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Cited by 201Race, History, and American SocietyCritical Race Theory in EducationCriminal Justice and Corrections Analysis

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 32 of the 32 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 24 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Another Life is Possible: Black Fugitivity and Enclosed Places

Open access
Sojoyner, Damien M.·2017·Cultural Anthropology
DOI 10.14506/ca32.4.04
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Abstract

The Black fugitive in the United States has been a metaphorical and literal construction for both exposing oppressive forms of state governance and the development of strategic plans to achieve freedom from the state. Commonly thought of within a historical setting, the Black fugitive in this article is situated within the contemporary urban setting of Los Angeles, California. As told through the lived experience of young Black residents of the city, the narrative of fugitivity exposes the false promises of state governance, which is theorized as an enclosure. Specifically, this article focuses on self-removal from the state structure of formal education as a vehicle to understand Black fugitivity as a generative source of freedom from violent forms of state governance.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The article theorizes Black education in Los Angeles as an “enclosed place” that reproduces racial, gendered, class, and sexed violence under liberal narratives of uplift, and it argues that Black fugitivity—refusal and disengagement—exposes and counters that violence. Through six years of fieldwork and historical analysis, it reads young Black men’s self-removal and strategic refusal as generative rather than as failure.

Key findings

  • Education in Black Los Angeles communities functions as an enclosed place: compulsory and community-centered, yet punitive and containing, with police programs such as Police Role in Government (piloted 1969), DARE (piloted 1983), and Abolish Chronic Truancy (ACT) in the 1990s, alongside curricular gutting under No Child Left Behind; schools and prisons share an incapacitation logic.
  • Black fugitivity is refusal and disengagement from state-governed projects, not merely resistance. Examples include P. J. challenging racist seating, Devon refusing class participation and earning a 5 on the AP exam to force his grade from F to A, and Marley’s disengagement, which the article says is “representative of more than 30 percent of Black students in California” (Tucker 2010).
  • The state criminalizes fugitivity—for example through the ACT truancy program—because it exposes liberal state violence; Black fugitive logic also proposes alternative social visions, as when Marley demands that education address community realities like tree removal for the space shuttle Endeavor.
  • Reform-based solutions led by city officials and nonprofit organizations focus on individual behavior and remove structural analysis, thereby reproducing enclosed places.

Methods

  • Six-year-long fieldwork project based in a school where the author taught for one academic year and in a community-based program focused on the education of Black youth in Los Angeles; ethnographic vignettes center young Black men (P. J., Devon, Marley), with pseudonyms chosen by research participants.
  • Historical overview of Black education in Los Angeles from the 1930s through the present, including the 1947 Fremont High attacks, the 1965 Watts Rebellion, LAPD school programs, DARE, ACT, No Child Left Behind, and the charter-school model.
  • Theoretical synthesis drawing on Cedric Robinson’s Black radical tradition, Deborah Thomas’s modern Blackness, Tina Campt on fugitivity, Audra Simpson on refusal, Ruth Wilson Gilmore on forgotten places and incapacitation, and Michel-Rolph Trouillot on state power.

Limitations

  • Stated limitations: Not stated in the paper.
  • Evident from the text: findings are based on a single city (Los Angeles) and a small number of named interlocutors, so they are not presented as generalizable.
  • Evident from the text: the author was also a teacher/researcher in the setting, and the article relies on ethnographic vignettes and historical synthesis rather than systematic sampling or quantitative measures; it also acknowledges that fugitivity is “fragmented and not legible within a liberal framework,” which complicates straightforward policy conclusions.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.14506/ca32.4.04

Cites

32 of 32 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 24 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingreasoning

    The Abolish Chronic Truancy program has provided the impetus for the state to enlist criminal-justice and judicial systems to track down Black youth and place them back in enclosed places.

    “The Abolish Chronic Truancy (ACT) program has provided the impetus for the state to enlist all of the facets of the criminal-justice and judicial systems to track down Black youth and place them back in the clutches of enclosed places.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    Marley's skepticism did not come purely from a conventional need to develop trust, but from a life history of being situated as a problem that needed to be solved.

