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United States higher education has seen increased enrollment of Students of
Color (American Council on Education, 2011; Chang, Altbach, & Lomotey,
2005). Similarly, the number of people housed in correctional facilities in the
United States has reached an epoch-making level (Garland, 2001; Bahena, Cooc,
Currie-Rubin, Kuttner, & Ng, 2012). Garland (2001) has referred to this time
period as the era of “mass incarceration” for low-income communities of color,
as incarceration rates over the past 30 years have seen a 500 percent increase in
incarcerated Americans (American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU], 2007). Pettit
and Western (2004) further report that the incarcerated population is dispropor-
tionately Black and Latina/o. Although tough-on-crime policies and discrimina-
tion continue to spread across the criminal justice system, many economic factors
are pushing states, including California, to reconsider incarceration policies to
change to release more non-violent offenders from prison due to the costs asso-
ciated with incarceration (Smith, 2009). As incarcerated individuals are released,
they experience numerous social, economic, psychological, and political barriers
to personal success, including challenges reintegrating into higher education.
In an era of mass incarceration, there are efforts to release non-violent offend-
ers as a result of Proposition 57, voted for and passed in November 2016. Prop-
osition 57, proposed by Governor Jerry Brown, set to reduce the state prison
population and address the tough-on-crime policies that have filled correctional
institutions at disproportionate rates with Black and Latino males (ACLU, 2007;
Giraldo, 2016). The measure also reassigns the decision-making process from
prosecutors to judges to decide when juveniles should be tried as adults. Con-
sequently, this effort creates momentum for some previously incarcerated, for-
merly gang-involved Students of Color to seek higher education as part of their
4
FROM INCARCERATION TO
COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Funds of Knowledge, Community Cultural
Wealth, and Critical Race Theory
Luis Gustavo Giraldo, Adrian H. Huerta,
and Daniel Solórzano
From Incarceration to Community College 49
reintegration (Giraldo, 2016). In fact, an important number of previously incar-
cerated formerly gang-involved men and women of color are attending commu-
nity colleges (Giraldo, 2016). However, we know nothing about their experiences
in postsecondary institutions, particularly in community colleges. Therefore, this
chapter fills an important knowledge gap and contributes to understanding their
experiences in these higher education institutions from a non-deficit perspective
through a critical race theory (CRT) lens complemented by funds of knowledge
(FK) and community cultural wealth (CCW).
Critical Race Theory
CRT works toward identifying and challenging racism in its historical and con-
temporary forms as part of a larger goal of identifying and challenging all forms
of subordination. This study simultaneously utilized FK to yield new insights and
understanding of previously incarcerated, formerly gang-involved students’ suc-
cessful trajectories, or how they successfully reintegrated through their commu-
nity college experiences.
Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995) are credited with introducing CRT to central-
ize race to understand the context and critique the persistent educational inequali-
ties experienced by Students of Color. Consequently, Solórzano (1997) expanded
CRT by incorporating five tenets, where these tenets stressed the centrality and
intersectionality of race and racism with other forms of subordination, which places
race at the center of all discourse to understand systematic oppression (Solórzano,
1997; Solórzano & Yosso, 2000). As Solórzano and associates (1997) acknowledge:
• 1st tenet—although race is central to the analysis, the role of other social iden-
tities must be considered to fully explain the multiple oppressions one may
face (e.g., sexism, classism, eurocentrism, monolingualism, and heterosexism);
• 2nd tenet—the challenge to the dominant ideology calls for scholars to
question race-neutral concepts such as objectivity, meritocracy, and equal
opportunity within education settings. It also calls on us to challenge cultural
deficit frameworks that minimize, distort, and stereotype the experiences of
Students of Color. In the end, the funds of knowledge and community cul-
tural wealth frameworks meet that challenge;
• 3rd tenet—the commitment to social justice stresses the importance of edu-
cational researchers to be committed to eliminating racism and other forms
of oppression that exist within education;
• 4th tenet—the centrality of experiential knowledge recognizes the impor-
tance of legitimizing the personal stories and histories of People of Color.
Experiential knowledge should stem from the lived experiences of students,
who can provide a level of expertise in understanding racial issues through
first-hand experience;
50 Luis G. Giraldo et al.
• 5th tenet—CRT in education must use an interdisciplinary perspective,
which requires a historical and contemporary outlook using various disci-
plinary perspectives with an emphasis on the history of racism, sexism, and
classism.
