Kalief Browder and the Criminalization of Poverty: Using Documentary Film as a Pedagogical Tool to Explore the Consequences of Cash Bail and Pretrial Detention

This study examines the use of Time: The Kalief Browder Story as an interdisciplinary pedagogical tool to explore the legal, political, and public health consequences of cash bail, pretrial detention, and systemic injustice. Browder’s prolonged incarceration without trial, rooted in his inability to pay bail and his extended time in solitary confinement, provides a case study through which students engage with structural failures of the U.S. criminal justice system and their far-reaching public health implications. The documentary was integrated into an undergraduate public health disparities course offered within the university’s core curriculum, drawing students from public health, criminal justice, sociology, political science, and related disciplines. Students applied the social determinants of health framework and the social-ecological model to analyze the legal and health dimensions of Browder’s case. Using a mixed-methods design, student papers, written reflections, and post-course survey responses were evaluated. Quantitative analysis revealed high levels of student mastery in applying interdisciplinary frameworks, identifying legal violations, and proposing policy-level interventions. Qualitative analysis highlighted students’ growing legal-public health literacy, their recognition of intersecting structural inequities, and the emotional impact of Browder’s story, which fostered empathy and a sense of professional responsibility. These findings suggest that narrative media serves as an effective teaching method for complex interdisciplinary topics, deepening students' critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and policy engagement. Future research should explore curricular adaptations, emotional scaffolding, and the long-term professional impact of narrative media pedagogy within legal, public health, and policy education.