Black in White Space by Elijah Anderson

Author:Elijah Anderson [Anderson, Elijah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SOC000000 Social Science / General, SOC001000 Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies, SOC056000 Social Science / Black Studies (global), SOC031000 Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations, SOC026030 Social Science / Sociology / Urban
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2021-01-05T00:00:00+00:00

The Talk

With each negative encounter, local Black men build up antagonism toward law enforcement. They develop defenses and toughen up to protect their pride and perceived respectability. With this built-up hostility, interactions over minor offenses—like suspicion of selling loose cigarettes—quickly become emotionally charged.5

Typically the ranks of the police include some of the most racially insensitive people in our society. They are often drawn from local blue-collar neighborhoods filled with people who may see themselves and their communities as in fierce competition with Blacks for place and position—and as losing ground. Many Black police officers I’ve interviewed have expressed this, and some have felt the wrath of their White colleagues. In such circumstances the Black police officers’ role has become extremely difficult; because of their skin color, many have been mistaken for criminals or suspects, and some have been shot by their fellow officers. The police campaign to be tough on crime has brought countless Black deaths owing to over-policing of the Black community.

The recent urban racial turmoil, particularly the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the summer of 2020 after the killing of George Floyd, reflects the explosive release of a pent-up resentment of this police campaign by Black people and many of their brown and White allies. The motives of some of these allies, particularly those who destroy property, are questionable. They might well take part only to discredit the peaceful demonstrations by well-meaning Blacks. To combat this danger, Black parents often sit their teenage sons and daughters down for a ritual talk that goes something like this: “If a policeman stops you out on the street, be polite. Don’t talk back. Say ‘Yes sir, no sir, Officer. What seems to be the trouble?’ Don’t make any sudden moves. If you’re driving, don’t reach for the glove compartment. If he asks to see your identification, reach for it very carefully; he’ll be watching your every move. Let the policeman take the lead. Listen to him. Do as he says. Defer to him. And as soon as you’re able, call me.”

When the police mistreat Black people, arrest them without cause, shoot them, or kill them while making an arrest, as happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis, such incidents become spectacles that may touch off protests around the world. But even more important, they indicate and publicize the lowly place of Black citizens in American society and culture, especially the role of the iconic ghetto in defining Blacks as a separate, lower caste, undermining their moral authority in the minds of their fellow citizens.

Moreover, many Whites have not adjusted to the idea that Black people now occupy more positions of privilege, power, and prestige—or just appear in places where they were historically unwelcome. When they see Blacks in such places, many Whites, though not all, unconsciously or explicitly want to banish them to the iconic ghetto—to the stereotypical space where they think all Black people belong, a segregated space for second-class citizens. Not courageous enough to attempt this feat alone, many of

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