As a prevailing framework for studying race and racism, CRT has challenged the
dominant paradigms in analyzing the history of access and success for Students
of Color (e.g., Buenavista, Jayakumar, & Misa-Escalante, 2009; Harper, Patton, &
Wooden, 2009; Yosso, Smith, Ceja, & Solórzano, 2009).
Funds of Knowledge
As a counternarrative to deficit models of low-income Latina/o families, FK
emerged in the educational literature to highlight the many resources and
“wealth” that they possess (Moll & Greenberg, 1992; Moll, Amanti, Neff, &
González, 1992). Moll and Greenberg’s (1990) research was rooted in a perspec-
tive that highlighted that every household is an educational environment, and its
members gain knowledge that helps them navigate their life-learning using their
social and historical wisdom, stories, and teachings as a road map.
This chapter uses Rios-Aguilar, Kiyama, Gravitt, and Moll’s (2011) new
approach, which combines FK and capital to enrich research that strives to under-
stand the educational successes of previously incarcerated, formerly gang-involved
men and women of color. More specifically, it embeds a capital perspective within
the FK approach to explicitly address issues of power, class, ideology, and racism
that earlier research on FK had not contemplated.
This chapter also redefines the concept of dark funds of knowledge as intro-
duced by Zipin (2009). He introduced “dark” FK through the Redesigning
Pedagogies in the North (RPiN) project, which built curricula to incorporate
students’ “dark” experiences outside of the classroom into their learning environ-
ments at school. Importantly, these experiences included significant life-altering
and impactful traumas that ultimately triggered and defined an identity embraced
by students. These identities outside of classroom space served as a means of sur-
vival and adaptation. Students use their FK to make meaning of their worlds; thus,
all these experiences entailed capital that was accessed in the classroom through
the RPiN project pedagogy. As such, the FK accessed to embrace this approach
came from “dark” topics (experiences) that students brought into the classroom
(Zipin, 2009). Ultimately, these FK were used to bridge students’ experiences with
teaching and learning in academic learning spaces.
Consequently, dark FK are noted and discussed using a CRT non-deficit per-
spective to reconceptualize the concept of dark FK to FK that exist within dark
spaces. This conversion focuses on the light in the darkness that this group of
students experienced as they survived a lifestyle that included gangs, incarceration,
and the trauma that comes from violence. The change also notes that the spaces
From Incarceration to Community College 51
frequented by this group of students are dark. It allows for hope and dreams to be
acknowledged as existing within these “dark spaces.”
Community Cultural Wealth
Yosso (2005) developed the concept of CCW to challenge and extend Bourdieu’s
use of cultural and social capital—capitals that focus on white middle-class fami-
lies. She defines CCW as “the array of cultural knowledge, skills, abilities and
contacts possessed by socially marginalized groups that often go unrecognized and
unacknowledged” (p. 1). Yosso stresses that marginalized and vulnerable students,
families, and communities have multiple forms of capital that have been used and
shared for survival and mobility. She went on to explain: “It includes aspirational,
navigational, social, linguistic, familial and resistant capital. These forms of capital
draw on the knowledges Students of Color bring with them from their homes
and communities into the classroom” (p. 1).
In this chapter, CCW provides a connection to FK by adding a critical race
perspective to the cultural wealth that previously incarcerated, formerly gang-
involved students bring to the classroom, and the overall college process that is
accessed through their experiences of light in dark spaces as a form of capital.
Using CCW also helps provide a clearer analysis of the impact that racial micro-
aggressions have on the educational trajectories of previously incarcerated former
gang members in community college. CCW allows for the different forms of
capital to include capital from “dark spaces” into the examination of how these
forms can be formed and accessed by these students.
Importantly, this chapter explores issues of power, class, ideology, and racism
through the experiences of racial microaggressions by this particular group of
students. With these various issues in the backdrop, this chapter addresses the fol-
lowing research questions:
1. What are the experiences of previously incarcerated, formerly gang-involved
students as they reintegrate and transition into community college?
2. How do previously incarcerated, formerly gang-involved students use
FK and CCW on community college campuses as they experience racial
microaggressions1?
