NCJ Number
226767
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 60 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2009 Pages: 31-51
Date Published
March 2009
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article explores the exemplary accomplishments of Janie Porter Barrett, an African-American corrections reformer.
Abstract
Janie Porter Barrett’s “Annual Reports for the Industrial Home School” constituted a life’s work in the service of delinquent African-American girls and in the fight against institutionalized racism and injustice. The State legislature provided State funds to establish similar institutions for White girls and boys, but did not extend this service to African-American girls and boys. Barrett mobilized funds from Virginia’s African-American communities and from White citizens who found merit in her work. The State legislature assumed control of the institution’s physical plant and all of its programs; Barrett continued in her leadership role despite the change. This series of articles is a response to large gaps in the historical record regarding the education of African-Americans in prison and African-American social reformers. Presented in this first article is a criticism of past and current approaches to penology and correctional education (CE). Through the retelling of the stories of exemplary social reformers who also happen to be African-American, the series established a more balanced historical perspective by delineating the contribution of these leaders’ broader social reform movements as well as to their immediate communities. The series of articles go backward in time. This first article introduces the subject and focuses on the work of Janie Porter Barrett before and after the turn of the 20th century. The second article will emphasize the education of the freedmen during the occupation of the Confederacy and after the Civil War, and the role of the Hampton Institute. The final article will focus on the denial of education during the time of slavery. References