, including explicit protections from discrimination for individuals with criminal records.”

The protections Wisconsin offers to former offenders make it a strong test case to measure the impact of criminality on job prospects. As Pager observes, the effects of having a criminal record are likely more pronounced in states that lack legal protections for formerly-incarcerated people.

“Employers do not go out of their way to solicit nuanced information about applicants for entry-level jobs.”

According to Pager, employers rarely seek detailed information about entry-level job applicants. As a result, her auditors rarely had the opportunity to explain the circumstances of their incarceration, which likely increased negative outcomes.

“The majority of white Americans believe that a black person today has the same chance at getting a job as an equally qualified white person, and only a third believe that discrimination is an important explanation for why blacks do worse than whites in income, housing, and jobs.”

This passage is about the decline of racism as an explanatory variable. The proliferation of anti-discrimination laws, alongside changing social mores, has curbed many forms of racism, leading white Americans to believe the problem has passed. However, more subtle forms of racism continue to impact racial minorities, such as the racism built into American structures and institutions like the criminal justice system.

“Being black in America today is just about the same as having a felony conviction [for a white person] in terms of one’s chances of finding a job.”

Scholarship since the civil rights era has generally downplayed race as an explanatory variable for poor outcomes. Pager’s research counters this trend by demonstrating that race is a critical factor in labor market outcomes, with Black candidates without criminal records facing the same level of discrimination as white candidates who had been incarcerated.

“High levels of incarceration cast a shadow of criminality over all black men, implicating even those (in the majority) who have remained crime free.”

Mass incarceration impacts all Black men, not just those who are convicted of crimes. Combined with the overrepresentation of Black criminals in the media, mass incarceration reinforces racial biases, notably, the stereotype of Black criminality. The presumed immorality and criminality of Black men is a major theme of the book.

“A criminal conviction for a white man does not generate the same level of intensity as it does when presented by a young black male.”

Pager not only examines the impact of race and criminality on labor market outcomes, but also studies the intersection of these two traits This quote underscores her main discovery: Race and criminality intersect in ways that profoundly disadvantage Black offenders.

“Even a bright, friendly demeanor appears immaterial relative to the profound stigma associated with race and criminal involvement.”

A central argument in Pager’s book is that personal contact has important job market consequences. Auditors generally reported better outcomes when they had personal contact with employers. For Black auditors with a criminal record, however, personal contact rarely made up for the racial bias and the stigmatization of a criminal record.

“‘There’s nothing in Franklin but white people and prisoners.’”

This quote calls attention to a key factor in labor market outcomes: job location. The speaker is one of Pager’s Black auditors, who notes that Franklin is racially homogenous, like other Milwaukee suburbs. Pager found that racial homogeneity negatively impacted Black auditors, particularly those with a criminal background.

“Employers are afraid of being sued.”

This quote highlights an unintended consequence of anti-discrimination laws. Employers fear frivolous discrimination lawsuits, which dissuades them from hiring Black employees. The very policies meant to protect Black people, then, end up fueling racial discrimination.

“Interviews with employers indicate a strong reluctance to hire ex-offenders.”

Pager used two main methods during her research. First, she used audit studies to gather information about the impact of race and criminality on real-world job searches. She supplements this data with post-audit surveys and interviews with employers, which confirmed the results of her audits.

“Dostoevsky once remarked that ‘the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.’ In an era of mass incarceration, an equally relevant measure may be the success rate of those returning home.”

Contact with the criminal justice system occurs in stages, including arrest, trial, and incarceration. Pager argues that contact continues to mark ex-offenders after their release from prison. Mass incarceration has led to the mass release of former inmates. Curbing recidivism rates demands understanding the needs of ex-offenders, including their job prospects.

“Young black men trigger feelings of fear, anxiety, and discomfort and are often viewed with suspicion from the outset.”

Mass incarceration and media coverage of Black criminals have profoundly impacted the American consciousness. Race and criminality are now powerfully enmeshed. As a result, Black men are considered permanent suspects by virtue of possessing physical traits that many associate with crime.