    “Marley's skepticism did not come purely from a conventional need to develop trust, but from a life's history of being situated as a problem that needed to be solved.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingnone given

    The problem for Devon and for many students in the after-school program was a confrontation between the workforce of teachers, composed of mostly white middle-class men and women, and the young Black men and women from poor to lower middle-class backgrounds like themselves.

    “The problem for Devon, and for many of the students in the after-school program, was a confrontation between the workforce of teachers, composed of mostly white middle-class men and women, and the young Black men and women from poor to lower middle-class backgrounds like themselves.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The conditions observed at County High School and the community-based program are representative of Black education in Los Angeles more broadly.
  • Findingown data

    Marley's skepticism of the author's presence at the Southern California Library largely derived from his familiarity with university faculty who came to South Central Los Angeles, collected information, and were never seen again.

    “Marley's skepticism of my presence at the Southern California Library in large part derived from his familiarity with university faculty making their pilgrimage down to South Central Los Angeles and collecting information-all never to be seen again.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Findingown data

    Over six years, the author witnessed and was told countless stories in which Black people's encounters with public education were predicated on particular forms of state-sanctioned violence.

    “Over the past six years, I have witnessed and been told countless stories similar to the ethnographic moments detailed in the previous section, in which Black people's encounters with pubic education were predicated on particular forms of state-sanctioned violence.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 63
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 28

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingown data

    The teacher stated that Devon was lazy, refused opportunities to succeed, did not take notes, and was not one of her most special students.

    “Quite frankly, he is lazy and while I have given him opportunities to succeed, he simply refuses.He does not take notes in class.Only my most special students can get away with that, and Devon is not one of them.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingnone given

    Marley had long ago disengaged from the formal education process and never expressed any desire to go back.

    “Marley had long ago disengaged from the formal education process and never expressed any desire to go back.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingown data

    The teacher stated that if Devon worked hard enough he could earn a D, but she very much doubted that.

    “Her response, in a very cold and matter-of-fact tone, was that”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingnone given

    Countless stories narrated the degradation of the students' intellectual ability, and conflict was always on the horizon.

    “Countless stories narrated the degradation of the students' intellectual ability, and conflict was always on the horizon.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The conditions observed at County High School and the community-based program are representative of Black education in Los Angeles more broadly.

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingown data

    By the time the author met Marley, Marley had already disengaged from the formal education system and had been in and out of the juvenile justice system several times.

    “By the time we met, Marley had already disengaged from the formal education system and had been in and out of the juvenile justice system several times.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Findingnone given

    While the parading of the space shuttle Endeavor through Los Angeles was marketed as a public good, there was very little discussion of what it entailed for residents, for whom the spectacle meant the destruction of their communities.

    “While the parading of the space shuttle Endeavor through the streets of Los Angeles was marketed as a public good, there was very little discussion of what that entailed for residents, for whom such a spectacle meant the destruction of their communities.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Findingnone given

    The politics of gender cast a long shadow in the lived experiences of the author's interlocutors.

    “The politics of gender cast a long shadow in the lived experiences of my interlocutors.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingown data

    Devon earned a five on the Advanced Placement exam, and the teacher was forced to change his grade from an F to an A.

    “Later that summer we all found out what Devon had known all along: he earned a five on the exam, and the teacher was forced to change his grade from an F to an A.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Findingnone given

    The young Black people the author worked with are in desperate need of resources.

    “The lesson I learned is that the young Black people I have had the opportunity to work with are in desperate need of resources.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Findingreasoning

    Devon had very few options.

    “However, it must be stated that Devon had very few options.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingown data

    Devon Kennedy was one of the most brilliant individuals the author came across, able to read something once and memorize and integrate it with material learned months before.

    “While I was often proud of the students I worked with, Devon was without a doubt one of the most brilliant individuals I came across.Devon had the ability to read something once and not only memorize it but also fully integrate it with material he had learned months before.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingnone given

    At sixteen years old, Devon rarely had to study; high school courses were not a challenge for him, and he was a high-level athlete.

