Michael L. Walker - Indefinite: Doing Time in Jail

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ISBN 9780190072865

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For Rhonda, who loves me through tribulations

For #1, who survived my tribulations

For Heather, who made it possible

Ellen Reese, without your support this project would never have happened, and I dont know that I would have survived my timenot with my whole mind. You invested in me and asked nothing in return. I appreciate you for your indispensable guidance and help. Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for seeing what I could not see and for supporting me every step of the way. I am forever in your debt.

Edna Bonacich, you have been a friend. I have not deserved your love or the tenderness you have shown me. During my darkest days, through my brightest moments, you have stood by me, as I transitioned from a feisty undergraduate student to this moment. Thank you. Thank you and Phil.

Damion Thomas, my dearest friend, my wise counsel, and the source of so much of what has pushed me and inspired me to be a better writer and scholar, thank you for drumming to your own beat and teaching me to find my own rhythm. And damn it if you aint one of the most brilliant people I know!

To my Mighty 2014 Racial Democracy Crime and Justice Network (RDCJN) crew: REPRESENT! In particular, thank you Patrick Lopez-Aguado for answering late night calls about concepts and connections between ideas. Im so glad you are two hours behind me. Thank you, Evelyn Patterson for daytime discussions of ideas and for the right kind of encouragement when it was needed. And to, Reuben Miller, my brotha from anotha, I am indebted to you for our endless discussions about big and small ideas and for the times you pushed and inspired me to continue. Thank you for pushing me to write fiercelessly! Nicole Gonzalez van Cleve, thank you for always having my back. Of course, I never would have met yall if not for Ruth Peterson, Laurie Krivo, and Jody Miller, the best damned mentors anyone could have had at RDCJN. Ruth, your comments helped me to reshape the book for the better.

To Waverly Duck and John Eason, if I got it, yall got it! I love you brothas. To Joyce Bell, I miss you here in Minnesota! Thank you for never letting my bullshit ride without calling it out, and thank you for being so damned smart, funny, and kind. Im lucky to call you friend. Your support has never wavered. Thank you so much Laurence Ralph for offering insightful thoughts on early drafts of some chapters, and for your friendship and guidance. I owe you, brotha! To Randol Contreras, your work inspires me. Thank you for being one of my toughest critics. If I can convince Randol, then Ive got something, I continue to say to myself. Thank you for line-item suggestions! Also, thank you Heather Schoenfeld for detailed comments on early drafts of some chapters. Megan Comfort, I so greatly appreciate the time and care you put into offering me commentspraise and critiqueto improve this book. Thank you for calling me friend. Melissa Guzman, your fiery insight transformed a chapter from a mess to something much more respectable. Thank you!

To my colleagues here in the Department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota, I appreciate you all for letting me pop into your offices unannounced with what must have seemed like random sociological inquiries. Joshua Page, I appreciate your friendship so damned much. Thank you for lending your thoughts as I wrote. Your input was invaluable. Thank you, Michelle Phelps, for organizing a very supportive writing group with historians Malina Lindquist, Will Cooley, and Will Jones. Your suggestions helped me to improve this book.

I received a first-class education at the University of California-Riverside Department of Sociology. Thank you, Scott Brooks for your support and understanding. Thank you for introducing me to ethnography. To Jane Ward, thank you for the letters and books you sent me while I was locked away. I looked at the pictures of trees often, and I appreciate you having introduced me to feminist theory. To Jonathan Turner, your work has inspired me to do the best kind of sociology I know how to do. To Kevin McCaffree and Seth Abrutyn, my former graduate school peers and now outstanding scholars, I relied upon both of you for your deep wells of sociological knowledge, and our conversationspromised, as they were, to be only twenty minuteshelped me to think through problems and would-be pitfalls as we rounded our 90th minute in various conversations. I truly appreciate you both.

To Ken, Im so glad that were in touch. Thank you for talking through some mysteries that could not have been solved by my field notes. To Letta Page, my editor extraordinaire, thank you for being exactly what I needed to improve this bookand at lightning speed! James Cook, thank you for believing in this book when it was a mere idea and for continuing to support me and this project when I first articulated the ideas poorly. Ha! It cannot be overstated that your belief in me translated to belief in myself.

On this note, I have a group of friends without whom, I could never have reached this moment. Wil Greer, you first taught me knowledge of self and to stand up for others because its the right thing to do. Chizobam Okoro, thank you for always believing in me. Malinda Williams, you have had my whole back since way back like fo flats on a Cadillac! Dr. Bernard Hardy, no one has ever been more deserving of their title, and thank you for being my layperson guinea pig for sociological arguments. Im not sure you totally qualify as a layperson, being so damned smart, but I need you to know that your work ethic inspires me to be about my business even when Im exhausted.

Last, but certainly not least, to my wife, Heather Miller, this whole damned thing would have been a pipe dream without you. Thank you for taking call, for solving medical emergencies, and then coming home to take over with our Littles so I could write. Those were 36-hour work shifts for you, and when I think back, I dont know how you did it. You must really love me. For the time to sleep in after an all-nighter, for the tenderness you showed me through 72-hour migraines fueled by book-related stress, for helping me to develop ideas and concepts when you were fatigued, and for holding this household together while I kept promising, After this book, you have my undying gratitude. You are simply amazing, and Im lucky to have you! A friend once told me that earning a PhD is an incredibly selfish venture. You were with me for all of that, but this book meant a new level of self-centeredness, and I am so glad youre here, finally, in the After this book phase. We made it! I love you. I appreciate you. This is the culmination of your efforts as much as mine.