Mieka Brand Polanco
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814762882
- eISBN:
- 9780814724743
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814762882.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, American and Canadian Cultural Anthropology
This book examines the concept of community in the United States: how communities are experienced and understood, the complex relationship between human beings and their social and physical ...
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This book examines the concept of community in the United States: how communities are experienced and understood, the complex relationship between human beings and their social and physical landscapes—and how the term “community” is sometimes conjured to feign a cohesiveness that may not actually exist. Drawing on ethnographic and historical materials from Union, Virginia, the book offers a nuanced and sensitive portrait of a federally recognized Historic District under the category “Ethnic Heritage—Black.” Since Union has been home to a racially mixed population since at least the late 19th century, calling it “historically black” poses some curious existential questions to the black residents who currently live there. Union's identity as a “historically black community” encourages a perception of the town as a monochromatic and monohistoric landscape, effectively erasing both old-timer white residents and newcomer black residents while allowing newer white residents to take on a proud role as preservers of history. Gestures to “community” gloss an oversimplified perspective of race, history, and space that conceals much of the richness (and contention) of lived reality in Union, as well as in the larger United States. They allow Americans to avoid important conversations about the complex and unfolding nature by which groups of people and social/physical landscapes are conceptualized as a single unified whole. This multi-layered, multi-textured ethnography explores a key concept, inviting public conversation about the dynamic ways in which race, space, and history inform our experiences and understanding of community.Less
This book examines the concept of community in the United States: how communities are experienced and understood, the complex relationship between human beings and their social and physical landscapes—and how the term “community” is sometimes conjured to feign a cohesiveness that may not actually exist. Drawing on ethnographic and historical materials from Union, Virginia, the book offers a nuanced and sensitive portrait of a federally recognized Historic District under the category “Ethnic Heritage—Black.” Since Union has been home to a racially mixed population since at least the late 19th century, calling it “historically black” poses some curious existential questions to the black residents who currently live there. Union's identity as a “historically black community” encourages a perception of the town as a monochromatic and monohistoric landscape, effectively erasing both old-timer white residents and newcomer black residents while allowing newer white residents to take on a proud role as preservers of history. Gestures to “community” gloss an oversimplified perspective of race, history, and space that conceals much of the richness (and contention) of lived reality in Union, as well as in the larger United States. They allow Americans to avoid important conversations about the complex and unfolding nature by which groups of people and social/physical landscapes are conceptualized as a single unified whole. This multi-layered, multi-textured ethnography explores a key concept, inviting public conversation about the dynamic ways in which race, space, and history inform our experiences and understanding of community.
Karen R. Miller
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479880096
- eISBN:
- 9781479803637
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479880096.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Economic History
This chapter examines debates about race, slum clearance, and low-income housing during the 1930s, wherein both white racial liberals and black residents were testing the federal promise that “better ...
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This chapter examines debates about race, slum clearance, and low-income housing during the 1930s, wherein both white racial liberals and black residents were testing the federal promise that “better housing makes better citizens.” Public administrators were interested in uplifting white as well as black working-class families. However, for them, the project of producing better citizens was connected to white, not black, tenants of the new buildings in subtle yet clear terms. This distinction between housing all members of the American working class, making “better citizens” out of white families and state recipients out of black residents, began well before publicly funded housing programs opened their doors.Less
This chapter examines debates about race, slum clearance, and low-income housing during the 1930s, wherein both white racial liberals and black residents were testing the federal promise that “better housing makes better citizens.” Public administrators were interested in uplifting white as well as black working-class families. However, for them, the project of producing better citizens was connected to white, not black, tenants of the new buildings in subtle yet clear terms. This distinction between housing all members of the American working class, making “better citizens” out of white families and state recipients out of black residents, began well before publicly funded housing programs opened their doors.
Jodi Rios
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781501750465
- eISBN:
- 9781501750496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501750465.003.0004
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
This chapter argues that municipalities with majority-Black populations are often both victims and administrators of highly racialized practices that differentiate, oppress, and exploit nonwhite ...