    “At sixteen years old, he rarely had to study: high school courses were not a challenge for him, and to top it off, he was a high-level athlete.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingreasoning

    Devon had to endure levels of state-sanctioned emotional and psychological violence.

    “While his stance proved heroic, we should recognize that Devon had to endure levels of state-sanctioned emotional and psychological violence that no youth should ever have to endure.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Findingnone given

    The school was in full support of Devon's teacher.

    “The school was in full support of his teacher, and he sought support from the only source of assistance he had available to him.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Findingown data

    Devon was failing the Advanced Placement European history course and was convinced that his teacher was out to get him.

    “As it stood at the time, Devon was failing the course, and he was convinced that his teacher was out to get him.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Findingreasoning

    Devon sought support from the only source of assistance he had available to him.

    “The school was in full support of his teacher, and he sought support from the only source of assistance he had available to him.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Schools imbue psychological trauma onto Black youth and attempt to cultivate an internalized rationale of incompetence/indolence.

    “Reacting in a violent manner, schools imbue psychological trauma onto Black youth and attempt to cultivate an internalized rationale of incompetence/indolence.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The conditions observed at County High School and the community-based program are representative of Black education in Los Angeles more broadly.

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationcitation

    Given that state-based solutions are indebted to a charter-school model governed by the ideological and material infusion of private finance and real-estate capital, the situation has dramatically worsened.

    “Given that state-based solutions are indebted to a charter-school model governed by the ideological and material infusion of private finance and real-estate capital, the situation has dramatically worsened (Watkins 2011;Saltman 2012).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Watkins 2011
    • cites Saltman 2012

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Premisereasoning

    The relationship between the LAPD and school districts in Los Angeles became a fruitful enterprise, with Police Role in Government serving as a key model for further expansion into the lives of Black Angelenos.

    “The relationship between the LAPD and school districts in Los Angeles became a fruitful enterprise, with Police Role in Government serving as a key model for further expansion into the lives of Black Angelenos.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Schools in Black communities, functioning as enclosed places, serve to reproduce Black economic, political, and social misery and simultaneously to render said misery as a product of Black failure.

    “As a means to resolve this tension, schools in Black communities, functioning as enclosed places, serve to reproduce Black economic, political, and social misery and simultaneously to render said misery as a product of Black failure.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The conditions observed at County High School and the community-based program are representative of Black education in Los Angeles more broadly.

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    As a means to dampen Black radicalism, the state has been able to call on Black partners to discipline the actions of those who have been abandoned by contemporary capitalism and forced into enclosed places.

    “As a means to dampen Black radicalism, the state has been able to call on Black partners to discipline the actions of those who have been abandoned by contemporary capitalism and forced into enclosed places.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    Even in the face of the exceptional, the basic racist tenets of liberal discursive practices prevent the incorporation of Blackness into the state.

    “The second objective is to demonstrate that even in the face of the exceptional, the basic racist tenets of liberal discursive practices prevent the incorporation of Blackness into the state.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The conditions observed at County High School and the community-based program are representative of Black education in Los Angeles more broadly.

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Premisecitation

    The education of Black people in Los Angeles County has been a major point of contention since the 1930s and became markedly violent with the mass migration of Black southerners to California during the 1940s.

    “The education of Black people in Los Angeles County has been a major point of contention since the 1930s and became markedly violent with the mass migration of Black southerners to California during the 1940s (Bass 1947).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bass 1947

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Race and class considerations demand a move away from Black forms of education to ensure upward mobility.

    “The result is a twofold effect whereby all forms of violence are deemed necessary to control a criminal population, and, race and class considerations demand a move away from Black forms of education to ensure upward mobility.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    Black fugitivity is based on the disavowal of and disengagement from state-governed projects that attempt to adjudicate normative constructions of difference through liberal tropes of freedom and democratic belonging.