Data Collection
This case study combined ethnographic participatory observations of the
Chicana/o studies class at Homeboy Industries (HBI) and individual interviews
with all 15 of the HBI students who participated in the class. In addition, the
case study utilized data from interviews with one program administrator and the
faculty member who was in charge of teaching the college course at Homeboy
52 Luis G. Giraldo et al.
Industries. We used vignettes to explain racial microaggressions to study partici-
pants and to lead interviews into discussion. Last, we reviewed all documents
relevant to this study that were publicly available at Homeboy Industries and at
East Los Angeles College, Los Angeles City College and Los Angeles Trade Tech.
Data Collection Procedures
The primary researcher took an active participant observant approach through-
out the 15-week course. He engaged with 15 course participants during five
three-hour class sessions and 10 two-hour study group sessions. Each of the
15 participants completed a one-on-one semi-structured interview. The semi-
structured nature of the interviews allowed the students to tell their stories as
they related to their educational experiences and occupational goals, and to
describe their involvement with the “gang life” and their experiences as previ-
ously incarcerated community college students. He maintained particular focus
on their experiences of racial microaggressions within these institutions and
among their peers.
The principal researcher defined racial microaggressions for the participants
through detailed vignettes depicting acts of racism. He then asked questions
related to (a) each participant’s experiences in community college and how he or
she had experienced racial microaggressions on campus, both within the student’s
own race and among student services and faculty; (b) how the participant had
responded to racial microaggressions; (c) how he or she identified significant bar-
riers to success in community college; and (d) why the participant felt he or she
had experienced community college in the way that he or she had.
To further assess other experiences of previously incarcerated, formerly gang-
involved students in community colleges, he conducted participatory observations
of five students’ interactions with community college student services personnel.
This allowed us to discuss the complexities of racial microaggressions, how they
had impacted these students, and how the students had responded to these assaults.
He also conducted another 17 one-on-one semi-structured interviews with pre-
viously incarcerated, formerly gang-involved college students.
Last, he interviewed the faculty member teaching the course at Homeboy
Industries and one student services administrator to shed light on how they per-
ceived this particular group of students’ experiences in a community college set-
ting at HBI, on their particular community college campuses, and through their
responses to vignettes depicting racial microaggressions experienced by Students
of Color.
Data Analysis
All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Overarching themes in partici-
pants’ responses were analyzed in reference to studies of the experiences of Stu-
dents of Color with racial microaggressions in higher education (e.g., Smith et al.,
From Incarceration to Community College 53
2007; Solórzano & Delgado Bernal, 2000; Yosso et al., 2009). We analyzed the
data both inductively and deductively (Coffey & Atkinson, 1996) to generate the
coding schemes. More specifically, we analyzed the interviews by first develop-
ing initial codes (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Next, based on the intersection and
partitioning of these initial codes, we created data matrices to identify themes and
subthemes that we used to organize the final stages of the analyses and interpreta-
tion of the data.
The initial codes of racial microaggressions, funds of knowledge, and Com-
munity Cultural Wealth were content analyzed and subdivided into themes and
coded as racial microaggressions, intergroup racial microaggressions, converting
funds of knowledge, and forms of Community Cultural Wealth. These codes were
then scanned for content that intersected with the first initial set of codes and
subthemes and checked for patterns across students. We triangulated the data to
ensure trustworthiness by having more than one subject as a data source. The HBI
participant data are shown in Table 4.1.
