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Mothers, Toxicity, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

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Addressing Environmental and Food Justice toward Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline

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Abstract

While incarcerated at FCI Marianna for a drug crime, Tina Rosser considered herself lucky because she was able to “land” in one of the lucky spots in the electronic waste (e-waste) recycling program. She felt fortunate to be able to work a job that paid more than the others and that promised to help her once she left prison. “They were hyping it up like it was something you could take home, work at a company, and get a job like that” (Cusac 2009).

  To de-manufacture the e-waste Rosser used a screwdriver and a hammer to “break pieces off and get in” to disassemble discarded electronic items such as television sets and computer monitors. She was told to remove the cathode ray tubes (CRTs) within the televisions and monitors and to stack them in a box. She handled the CRTs carefully, but they “still got broken.” When they broke “powdery stuff” exploded into the room.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN, USA

    Sarah Conrad

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  1. Sarah Conrad
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado, USA

    Anthony J. Nocella II

  2. Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA

    K. Animashaun Ducre

  3. Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA

    John Lupinacci

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Conrad, S. (2017). Mothers, Toxicity, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline. In: Nocella II, A., Ducre, K., Lupinacci, J. (eds) Addressing Environmental and Food Justice toward Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50822-5_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-50822-5_9

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