    “My conceptualization of Black fugitivity is based on the disavowal of and disengagement from state-governed projects that attempt to adjudicate normative constructions of difference through liberal tropes of freedom and democratic belonging.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    Enclosed places employ reform-based practices that incorporate obedient and nonthreatening forms of racial, gender, and sexed difference to prevent the exposure and consequential undoing of highly oppressive forms of governance that are key to the liberal project.

    “Operating within a liberal discursive tradition, enclosed places employ reformbased practices that incorporate obedient and nonthreatening forms of racial, gender, and sexed difference to prevent the exposure and consequential undoing of highly oppressive forms of governance that are key to the liberal project.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Black fugitivity exposes the function of Black education and places the locus of agency within a Black radical tradition that is antithetical to the liberal governing practices attempting to diffuse the effects of rapid abandonment.

    “Black fugitivity thus exposes the function of Black education and places the locus of agency within a Black radical tradition that is antithetical to the liberal governing practices attempting to diffuse the effects of rapid abandonment.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    Central to contemporary capitalism has been the massive incorporation of Black politics of social and economic respectability, themselves indebted to logics of liberalism.

    “Central to contemporary capitalism has been the massive incorporation of Black politics of social and economic respectability, themselves indebted to logics of liberalism.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Premisenone given

    By the 2000s the presence of police on public school campuses in Black communities seemed commonsensical.

    “By the 2000s the presence of police on public school campuses in Black communities seemed commonsensical.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationreasoning

    All forms of violence are deemed necessary to control a criminal population.

    “The result is a twofold effect whereby all forms of violence are deemed necessary to control a criminal population, and, race and class considerations demand a move away from Black forms of education to ensure upward mobility.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Black fugitivity exposes the fraudulent intent of education within Black communities.

    “The danger arises as Black fugitivity exposes the fraudulent intent of education within Black communities.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The logic of Black fugitivity reveals the absurdity of forcing Black youth to attend schools to which no one else wants to send their children.

    “Against the backdrop of the moniker dropout, the logic of Black fugitivity reveals the absurdity of forcing Black youth to attend schools to which no one else wants to send their children.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Premisenone given

    The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program was piloted in Los Angeles in 1983 and furthered the existing relationship between the LAPD and school districts, as police were placed in schools to teach classes and also to perform random drug searches on campuses.

    “The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program was piloted in Los Angeles in 1983 and furthered the existing relationship between the LAPD and school districts, as police were placed in schools to teach classes and also to perform random drug searches on campuses.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Education should be understood as one of the key sources of support for forms of structural oppression rather than as a redemptive structure of social progress.

    “It is imperative, I contend, that we shift our framing from state-sponsored education as a redemptive structure of social progress to an understanding of education as one of the key sources of support for forms of structural oppression.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Black intellect is cast aside as a social pariah, lurking somewhere between criminal and lazy.

    “Not appreciated as a legible form, Black intellect is cast aside as a social pariah, lurking somewhere between criminal and lazy.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The conditions observed at County High School and the community-based program are representative of Black education in Los Angeles more broadly.

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Premisenone given

    Police officers taught courses and schools housed police substations on their campuses under the guise of public safety.

    “Not only were police officers teaching courses but schools also soon housed police substations on their campuses under the guise of public safety.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    There is a social understanding governed by modalities of race of which Black education forms the baseline and on which liberal notions of upward mobility are based.

    “That is, there is a social understanding governed by modalities of race of which Black education forms the baseline and on which liberal notions of upward mobility are based.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Premisecitation

    Schools are a vital component of the development and maintenance of community and culture.

    “Situated at the proverbial and physical center of neighborhoods, schools are a vital component of the development and maintenance of community and culture (Anderson 1988;Rickford 2016).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Anderson 1988

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Rickford 2016 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    The current realities of Black education are mired in a brutal system of punitive containment and curricular evisceration that forms the basis of an enclosed place.

    “Rooted in a liberal tradition of social progress, the current realities of Black education are mired in a brutal system of punitive containment and curricular evisceration that I argue forms the basis of an enclosed place.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Premisereasoning

    While vast financial resources were being allocated to ill-fated programs and policies, the formal curricular portions of school budgets were being gutted.