TABLE 4.1 Homeboy Industries Participant Demographics and Aspirations
Name
(Age)
Gender/Ethnic
Self Identification
Years
Incarcerated
Years in Higher
Education
Educational Goal and
Occupational Goal
Shena
(32)
Female Other 7 5 MA
Business/Entrepreneur
Monique
(35)
Female
Chicana
10 7 MFT
Therapist
Adriana
(30)
Female
Hispanic
6 months 1 (semester) AA first, then BA or higher
Recreational Therapist in
Recovery
Geo
(18)
Male Hispanic 2 1 (month) PhD
Parole Officer
Pam
(30)
Female
Hispanic
2 3 (semesters) BA
Business Manager
Xabi
(33)
Male Latino 13 1 PhD
Drug and Alcohol Counselor
for Youth
Fermin
(20)
Male Chicano 1 month 2.5 PhD
Business
Administrator
Felisha
(32)
Female African
American
3 1/2 6 (weeks) BA
Chef
Mikey
(31)
Male Hispanic 10 1 (month) BA
Social Worker
Ingrid
(39)
Female
Mexican
American
6 months 3 (semesters) MA
Substance Abuse Counselor
(Continued)
Name
(Age)
Gender/Ethnic
Self Identification
Years
Incarcerated
Years in Higher
Education
Educational Goal and
Occupational Goal
Lewis
(23)
Male Hispanic 12 2 (months) PhD
Gourmet Chef
Andy
(27)
Male Latino 11 1 1/2 PhD
Rehabilitation Program
Director/Owner
Roy
(34)
Mexican
American
Male
20 3 1/2 MA
Art Therapist
Richard
(39)
Male Chicano 18 1 (semester) AA
Counselor
Gab
(38)
Male Chicano 13 1 (semester) BA
Case Manager
Eddie
(18)
Male Latino 4 1 (month) PhD
Graphic Designer
Jose
(19)
Male Hispanic 3 1/2 1 (month) MA
Parole Officer
Abe
(18)
Male Latino 2 1 (month) JD
Lawyer
Louie
(27)
Male Mexican/
Latino
7 3 Automotive Technician/
Business owner
Kenny
(21)
Mexican
American
Male
3 (months) 3 PhD
Math Professor
Chris
(25)
Male Mexican 10 1 (day) BA
Therapist
Joseph
(42)
Male Mexican 13 1 1/2 MA
Director of Training Programs
Bob
(47)
Male Latino 25 1 (semester) BA
Substance Abuse Counselor
Dave
(21)
Male Latino 4 1 (semester) BA
Parole
Officer
Rob
(40)
Male Chicano 2 1 BA
Counselor
Lew
(37)
Male Latino 7 2 BA
Business
Owner
Stew
(36)
Male Latino 17 1 BA
Counselor
Meri
(39)
Female
Hispanic
9 2 BA
Case Manager
TABLE 4.1 (Continued)
From Incarceration to Community College 55
Context for the Case Study
Homeboy Industries is a central element to the community college students
who were previously incarcerated or former gang members. Homeboy Indus-
tries serves as a national model and is the largest gang intervention and re-entry
program in the U.S. that provides free services to its constituents (Boyle, 2010).
For almost 30 years, the agency has served as a beacon of hope and opportunity
for individuals attempting to leave gang life, who frequently experience multi-
ple barriers and challenges, and for whom there is virtually no other avenue to
enter the mainstream society due to the social stigma associated with gang mem-
bership, incarceration, and tattoos (Boyle, 2010). Homeboy Industries has served
thousands of people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, ages, and life
experiences, who search for a second opportunity and to develop a new com-
munity or peer and family. The mission is to provide free and holistic services to
the former “homeboys,” which include tattoo removal, one-on-one counseling,
job and technical training, legal aid, life skills courses, General Education Diploma
preparation, high school diploma assistance, academic tutoring, case management
that helps participants develop “navigational capital” to heal and reintegrate,
court-mandated classes (e.g., anger management, parenting, domestic violence,
and substance abuse groups), access to postsecondary education courses, and other
services (Homeboy Industries, 2014). The culmination of these various efforts
and services is to create opportunities to foster hope, kinship, community, healing,
and change (Homeboy Industries, 2014). At Homeboy Industries, community is
forged, and it holds its participants to identify the truth of who they are—and not
the worst thing they have ever done (Boyle, 2010).
Homeboy Industries Onsite College Course
The development of an on-site college course at Homeboy Industries was born
out of the interest of formerly incarcerated individuals and gang members want-
ing to pursue higher education. The community college class, Chicana/os in
Contemporary Society, was an introductory course in this particular discipline.
All enrolled students were eligible for college units, and the course required one
weekly class lecture of three hours for 15 weeks, and 10 weeks of two-hour study
sessions, which were hosted in HBI. The additional rationale for the course was to
demonstrate viability for other students, including those who previously departed
high school early, were over suspended and expelled, and were disrespected by
educators.
Findings
This chapter focuses on examining two emergent themes: (a) FK as forms of
capital embedded within CCW, with particular attention on aspirational and
56 Luis G. Giraldo et al.
navigational capital, and (b) the complexities of racial microaggressions experi-
enced by participants. This process highlights how this group of students accesses
FK and CCW, and links these frameworks to connect and note the particular
complexities of this highly visible group of students with invisible needs to their
peers, staff, faculty, and institutional practices on community college campuses.
