Race and the Politics of Isolation in U.S. Prisons

Abstract

This article traces the historic development of isolation in the United States and its strategic use against poor and oppressed people of color as well as individuals who are seen as political threats. The article is based on documentary evidence from more than 30 years of interviews and letters from currently and formerly incarcerated people, as well as additional research compiled by the authors for the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker peace and human rights organization. The article traces the use of solitary confinement from the 18th century to the present day and describes its use against Native peoples, newly emancipated African Americans, members of domestic liberation/self determination movements, the mentally ill, the addicted, and today, against anyone even remotely considered a security threat. In arguing for the abolition of these practices, the article notes the rise of “control unit” prisons that subject prisoners to isolation for months and years on end, explaining the profoundly destructive impact of these widespread practices on human health and on Black and Brown communities in particular.