Counted Out: Racialized Access, Outcomes & Erasure of Black Women in Courts

Join us and grab a drink as a sociologist explores the hidden inequities inside America’s recovery court system...
About this Event

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Topic: Counted Out: Racialized Access, Outcomes, and the Erasure of Black Women in Recovery Courts
Speaker: LaQuana Askew (Suffolk University)

Recovery courts are often presented as a more humane alternative to incarceration emphasizing rehabilitation, treatment, and “therapeutic justice” over punishment.

But who actually benefits from that promise?

In this talk, Dr. LaQuana Askew examines how Black women, despite being deeply impacted by drug criminalization, remain largely invisible in both recovery court research and policy design.

Drawing from Black feminist theory, sociology, and lived experiences from within the system itself, this lecture explores the structural inequalities and discretionary decisions that shape who gets access to recovery and who gets left behind.

Topics include:

• What recovery courts are and how they operate
• Why Black women are often excluded from recovery court research and policy conversations
• How race, gender, and systemic bias influence outcomes inside the criminal justice system
• The hidden structural and discretionary barriers shaping access to “therapeutic justice”
• What a more equitable and genuinely restorative system could look like

This talk combines sociology, criminal justice, race, gender, and public policy to examine one of the most overlooked dimensions of America’s legal system.
About the Speaker
Dr. LaQuana Askew is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Suffolk University, specializing in racial equity, structural disparities, and the criminal legal system. Her work advocates for justice-oriented, trauma-informed policies using intersectional, Black feminist perspectives. Her academic contributions have been recognized with the 2024 Graduate Fellowship for the Study of Gender and Crime from the Division of Feminist Criminology, alongside awards for Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Service.
Previously, she served as a Research Associate at the Correctional Management Institute of Texas and published widely in journals like Crime & Delinquency. She holds a Ph.D. from Old Dominion University and both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Agenda
7:00 PM — Doors Open & Drinks
7:30 PM — Lecture Begins
8:10 PM — Audience Q&A
8:30 PM — Drinks & Conversation
9:00 PM — Event Ends