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This chapter argues that municipalities with majority-Black populations are often both victims and administrators of highly racialized practices that differentiate, oppress, and exploit nonwhite communities. This argument is based on data showing that municipalities with higher percentages of Black residents are more likely to have their resources poached by adjacent cities with majority-white populations. The data also show that the residents of these cities experience more extreme forms of political, economic, and physical violence at the hands of local administrators and police, and that the forms of predatory policing in these areas are often obscured or deemed economically rational. The chapter then details the racialized means and extreme measures cities in North St. Louis County use to extract money and resources from Black citizens. These practices have been developed over many years in response to wholesale disinvestment and the poaching of resources out of Black communities. The chapter also considers the ethical arguments and discourses concerning municipal dissolution of majority-Black cities, with particular emphasis on the relationship between municipal poaching, predatory policing, and suburban race-making.Less
This chapter argues that municipalities with majority-Black populations are often both victims and administrators of highly racialized practices that differentiate, oppress, and exploit nonwhite communities. This argument is based on data showing that municipalities with higher percentages of Black residents are more likely to have their resources poached by adjacent cities with majority-white populations. The data also show that the residents of these cities experience more extreme forms of political, economic, and physical violence at the hands of local administrators and police, and that the forms of predatory policing in these areas are often obscured or deemed economically rational. The chapter then details the racialized means and extreme measures cities in North St. Louis County use to extract money and resources from Black citizens. These practices have been developed over many years in response to wholesale disinvestment and the poaching of resources out of Black communities. The chapter also considers the ethical arguments and discourses concerning municipal dissolution of majority-Black cities, with particular emphasis on the relationship between municipal poaching, predatory policing, and suburban race-making.
Leah Platt Boustan
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691150871
- eISBN:
- 9781400882977
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691150871.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
This introductory chapter outlines the central themes and methodologies underpinning this book. It discusses the factors for slow black economic progress in the North following the Great Black ...
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This introductory chapter outlines the central themes and methodologies underpinning this book. It discusses the factors for slow black economic progress in the North following the Great Black Migration. Despite the promise of the North and despite optimistic predictions, black migration to industrial cities did not lead to economic parity with whites either for the migrants themselves or for their children during the mid-twentieth century. This chapter introduces a new element to the story by pointing out that that the persistent influx of black migrants to northern labor and housing markets had created competition for existing black residents in an economic setting already constrained by weakening labor demand and northern racism.Less
This introductory chapter outlines the central themes and methodologies underpinning this book. It discusses the factors for slow black economic progress in the North following the Great Black Migration. Despite the promise of the North and despite optimistic predictions, black migration to industrial cities did not lead to economic parity with whites either for the migrants themselves or for their children during the mid-twentieth century. This chapter introduces a new element to the story by pointing out that that the persistent influx of black migrants to northern labor and housing markets had created competition for existing black residents in an economic setting already constrained by weakening labor demand and northern racism.
William W. Goldsmith
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501704314
- eISBN:
- 9781501706035
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501704314.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
This chapter focuses on the drug war. Those who enforce drug laws attack inner-city neighborhoods directly, drastically disrupting the lives of poor black and Latino residents. Cities at their best ...
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This chapter focuses on the drug war. Those who enforce drug laws attack inner-city neighborhoods directly, drastically disrupting the lives of poor black and Latino residents. Cities at their best are highly productive and just, but the drug war powerfully undercuts that potential. It discourages diversity, fairness, and democracy. It also reduces social, technological, and economic innovation. Thus, solid arguments demand the inclusion of drug issues as part of urban policy. As public policy, the drug war contradicts the broad conservative push for urban austerity, while at the same time exacerbating the need for public expenditure. For decades, public spending on the drug war and closely associated prison operations has constituted a major growth industry. And yet, much like defense spending, drug-war spending is supported most strongly by those who otherwise favor austerity.Less
This chapter focuses on the drug war. Those who enforce drug laws attack inner-city neighborhoods directly, drastically disrupting the lives of poor black and Latino residents. Cities at their best are highly productive and just, but the drug war powerfully undercuts that potential. It discourages diversity, fairness, and democracy. It also reduces social, technological, and economic innovation. Thus, solid arguments demand the inclusion of drug issues as part of urban policy. As public policy, the drug war contradicts the broad conservative push for urban austerity, while at the same time exacerbating the need for public expenditure. For decades, public spending on the drug war and closely associated prison operations has constituted a major growth industry. And yet, much like defense spending, drug-war spending is supported most strongly by those who otherwise favor austerity.