    “The irony of the massive buildup of a comprehensive police infrastructure was that, while vast financial resources were being allocated to ill-fated programs and policies, the formal curricular portions of school budgets were being gutted.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    The history of the education of Black people in Los Angeles foregrounds the buildup of the massive prison system and its complementary policing apparatus in California.

    “In the article, I explain that the history of the education of Black people in Los Angeles in many ways foregrounds the buildup of the massive prison system and its complementary policing apparatus in California.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The conditions observed at County High School and the community-based program are representative of Black education in Los Angeles more broadly.

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Within the ethnographic literature, one of the main arguments is that curriculum, physical structure, and modes of punitive discipline practices in schools-primarily Black schools-mirror and also foreground the development of prisons in the United States.

    “Within the burgeoning ethnographic literature that traces the myriad connections between prisons and public education, one of the main arguments is about how the curriculum, physical structure, and modes of punitive discipline practices in schools-primarily Black schools-mirror and also foreground the development of prisons in the United States (Meiners 2007;Nolan 2011;Winn 2011;Sojoyner 2016;Wun”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Meiners 2007
    • cites Nolan 2011

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Winn 2011

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    Black fugitivity has demonstrated through disengagement the facade of state power and the liberal frameworks that buttress enclosed places.

    “Purposeful in its enactment, Black fugitivity has demonstrated through the means of disengagement, as one of its basic tenets, the facade of state power and the liberal frameworks that buttress enclosed places.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Premisecitation

    Segregation laws and restrictive housing covenants forced Black southern migrants to reside in wretched conditions and to deal with white vigilante gangs who attempted to thwart their movement within and throughout the city.

    “Fueled by industrial growth, Black Southerners moved west in hopes of better wages, but segregation laws and restrictive housing covenants forced them to reside in wretched conditions and also to deal with white vigilante gangs who attempted to thwart their movement within and throughout the city (M.Davis 1992Davis , 2006;;Johnson 2013).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites M.Davis 1992

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Johnson 2013

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    The compulsory nature of education sets it apart from prisons and from the majority of large state structures in the United States.

    “Yet it is the compulsory nature of education that sets it apart from prisons and from the majority of large state structures in the United States.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Interpretationreasoning

    In Marley's case, the issue of cutting down trees served as a literal and metaphorical device to understand how state power was commonly experienced in manipulative ways.

    “In Marley's case, the issue of cutting down the trees served as a literal and metaphorical device to understand the manner in which state power was commonly experienced in manipulative ways.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationreasoning

    These young men cannot be taught within enclosed places to learn their place within society.

    “These young men cannot be organized by the state to demonstrate reform and respectability; they cannot be taught within enclosed places to learn their place within society.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Premisenone given

    The Black fugitive in the United States has been a metaphorical and literal construction for exposing oppressive state governance and for developing strategic plans to achieve freedom from the state.

    “The Black fugitive in the United States has been a metaphorical and literal construction for both exposing oppressive forms of state governance and the development of strategic plans to achieve freedom from the state.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Study design and conductown data

    The pseudonyms are reflective of the participants' decisions and are based on an approach developed early in the fieldwork.

    “Containing hidden and layered meanings, the names are reflective of their decisions and are based on an approach that I developed early on in my fieldwork.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Black fugitivity often proves contradictory, reproducing forms of oppression while simultaneously establishing spaces of freedom.

    “Given this duality, Black fugitivity often proves contradictory, thereby often reproducing forms of oppression while simultaneously es-tablishing spaces (sometimes momentarily) of freedom.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    Marley's alternative strategy of complete disengagement demonstrated a key function of Black fugitive logic: the proposition of an alternative social vision for the utilization of social resources.

    “Marley's alternative strategy of complete disengagement demonstrated a key function of the radical nature of the Black fugitive logic: the proposition of an alternative social vision for the utilization of social resources.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationreasoning

    These young men cannot be organized by the state to demonstrate reform and respectability.

