The presence of a prison: A case study examining how collective memory and the cultural landscape influence carceral values of residents in the prison town of McAlester, Oklahoma

Abstract

Carcerality is embedded in the landscape of McAlester, Oklahoma. Its cultural landscape includes the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, Jackie Brannon Correctional Center, a prison rodeo statue at the entrance to the city, a Department of Corrections (DOC) cemetery, the Tannehill museum, and the now-defunct Oklahoma State Penitentiary (OSP) museum. These are material reminders—and perhaps memorializations—to the systems that created them, existing within community in the day-to-day. In addition, carcerality is integral to McAlester’s collective memory. For example, the sesquicentennial map produced by the City of McAlester showcases historical buildings and coal history but also devotes an outsized amount of space for “Big Mac,” the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, and highlights the bloody history of escape attempts as well as “Old Sparky, ” the electric chair used to execute people on death row. Accordingly, using oral histories, photography, and participant observation, this research investigates how carceral cultural landscapes and collective memory influence residents’ carceral values. The adoption of carceral values has broad political implications, serving to further support retributive punishment through the prison-industrial complex. This continues to embed carcerality within culture and policy even as its success is increasingly disproven. Understanding the mechanisms through which this takes place is necessary to build new, decarceral futures.