Yasser Payne
Professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice; Africana Studies | University of Delaware
Newark, DE, UNITED STATES
Prof. Payne's research examines gun violence; policing and reentry; and educational inequality in street-identified populations.
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Biography
Yasser Arafat Payne is a Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. Dr. Payne’s street ethnographic research program examines policing and reentry; economic well-being and educational inequality; and gun violence with street-identified Black Americans by utilizing Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR)—the process of doing research and activism with street-identified populations. Dr. Payne’s work has appeared in Sociological Forum, Journal of Social Issues, Sociology Compass, and Race & Justice. Furthermore, Dr. Payne and his colleagues have also authored the book project titled "Murder Town USA: Homicide, Structural Violence and Activism in Wilmington" (Rutgers University Press).
Industry Expertise (2)
Corrections
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (8)
Gun Violence
Street Ethnography
School Violence and School-To-Prison Pipeline
Experiences With Police
Ethnographic Field Research
Prison Reentry
Gangster Rap Music and Culture
Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR)
Media Appearances (5)
What a rise in Wilmington shootings of women says about city violence
The News Journal online
2021-10-21
[no abstract available]
Southbridge residents call for equal investment in $100M Riverfront East plan
The News Journal online
2021-09-23
[no abstract available]
Local NAACP leaders' news briefings with police prompt criticism
NBC News online
2021-07-01
“Those press conferences represent more of the interest of the police, or city or state officials, than it does the people most aggrieved by police abuse,” said Yasser Payne, associate professor of sociology and Africana studies at the University of Delaware. “What we’ve seen is more assimilated, a compromise, that has lost any real integrity.”
Looking For Solutions Amid The Pandemic Homicide Spike
WUGA online
2021-06-10
But Yasser Payne says more policing is the last thing we need. Payne is an associate professor of Anthropology at the University of Delaware. After thousands of conversations with mostly young Black men, he calls himself a street ethnographer. He says it’s really easy to look at violence as culturally deviant. “And what we're saying is that, no, crime makes sense,” Payne said.
Enlighten Me: UD professor's gun violence research expands
Delaware Public Media online
2019-08-02
In this week’s Enlighten Me, Delaware Public Media’s Sophia Schmidt talks with one of the researchers leading that study, University of Delaware professor Dr. YasserPayne.
Articles (5)
“Teachers think the kids around here, don't really want to learn”: Street‐identified black men and women's attitudes toward teachers and schooling
Sociology Compass2022 This street participatory action research project explored the reflective schooling experiences of street identified Black men and women (ages 18–35) in two small low‐income neighborhoods. Secondary analysis of survey (N = 520) and interview (N = 46) data examined: (1) How are attitudes toward schooling and teachers affected by race, gender and age?; and (2) How do students utilize a street‐identity as a site of resilience inside schools? Overall, street‐identified study participants held positive attitudes toward schooling, but generally performed poorly in schools and had negative experiences with educators. No significance was found as a function of gender and age regarding attitudes toward schooling and attitudes toward teachers.
“I Don’t let These Felonies Hold me Back!”: How Street-Identified Black Men and Women Use Resilience to Radically Reframe Reentry
Race and Justice2021 This street participatory action research project trained 15 local residents to document a community sample of street-identified Black men and women’s (ages 18–35 years) experiences with reentry in two low-income Black neighborhoods. The following multi-method data were collected: (a) 520 surveys; (b) 24 individual interviews; (c) four dual interviews; and (d) three group interviews. Descriptive and univariate analysis of variance analysis revealed most participants as a function of gender and age-groups held positive attitudes toward reentry, overall; positive attitudes toward returning citizens; negative attitudes toward reentry programs; and negative attitudes toward the reentry process.