    “These young men cannot be organized by the state to demonstrate reform and respectability; they cannot be taught within enclosed places to learn their place within society.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductown data

    The analysis draws on a six-year-long fieldwork project based both in a school where the author taught for one academic year and in a community-based program focused on the education of Black youth.

    “Drawing on a six-year-long fieldwork project based both in a school where I taught (for one academic year) and in a community-based program that focused on the education of Black youth, this article has two primary objectives.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Through his brazen plan, Devon managed to dissociate from the pejorative invocations of his inability.

    “Through his brazen plan, he managed to dissociate from the pejorative invocations of his inability.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Black fugitivity provides a framework through which to understand the egregiousness of enclosed places and to make legible radical Black actions.

    “I suggest that as a strategic move to simultaneously assert Black humanity, counter the growth of enclosed places, and plant seeds for alternative forms of education, Black fugitivity provides a framework through which to understand the egregiousness of enclosed places and to make legible radical Black actions.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The fragmented nature of fugitivity may represent the perilous economic and social situations of Black Angelenos, but it also demonstrates how absurd commonsense liberalism has become.

    “The fragmented nature of fugitivity may represent the perilous economic and social situations within which Black Angelenos find themselves, but it also demonstrates how absurd the commonsense rhetoric of liberalism has become.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Premisenone given

    At its core, Black fugitivity is an approach by which fugitives disengage from state processes.

    “However, at its core, it is an approach by which fugitives disengage from state processes.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Within a landscape where Black communities remain without basics of social infrastructure, the theoretical impulse of Black fugitivity is to repudiate liberal mechanisms that undergird the reproduction of class strata.

    “Within a landscape where Black communities remain without the basics of a social infrastructure (e.g., employment, health care, housing), the theoretical impulse of Black fugitivity is to repudiate the liberal mechanisms that undergird the reproduction of class strata.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Black communities in the contemporary United States remain without the basics of a social infrastructure such as employment, health care, and housing.

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The first task was to utilize the formal setting of education as grounds to teach about the duplicitous nature of state power.

    “The first was to utilize the formal setting of education as grounds to teach about the duplicitous nature of state power.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Marley's insistence that a communal narrative be inserted into formal education constitutes a direct threat by exposing oppressive state mechanisms while assisting Black youth in understanding natural and physical sciences.

    “Marley's insistence that a communal narrative be inserted into the formal educational setting constitutes a direct threat by exposing the oppressive mechanisms of state power while simultaneously assisting Black youth in understanding the complexities of crucial processes in the natural and physical sciences.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    P. J.'s and Marley's testimony and Devon's strategic disengagement make clear the logic of refusal.

    “P. J.'s and Marley's testimony and Devon's strategic disengagement make clear the logic of refusal.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Black youth such as Marley were not seduced by the panacea of state processes but instead were read and treated as criminals.

    “It is not by chance that Black youth such as Marley were not seduced by the panacea of state processes, but instead were read and treated as criminals.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.

    Interpretationnone given

    The contemporary expression of Black fugitivity is one solution that has proven highly effective.

    “One solution that has proven highly effective is the contemporary expression of Black fugitivity.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Interpretationown data

    Twice in the span of ten seconds the teacher stated in no uncertain terms that Devon was a failure.

    “Twice in the span of ten seconds she had stated in no uncertain terms that Devon was a failure.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The conditions observed at County High School and the community-based program are representative of Black education in Los Angeles more broadly.

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Interpretationnone given

    State power is neither omniscient nor a proactive force.

    “However, as the historical and contemporary record has demonstrated, state power is neither omniscient nor is it a proactive force.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.

    Interpretationnone given

    The contemporary expression of Black fugitivity is often necessarily fragmented and not legible within a liberal framework.

    “I have learned, however, that this expression is often necessarily fragmented and not legible within a liberal framework.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Interpretationown data

    The teacher's comments regarding Devon's intellectual disposition validated his analysis of the situation.

