| RISK
THE EXCLUSION OF PEOPLE WITH RECORDS FROM THE WORKFORCE IS OFTEN JUSTIFIED THROUGH FRAMEWORKS OF RISK AND LIABILITY.
Yet a lack of evidence links people with records to increased workplace risk. In fact, evidence shows that people with records make trustworthy and hardworking employees.
ARTICLE
A society’s ideas about who or what is risky depend on how meaning and worth are attributed to objects, people, and processes in a given place and time. This article explores how race and criminal status intersect to shape the perception and management of risk and vulnerability, by chronicling the lived experience of one young African American man who was prevented from obtaining an Emergency Medical Technician license. It argues that racism and antiblackness are not just unfortunate consequences of risk management, but core to risk logics.
ETHNO/GRAPHIC
RESEARCH BRIEF
The Best Firefighting Jobs Require the EMT License
Melissa Burch and Charlotte Smith
California relies on imprisoned people to prevent and fight wildfires, but bans many people with criminal convictions from obtaining Emergency Medical Technician licenses, a credential essential to advancement in the firefighting profession.
