Tomiko Shine ’14, anthropology, won first place in the National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) undergraduate paper competition for her paper, “The Lens of Blackness: An Anthro-Political Perspective.”

When Tomiko moved to Baltimore, she noticed through her work with youth and mothers in Baltimore City that many of their fathers or husbands were incarcerated. After seeing the impact that incarceration had on black families and communities, Tomiko responded by becoming a court advocate and attended court with youth who had charges that carried jail time. “I wanted to understand this phenomenon of the impact of incarceration on black family and community,” she said.

In order to more fully understand this phenomenon, Tomiko conducted research with Sarah Chard, associate professor and associate chair of sociology and anthropology, and submitted her paper which concluded that high rates of incarceration impact the American social society, economy, education and labor system.

Tomiko plans to graduate from UMBC in the spring and would like to continue her anthropological studies in graduate school with a combined degree in public policy. She will attend the NCBS Conference Student Luncheon on Friday, March 7 to present her paper. Congratulations, Tomiko!