Intersecting Funds of Knowledge and Community Cultural
Wealth via Critical Race Theory
Current theoretical and empirical scholarship has not fully explored how FK
and CCW intersect. In fact, these two complement one another as we focus on
previously incarcerated formerly gang-involved Students of Color in community
colleges. While Yosso (2005) briefly linked funds of knowledge and CCW, she did
not fully develop the connection between these frameworks. Therefore, to fill this
void, the overarching bridge that holds these two frameworks together is further
examined in this chapter by using CRT as the umbrella that unifies FK and CCW.
First, CRT allows for us to use its tenets to focus on the experiences of previ-
ously incarcerated and formerly gang-involved students as non-deficit forms of
light in “dark spaces” encountered by this group—i.e., gangs, jail, and prison. In
doing so, we explore the role of other social identities; challenge the dominant
ideology and scholarship that focuses on race-specific marginalized group con-
cepts; recognize the importance of legitimizing the personal stories and histories
of previously incarcerated and formerly gang-involved People of Color; and ulti-
mately push forward the commitment to social justice that stresses the importance
of educational researchers to be committed to eliminating racism and other forms
of oppression that exist within education. Second, Figure 4.1 couples FK and
CCW carried by previously incarcerated, formerly gang-involved individuals to
examine how this group of students experiences the prison to community college
pipeline as part of their reintegration. Third, Figure 4.1 furthers the connection
that both FK and CCW have to the experiences of racial microaggressions (RM)
lived by this particular group of students on community college campuses. Last,
Figure 4.1 illustrates using a CRT lens to analyze how these students experience
racial microaggressions, and how these students draw on their FK and different
forms of capital embedded in CCW to reintegrate into higher education.
The following two examples highlight the connection of these three bodies
of theory and contextualizes Figure 4.1 by noting how the model plays out in
the actual experiences of these students. For the previously incarcerated and for-
merly gang-involved men and women in this study, the FK activated within dark
spaces were accessed through their experiences and CCW obtained in jail and
prison, and through drug addiction and gang life. These FK and forms of capi-
tal embedded in CCW were profoundly critical as resources for survival under
the circumstances experienced within those particular dark spaces. Importantly,
however, the success in college of these students can also include the activation of
From Incarceration to Community College 57
these FK and forms of capital as forms of light and hope from the dark spaces, and
now positively impact their lives after prison and gangs, and specifically in their
lives as college students.
Chris: None of that ever just crossed your mind, you know? What crossed your
mind was gangbanging and drugs. That was it. That’s what held me back.
And the people I surrounded myself with, they didn’t have no goals or
dreams either. So, we’re all just like, you know, in the same circle doing
the same shit, and we wouldn’t think outside of the box. All we’re seeing
was bullshit versions of what to do and get this money, and, oh, let’s get
on one. And, you know, that was it. Except now I use that shit to help me
stay on track. I don’t want that anymore. It keeps me humble.
Although this example notes what was the “norm” for this individual and
his group of friends, it also highlights the internal conversations that happened
while he occupied these dark spaces and that became sources of strength and
forms of capital—as a means to transform, heal, and reintegrate. Ultimately, this
combination fueled the activation of funds of knowledge from a different unit
of analysis that served as light from dark spaces. Richard’s comments support
this notion:
Richard: I think that this time around, I honestly think it’s different. I’ve said it so
many times in the past, but it’s different because now, the same mistakes
Critical Race Theory
types
context
effects
RM FK
CCW
responses
Aspirational
capital
Navigational
capital
dark spaces
FIGURE 4.1 Prison to Community College Pipeline Reintegration Model
58 Luis G. Giraldo et al.
I’ve made, I have two of my daughters that I did not raise, but are in the
same boat I am or I was. You know, my 17-year-old had just gotten off
from doing two years, now she’s back incarcerated. My other daugh-
ter, she’s 20 years old and she ended up getting five years, five years of
prison. So, I think that it’s where I make that turnaround, where I said,
“Damn, you know, I got to snap out of it because if I continue, then
what kind of example am I doing for my girls?” I knew this since I was
locked up. It came to me in a fuckin’ cell.
The activation of FK in these dark spaces created a relevant connection to
why these college students pushed forward despite the adversities and stress of
being previously incarcerated and formerly gang-involved. The demands for this
particular group of students not only included the demands that every college
student experiences; it also included a deeper and complex transformative process.