Jodi Rios
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781501750465
- eISBN:
- 9781501750496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501750465.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the racialized policing and governing practices in North St. Louis County, Missouri. In the suburbs of North St. Louis County, city governments ...
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This introductory chapter provides an overview of the racialized policing and governing practices in North St. Louis County, Missouri. In the suburbs of North St. Louis County, city governments discipline and police Black residents as a source of steady revenue. To put it in the way many residents do, municipalities view poor Black residents as “ATM machines,” to which they return time and again through multiple forms of predatory policing, juridical practices, and legalized violence. As part of this system and to hold on to the coveted yet hollow prize of local autonomy, Black leaders invest mightily in the white spatial imaginary of the suburbs by adopting a rhetoric of producing good citizens, promoting safety, protecting private property, and upholding norms of respectability. Narrated through questions of rights and suburban citizenship, the double bind of living as Black in North St. Louis County means that Black residents both suffer from, and pay for, the loss of economic and political viability that occurs when they simply occupy space. The systems that create and profit from this double bind rely on tropes of Black deviance, honed over the course of centuries; the illegibility of Black suffering; and questions concerning Black personhood.Less
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the racialized policing and governing practices in North St. Louis County, Missouri. In the suburbs of North St. Louis County, city governments discipline and police Black residents as a source of steady revenue. To put it in the way many residents do, municipalities view poor Black residents as “ATM machines,” to which they return time and again through multiple forms of predatory policing, juridical practices, and legalized violence. As part of this system and to hold on to the coveted yet hollow prize of local autonomy, Black leaders invest mightily in the white spatial imaginary of the suburbs by adopting a rhetoric of producing good citizens, promoting safety, protecting private property, and upholding norms of respectability. Narrated through questions of rights and suburban citizenship, the double bind of living as Black in North St. Louis County means that Black residents both suffer from, and pay for, the loss of economic and political viability that occurs when they simply occupy space. The systems that create and profit from this double bind rely on tropes of Black deviance, honed over the course of centuries; the illegibility of Black suffering; and questions concerning Black personhood.
Jodi Rios
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781501750465
- eISBN:
- 9781501750496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501750465.003.0003
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
This chapter highlights some of the moments and patterns that are illustrative of the particularities and peculiarities of the St. Louis region and are therefore important for understanding North St. ...
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This chapter highlights some of the moments and patterns that are illustrative of the particularities and peculiarities of the St. Louis region and are therefore important for understanding North St. Louis County. In many ways, the history of St. Louis in the latter part of the twentieth century closely follows the histories of most cities in the rust belt of the United States—in terms of de jure and de facto segregation in housing, education, and the labor force, as well as histories of suburbanization, discriminatory lending, and white flight. Moreover, the genealogies outlined in the chapter reflect the interconnected global histories of chattel slavery, colonial and imperial expansion, and capitalist development. In keeping with these histories, Black residents in the suburbs of North St. Louis County are disciplined as less-than-human, profit-generating bodies by tiny cities that have been stripped of resources and struggle to provide basic services except for an ever-expanding police force. A fierce desire for self-governance and municipal autonomy, a persistent tradition of parochial hierarchies, a peculiar reliance on the local courts, and the perpetual conflation of blackness and risk are legacies that result in specific forms of cultural politics and racialized practices across a highly fragmented geography.Less
This chapter highlights some of the moments and patterns that are illustrative of the particularities and peculiarities of the St. Louis region and are therefore important for understanding North St. Louis County. In many ways, the history of St. Louis in the latter part of the twentieth century closely follows the histories of most cities in the rust belt of the United States—in terms of de jure and de facto segregation in housing, education, and the labor force, as well as histories of suburbanization, discriminatory lending, and white flight. Moreover, the genealogies outlined in the chapter reflect the interconnected global histories of chattel slavery, colonial and imperial expansion, and capitalist development. In keeping with these histories, Black residents in the suburbs of North St. Louis County are disciplined as less-than-human, profit-generating bodies by tiny cities that have been stripped of resources and struggle to provide basic services except for an ever-expanding police force. A fierce desire for self-governance and municipal autonomy, a persistent tradition of parochial hierarchies, a peculiar reliance on the local courts, and the perpetual conflation of blackness and risk are legacies that result in specific forms of cultural politics and racialized practices across a highly fragmented geography.