    “Her comments regarding his intellectual disposition validated his analysis of the situation.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The conditions observed at County High School and the community-based program are representative of Black education in Los Angeles more broadly.

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The incommensurability of being reproduced within a structure based on the degradation of Blackness lies at the heart of Black fugitivity's departure from class reproduction.

    “The incommensurability of being reproduced within a structure based on the degradation of Blackness lies at the heart of Black fugitivity's departure from the argument of class reproduction.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Study design and conductown data

    The names provided in the ethnography are pseudonyms chosen by the research participants.

    “As a methodological note, the names provided in the ethnography are pseudonyms chosen by the research participants.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Marley's truth was that while the cohort of intellectuals were framed as saviors to wayward youth, they all needed the system to stay intact to preserve their own livelihoods.

    “Marley's truth was that while the aforementioned cohort of intellectuals were framed in the historic terms of saviors to wayward youth, in an ironic twist, they all needed the system to stay intact to preserve their own livelihoods.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductnone given

    The article's analysis is situated within the inner workings of compulsory education in Los Angeles.

    “My analysis is situated within the inner workings of compulsory education in Los Angeles.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.

    Interpretationreasoning

    It is difficult to see how these young men will be brought into the liberal project in a way that state power can reproduce itself legitimately.

    “It is difficult to see how they will be brought into the proverbial fold of the liberal project in a way that state power can reproduce itself in a legitimate manner.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The logic of Black fugitivity is framed around an understanding that the trappings of social mobility inherent in U.S. education discourse will not save you.

    “The logic of Black fugitivity is framed around an understanding that the trappings of social mobility, inherent within the discourse and ideological construct of education in the United States, will not save you.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. It may state two separate claims as one.

    Premisereasoning

    Black fugitive logic is a cultural and racial calculus of refusal and disengagement informed by common lived experiences that dictate that the racially charged tenets of capitalism are incapable of reform and only reproduce violent conditions for Black life.

    “Transferring the Black fugitive from one set of historical conditions to the present is best achieved through an explication of Black fugitive logic: a cultural and racial calculus of refusal and disengagement informed by a common set of lived experiences that dictate that the racially charged tenets of capitalism, across historical moments, are incapable of reform and are only capable of reproduc”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
74 of 74

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The conditions observed at County High School and the community-based program are representative of Black education in Los Angeles more broadly.

    “My analysis is situated within the inner workings of compulsory education in Los Angeles.Drawing on a six-year-long fieldwork project based both in a school where I taught (for one academic year) and in a community-based program that focused on the education of Black youth, this article has two primary objectives.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Black communities in the contemporary United States remain without the basics of a social infrastructure such as employment, health care, and housing.

    “Within a landscape where Black communities remain without the basics of a social infrastructure (e.g., employment, health care, housing)”
2 of 2

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Concluding question reverses the paper's central question

    Minor

    The paper repeatedly asks what damage is done by telling Black students they should not drop out. In the conclusion, the question instead asks about telling them they should drop out, reversing the position being examined.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Ahrens, Lois 2008 The Real Cost of Prison Comix. Oakland, Calif.: PM Press.
  2. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.
  3. Davis, Angela Y. 2003 Are Prisons Obsolete? New York: Seven Stories Press.
  4. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Metadata

Authors
Sojoyner, D. M.
Affiliations
University of California, Irvine (US)
Corresponding author
Sojoyner, Damien M.
ORCID
Sojoyner, Damien M.
Venue
Cultural Anthropology
Publisher
American Anthropological Association
Published
2017-11-18
Volume
32
Issue
4
Pages
514-536
ISSN
  • 0886-7356 (ISSN-L)
  • 1548-1360
DOI
10.14506/ca32.4.04
OpenAlex
W2769873176
Cited by
200
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 22 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 4
FWCI
17.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
Cultural Anthropology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
Keywords
fugitive slaves, state governance, enclosure, Black youth, Los Angeles, urban Black communities, formal education, freedom, state violence, lived experience

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-11-08, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

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Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

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