The exchange included identity, cultural negotiation, acceptance, probation and
parole conditions, and modes of conduct that included cultural norms valued in
prison and gang life that colleges do not exercise. These all serve as FK from a
different unit of analysis—gangs, jail, prison. Essentially, these FK from dark spaces
impact these students to continue to push forward. On the other hand, these can
also include particular needs that are invisible to their college peers, staff, and
faculty in higher education.
Often, “assaults” came in the form of racial microaggressions that were argu-
ably invisible to faculty, staff, and other students alike. More importantly, this
transformative process necessitated the activation of different forms of capital.
Specifically, for this study, we note how this group of HBI participants accessed
and activated aspirational, navigational, and familial capital as a means of reintegra-
tion and of adjusting to life as college students.
Funds of Knowledge as Forms of Capital
Contrary to the original FK study, the unit of analysis here is rooted in the fam-
ily made through the gang and relationships made in prison. Although there are
many conditioned forms of relationships within these new families for this group
of students based on gang culture, these relationships often re-create FK and
forms of capital that are later used in life after prison and gangs. Importantly, this
study’s college students accessed their FK and activated different forms of capital
as part of their educational experiences that were created in dark spaces—i.e.,
gangs, jail, and prison.
Both the original FK study and the current study note that education is val-
ued and needed to “succeed.” Success in the current study means many different
things. First, staying out of jail or prison is considered success. Some of the par-
ticipants in this study have been in and out of jail and/or prison their entire lives
From Incarceration to Community College 59
from a very early age. Educational spaces have always been connected to negative
and exclusionary experiences. Success for these students stemmed from changing
the relationship that educational spaces hold. Success encompassed re-creating
hope and goals, and slowly taking steps closer to changing the dynamics of learn-
ing within classrooms with teachers and other students. Success also meant that
these students’ self-assessment and identity would always be challenged and put to
the test. This happened due to the FK and forms of capital embedded in CCW
that informed these students’ processes, from gang and prison, to community
counterspaces, to college and classroom spaces.
Monique: I love going to school. I think education was my life raft in my life, you
know? Like that was my savior because that was [a] life raft. I may have
been drowning in life, and there comes education, and it just saved me.
Although there were marked differences in the types of labor histories and
household activities between the families in the original FK study and this study’s
group of students, the educational ideologies remain the same. Education was
important and valued by all. Ultimately, FK for this group of students were re-
created by their new family, and the educational ideologies included education as
hope for a better future. As one HBI participant explained:
Richard: When it’s about me, they always encourage me to, you know, go to
school, but I don’t think they believe that I’m going to—that I could
actually accomplish it. But school was always important to my parents
for me. My homies also encouraged me too. They tell me that I’m gonna
make it, cause I’m fuckin’ smart.
The current study focuses on how different forms of capital are accessed from
resources embedded in a different family—gangs and relationships in prison—as
the unit of analysis. Although this change resulted in a different conception of
family, it also highlights the significant similarities that stem from wanting to use
education as an important goal for a better life. The difference between the two is
significant. While the traditional family unit is not always stable and positive, gang
and prison life are consistently dark spaces.
Xabi: When I was locked up in solitary confinement, you know, in my cell all
alone, I used to imagine myself in college. I used to read books all the
time that some of my homies locked up with me would tell me about.
I read a lot. The time I had and the clecha [guidance] I got from the older
homies helped me focus and get ready for the day that I would be a
college student. I had the discipline, I just needed to work on my anger
and attitude.
60 Luis G. Giraldo et al.
Importantly, although these spaces were “dark,” this group of students also
found light in those spaces. While this may be the case, oftentimes there are glim-
mers of hope that are introduced within these dark spaces that will resurface
when an individual is ready for change. The FK chart in Table 4.2 illustrates the
similarities and differences in the unit of analysis used in each study. Particularly,
this chart highlights household activities and labor.
Community Cultural Wealth
Drawing from Yosso’s (2005) definition of community cultural wealth, this study
focused on aspirational, navigational, and familial capital to further examine how
students used funds of knowledge and different forms of capital embedded within
CCW accessed in dark spaces to navigate the reintegration process after prison,
jail, and gang life. This process was significant for these students, as their experi-
ences as college students connected the transformative process of being previously
incarcerated and formerly gang-involved to college campuses and other educa-
tional spaces.
