This presentation examines an ethnographic study of global justice activists arrested, their resistance behind bars, and interactions with the general jail population.

1. Ethnographer Behind Bars: Arrested Activists, the General Population and Social Integration Beverly Yuen Thompson, Ph.D. [email_address] Women’s Studies Program Texas Woman’s University, Denton Fifth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, May 20-23, 2009

8. Outcomes: life-changing & solidarity? It was the first time we went into the holding cell for court and it was standing room only, so packed. We walked in there and they [the prisoners] were looking us up and down, checking us out. One of them asked us if we were protesters and we said ‘yes.’ And they asked ‘what were you protesting?’ We said, ‘police brutality.’ And there was silence. All of a sudden there was this collective outpouring from the women, they all wanted to tell us their stories (Vanessa 2001). We began to hear all these stories. It became harder and harder to talk about how badly we’d been treated. Awaiting trial for some could conceivably be six months, because they couldn’t make bail. And we were able to get one a lawyer, which I think had the effect of winning us a lot of points with the population. So then we’re not just a bunch of smart-ass white kids, we’re smart-ass white kids who you can get something from (Christopher Day 2002).

11. “Write what you know” Washington, D.C. 1995 Ending Violence Against Women Seattle 1999 World Trade Organization protests Los Angeles 2000 Democratic National Convention protests Research participation as street activist/legal observer, law collective office worker, and arrestee

12. Have you ever been to the D.C. jail At the very, very bottom of the justice system? There you’ll find quite a few resisters, Who go by the name of Jane. If you do, that’s us, We’re Jane Doe. We crossed the line, got pepper sprayed and now we’re in cell 48 , Solidarity. It’s working! --Jane Doe (Washington DC 2000)