Predicting trust in police: the impact of instrumental and expressive concerns in street-identified Black-American men and women
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management2020 Purpose While the past few decades have witnessed a substantial number of studies on public attitudes toward the police, a relatively thin line of inquiry has focused exclusively on low income urban Black-Americans, and especially street-identified Black populations. The purpose of this paper, however, is to examine trust in police amongst street-identified Black men and women. Design/methodology/approach Relying on a street participatory action research methodological approach, the authors collected survey data ( N = 520) from two low-income unban Black neighborhoods, to examine the effects of an instrumental model versus an expressive model on procedural- and outcome-based trust in police.
Street Participatory Action Research in Prison: A Methodology to Challenge Privilege and Power in Correctional Facilities
The Prisoner Journal2018 This article presents a prison research model grounded in street participatory action research (Street PAR) methodology but programmatically facilitated in an Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program class. Street PAR’s nine tenets were adapted to a prison setting, and we demonstrate its promise with a brief case study of research projects at one prison location. This article also explores the challenges scholars and incarcerated persons as researchers may face in correctional facilities. Street PAR and Inside-Out can improve prison environments and successful transition to local communities as a function of equipping incarcerated persons with reading, writing, and analytic skill sets.
“Why I Can't Stand Out in Front of My House?”: Street‐Identified Black Youth and Young Adult's Negative Encounters With Police
Sociological Forum2017 This street participatory action research (Street PAR) study organized 15 residents to document street-identified Black youth and adult's negative experiences with police in Wilmington, Delaware. Data were collected on mostly street-identified Black men and women aged 18–35 in the forms of (1) 520 surveys, (2) 24 individual interviews, (3) four dual interviews, (4) three group interviews, and (5) extensive field observations. Forty-two percent of survey participants reported being stopped by police in the last year. However, with the exception of being “stopped,” participants overall reported little negative contact with police at least within the past year. Chi-square and ANOVA analyses suggest an interactional relationship exists between race, gender, and age on experiences with police.
Research Grants (5)
“Got The Hammer On Me": The Socio-Cultural Roots Of Gun Use In U.S. Cities”
National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research Award $1.67 million
2019 - 2023
“Finite Mixture Modeling of Community Violence Exposures and Health Related Quality of Life in Black American Adults”
Delaware Center for Translational Research/Christiana Care Hospital $100,000
2019 - Present
“The Wilmington Street PAR Health Project: Health, Opportunity & Violence
National Institute Health/Christiana Care Hospital Department of Medicine $100,000
2017 - Present
"Safe Communities" Employment and Training Project
First State Community Action Agency/American Recovery and Reinvestment Act $200,000
2009 - 2010
"Safe Communities" Employment and Training Project
United Way of Delaware & JP Chase Morgan (DE) $35,000
2009 - 2010
Accomplishments (5)
ACLU-DE Annual Celebration Kandler Awardee (professional)
2021
NPR Source of The Week (professional)
2021
Governor Jack A. Markell’s Tribute & Recognition Award (professional)
2016
40 Under 40 Award (professional)
2015
William A. Vrooman Social Justice Exemplar Award, Delaware Center for Justice (professional)
2015)
Education (3)
The Graduate Center, City University of New York: PhD, Social-Perosonality Psychology 2005
Seton Hall University: MS, Psychological Studies 1999
Wagner College: BS, Psychology 1997
Links (3)
Languages (1)
- English
Event Appearances (5)
What We Know About Community Based Participatory Research in Prisons: Methods, Ethics, & Outcomes.
(2019) Urban Institute. #TransformPrison: A Roundtable on Prison Research and Innovation Washington, DC
Urban Institute. #TransformPrison: A Roundtable on Prison Research and Innovation
(2019) University of Maryland-Baltimore: School of Social Work Baltimore, MD
Street Participatory Action Research: Doing Research & Activism with Street-Identified Black Men and Women
(2018) Center for Study of Diversity Colloquium Newark, DE
Street Participatory Action Research: Doing Research & Activism with Street-Identified Black Men and Women
(2018) Vera Institute of Justice: Social Justice Speaking Series New York, NY
Street Participatory Action Research: Doing Research and Activism with The Streets of Black America
(2018) Racial Democracy Crime and Justice Network 16th Annual Workshop Newark, NJ
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