Navigational Capital
Yosso (2005) indicated, “Navigational capital refers to skills of maneuvering
through social institutions” (p. 80). She highlighted the context of this maneu-
vering as happening through institutions that were not meant to include People
of Color. Consequently, college campus practices were not equipped to receive
the students in this study with the support systems to help them reintegrate and
adjust to college life. Despite this, they still accessed navigational capital from
cultural wealth learned in the spaces they had experienced—prison and gang life.
TABLE 4.2 Comparison Between FK of Homeboy Industries Students and the Original
FK Study
Original FK study HBI Students FK
Labor and
Family
History
Ranching, farming, horse riding
skills, animal management,
construction, carpentry,
masonry, automotive repair,
manual labor
Unemployed, cash-paid work
(under the table), drug sales,
manual labor, automotive repair,
delivery drivers, agricultural
workers, garment workers,
construction, carpentry
Household
Activities
Religious: catechism, baptisms,
Bible studies, moral knowledge/
ethics, childcare, cooking, budgets
Gang hang out, drug use, church
outings, cooking, parties, survival
knowledge
Educational
Ideologies
School is important School is important for career
success
From Incarceration to Community College 61
A clear example of this activation of funds of knowledge from dark spaces was
highlighted by Xabi:
People, just by their actions are . . . even the words especially if you’re going
to go and ask like . . . some of the teachers would be like, “Well, what are
you doing here?” One time, I was there with my dude, right, on campus,
and we were walking to class and, you know, he has tattoos on him and
so as me. So, like, campus security came up to us. You know what I mean?
There were all these people around, but then campus security came on to
us and I was like, “Well, what was that all about?” You know what I mean?
They were like, “Can we help you? What are you doing right here?” You
know? I’m like, “What do you mean can you help me? I’m a student and
he’s my boyfriend taking me to class.” They followed us to my class, then
escorted him to his car. No words exchanged. Just the assumption that he
was up to no good.
The following participant highlights this process by noting his connection to his
experiences and how they resonate now as a college student.
Chris: I love learning. That’s number one, and I love challenging the dominant
groups of students. So, I love . . . this is the space where I already saw that
I walk in and shut people’s preconceived notions because I have a certain
idea, like, because of what I look like. But then when I opened my mouth
and I started participating, then it shadows on me. I knew this from the
very beginning when I ran the streets. I’m a smart man and my homies
would always come to me for leadership. I was a knucklehead but I was
a smart one. I know how to handle myself because of what I’ve learned
in prison and in the streets. I just got to learn more about writing essays
and speaking without bad words.
Students in the sample not only accessed FK from dark spaces, but also activated
different forms of capital embedded within CCW, and learned in these spaces to
compensate for the lack of resources that specifically targeted their needs and that
were available to them in community colleges. Often the activation of naviga-
tional capital in higher education for this group of students came through the rec-
ognition that they had resources that stemmed from the internal truth that they
too mattered and had what it takes. An administrator at HBI supported this idea:
HBI Administrator 1: Definitely . . . you can see . . . there’s an anxiety or maybe
even PTSD that has to be shed, and that’s a slow process as a stu-
dent works towards understanding that they too can be a college
student . . . like, how do other students perceive these students or
how do teachers perceive these students, I think the most important
62 Luis G. Giraldo et al.
thing [is] how the students perceive themselves. . . . But when you’re
conditioned to believe you’re not going to go far with school, that’s
something that has to be talked about and has to be, I guess, there has
to be a reconditioning done where the student looks at themselves
and says, “I am a college student.”
Importantly, this group of students learned tools to survive and thrive in com-
munity college. Not only did they activate different forms of capital embedded
within their CCW and their FK to respond to the racial microaggressions they
experienced, they also note the lack of training that higher education institutions
have to support this particular group of students.
Conclusion
Higher education must accommodate the changing dynamics of the 21st century
student. Diversity in higher education will continue to encompass myriad groups
that include numerous intersecting combinations. As such, faculty, staff, and stu-
dents must learn about the normative institutional practices that pose barriers
for all students, including those who have previously been incarcerated and are
former gang members. It is imperative that we discuss the harmful and demeaning
effects that racial microaggressions impose on these students as they seek higher
education as a way of reintegration.
This study, rooted in critical race theory, funds of knowledge, and commu-
nity cultural wealth perspectives, has presented an alternative foundation for
future empirical research and professional practices that incorporate previously
incarcerated and former gang members as students within higher education
institutions. CRT offers a counternarrative to seek inclusion of this otherwise
marginalized student population. By acknowledging the embedded structural
racist institutional practices along with individual enactments of racial micro-
aggressions upon previously incarcerated and formerly gang-involved students
within higher education, faculty, staff, and other students may better respond
to the inclusion of other marginalized groups on campus. Significantly, future
empirical research on this student population will require direct attention to
how these two factors—prior incarceration and gang membership—present bar-
riers that many higher education actors, policies, and practices cannot see, as they
are specific to this group of students.
The reality of a racialized social structure remains for students seeking oppor-
tunities for educational advancement; it often hinders their access and success
within higher education systems (Harper et al., 2009). Addressing educational
barriers requires a commitment to social justice and social equity, and researchers
often occupy a unique position and ability to advocate for students because they
can highlight the lack of support, inclusion, and access to resources that address
the needs of this student population.
From Incarceration to Community College 63
Viewing these issues through a critical race theory lens allowed for a reflective
understanding of how these students also purport an opportunity that is inclusive
of respect, support, dignity, and sustainability of progression. This theoretical per-
spective pushed forward for dialogue, analysis, and empirical research that decon-
struct the educational experiences of gang members in higher education with the
purpose of furthering the research as well as the practices of students from mar-
ginalized groups. Ultimately, these findings push all higher education scholars to
engage in transformational research and change that will allow for students who
have been incarcerated and who have been gang-involved to access and redefine
their own educational opportunities while reintegrating into the world.
Implications for Student Support Practice
Student services programs should be created to support students who have
been incarcerated and who have been part of gang life on all college campuses.
This would mitigate and address the invisibility of the needs of this group of
students—needs that often go unnoticed. These services should include mental
health services, academic support, financial aid, and motivational support groups
that address the issues that these students contend with as they leave behind the
gang and prison life. Perhaps colleges and universities can hire staff from Home-
boy Industries to train and facilitate workshops for college faculty and employees.
As one of the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry programs in
the country, Homeboy Industries has helped nurture into existence 46 similar
programs in the United States as well as several outside of the country (Home-
boy Industries, 2014). The goal is to create a national movement to address the
lethal absence of hope among inner-city youth. Solidifying services through the
implementation of lessons learned from the Global Homeboy Network, recon-
vening to share results, and advancing the movement are Homeboy’s dreams for
the coming years. Part of Homeboy’s wish is to further broaden the impact of the
service delivery model by establishing and building partnerships with peer organ-
izations who can become a part of the national network (Homeboy Industries,
2014). Specifically, college staff and faculty should also receive training on how to
work with previously incarcerated and formerly gang-involved students. Training
on racial microaggressions and the effects that these have on students is needed
for student services staff to provide more comprehensive services. With current
federal and state funds allocated to community colleges, these trainings would
provide an opportunity for staff, faculty, and administrators to better understand
more about all their students.
In conclusion, CRT foregrounds race and racism, as well as challenges sepa-
rate discourses on race, gender, and class by demonstrating how racism intersects
with other forms of subordination on students. The impacts of racism and racial
microaggressions on Students of Color cannot be ignored as they affect various
social, academic, and psychosocial aspects of students’ lives. The utilization of this
64 Luis G. Giraldo et al.
theoretical framework sets a foundation to challenge the dominant racial ideology
of oppression. Importantly, by exploring issues of power, class, ideology, and racism
through examples of racial microaggressions, CCW and FK allow scholarship to
connect and highlight the particular complexities of this highly visible group of
students with invisible needs to their peers, staff, faculty, and institutional practices
on community college campuses. These frameworks honor the lived experiences
of these particular students. In doing that, we dignify people that are often nega-
tively portrayed and ignored.
Note
1 Racial microaggressions are defined in this chapter as one form of systemic everyday
racism used to keep those at the racial margins in their place. Racial microaggressions
are verbal and non-verbal assaults directed toward People of Color, often carried out
in subtle, automatic, or unconscious forms. They are layered assaults, based on a Person
of Color’s, race, gender, class, sexuality, language, immigration status, phenotype, accent,
or surname. They are cumulative assaults that take a physiological, psychological, and
academic toll on People of Color (Solorzano & Yosso, 2001).
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