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Quote: Between me and the other world, there is ever an unasked question……… how does it feel to be a problem?
Issue: Explore how the African American experience of criminalization is discussed in debates surrounding the black lives matter movement?
Annotated Bibliography
Hesse, Barnor. "Of Race: The Exorbitant Du Bois." Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism 20.2 (50) (2016): 14-27.
This article analyses the long-term choice opted by Du Bois whereby he did not display reliance on the grievances and hostilities faced by blacks in Jim Crow era in the pursuit of characterizing the intercultural dynamics of the race. The contents of this research also attempt to critically understand race as a comprehensible abstraction which is largely perceived in insignificant ways within the sociopolitical landscape of African Americans. The undecidability, impresses, reconstructions, practices, and effects of race have been deeply scrutinized in this source in the light of W.E.B. Dubois’s book, ‘The Souls of Black Folk.’ Race governance has also been pondered upon in this research study which draws the attention of research scholars towards the colonial aggregation of racial practices.
This source challenges Du Bois’s quote as it questions the exorbitant claim of marking the African American race as a particular problem which is highly threatening in a humanist perspective. This source imparts that how can Du Bois conjure up peculiar situations with whites without racially denoting them as such. The article also directly challenges this quote propounding that there is no knowledge about how Du Bois has conceptualized race and there is evidence of resignation rather than critique in his quote and the surrounding text. In one instance, this source also challenges the quote by scrutinizing the lack of an intrusive question which could be asked by Du Bois. The puniness of this unsolicited question denoted in the quote is also investigated in this source.
Itzigsohn, José, and Karida Brown. "Sociology and the theory of double consciousness: WEB Du Bois’s phenomenology of racialized subjectivity." Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race 12.2 (2015): 231-248.
In this source, there is an emphasis on W. E. B. Du Bois’s appositeness as a sociological theorist. The theory of Double Consciousness has been chiefly stressed upon which maintains that there is a sheer lack of communication between the racialized and the racializing in a society where racism is prevalent. This theory also places the processes of racialization at the centre stage of self-formation so that lived experiences of subjects who face racism can be associated with the macrostructure of such societies. The source also delineates that in a racialized society, the power dynamics between the powerful and weak making it impossible for everyone to contribute to the well-being of the society on equal terms.
This source resonates with Du Bois’s quote to a considerable extent because it focuses on the unequal societal conditions of the racialized society and establishes that communicative rationality cannot be developed if the racial minorities face oppression by the majorities. The African American experiences regarding criminalization mirror this notion because there are many studies establishing that the binary discourses in race exclusively structure the civil society. Furthermore, upon reflection of several surveys and police records, it can be postulated that African Americans seek violent and criminal ways as a result of racial discrimination. American policing also has an enduring significance of racial bias in its policies and the use of force and many advocates of Black Lives Matter adhere to this truth.
Rios, Victor M., Nikita Carney, and Jasmine Kelekay. "Ethnographies of race, crime, and justice: Toward a sociological double-consciousness." Annual Review of Sociology 43 (2017): 493-513.
This research article is a contribution to examine the impact of the criminal justice system on the marginalized segments of the society by delving into the ethnographies of race, justice, and crime. Double-consciousness approach, as theorized by Du Bois has been employed in this study that enables social science researchers to study the matters through multiple perspectives. The article summarizes that the progression of social movements such as Black lives Matter outline instances of contemporary resistance against the racial discrimination in America.
This source resonates and reinterprets Du Bois’s quote by utilizing the concept of double-consciousness in two ways simultaneously. On the one hand, it assists in the development of a reflective approach while doing research regarding the African Americans’ experiences of criminalization and on the other hand, it documents the circumstances and behavioural patterns of the marginalized populations. This source also resonates the quote because it denotes that the emergence of a weakened sense of community in African Americans and their considerable limited abilities to actively participate in the society leads them towards a criminal path. There is a conscious decision taking place among the marginalized populations as they are more triggered by social exclusion rather than other macroeconomic issues, for instance, wage gap which distinctly separates African Americans from their white counterparts.
Varner, Deena. "Nineteenth-century criminal geography: WEB Du Bois and the Pennsylvania Prison Society." Journal of Historical Geography 59 (2018): 15-26.
This source describes and characterizes breaks from the normative suppositions from socially acceptable behaviour by highlighting the criminal geography of nineteenth century America. The research is an exploration of Du Bois’s study of the Pennsylvania Prison Society and its geographical and social structuring. It was found that the administration in American prisons renders the inclusion of African Americans impossible in the socio-political landscape. The article stipulates that crime is a response to spatial and racial oppression proffering an utter rejection of the capitalist economy as a precursor of a rise in criminal activities. After a thorough examination of prison reforms and their consequences, the author reported that criminalization must be viewed through the lens of marginalization of racial minorities rather than as a response of income inequality and poverty.
This source is instrumental in fortifying the underpinnings of Du Bois’s quote because it sheds light on the contemporary manifestations of structural racism and prescribes that racial prejudice and discrimination results in crime. This assertion is also set forth by many advocates of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Essay
Thomas Jefferson, a man of democratic sympathies deeply analyzed the conflicts between equality and liberty, freedom and order, and other rights and duties. One of the most important issues in the social theory presented by Jefferson is the mainstream attitude towards African Americans and racial equality. Jefferson’s ideas towards this pressing matter assist in understanding the criminalization experiences of African Americans because, in many instances, he stipulated acute opinions and reflections about the natural inferiority of this race. The natural rights philosophy by Jefferson also failed to outline specific ideals regarding ethics which are mandatory for a government to serve its citizens CITATION For18 \l 1033 (Ford). The principle of generational autonomy as put forward by Jefferson paved the way for his vision of attaining a lasting and progressive polity. This idea which slightly became a basis for self-governance in the years to come maintained that all the groups of citizens are not restricted by the burden and weight of their ancestors. Slavery and social exclusion were considered as limits for the progression of America. The race of Africans Americans perturbed Jefferson; he saw this group of people as a danger for the country and advocated that Africans cannot have any significant niche in American democracy CITATION Bel18 \l 1033 (Bell). Du Bois’s book and the studies resonating the quoted place the responsibility to reconcile intergenerational adversities as a democratic value. This responsibility shares the same ranking in government’s responsibility to do equality and liberty. The different studies used to analyze Du Bois’s quote place an emphasis on the eternal return of slavery. Among other demerits, this can have a paralyzing effect on political action. The policies made for racial minorities can also be moulded according to the wishes of racial majorities and this can lead to the further social exclusion of the African Americans in American society.
Different ideologies and sentiments regarding the differences between races dramatically developed the markedly distinct notions of race and gave rise to power dynamics between superior and inferior races in America. The need for economic labour also proved to be a chief factor for metastasizing this dichotomy between African Americans and their white counterparts. This apparent truth and widely accepted justification behind racial ideology boosted structural and institutional racism, which has always been practised at various levels in American society.
The coercive role played by the law enforcement agencies in the lives of African Americans in the United States is well-documented and one of the chief reasons why movements such as Black Lives Matter surface even in the 21st century. There is a prevalent association between crime and race which appears subconsciously and this is because people are conditioned to believe that there exists a dichotomy between races. Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the American Revolution and authors of the Declaration of Independence was eloquent about the racial differences between blacks and whites in his writings. He maintained that these differences were fixed by nature and out to be applied in society to maintain the superiority of whites. This distinction became the foundational basis for distinct criminalization experiences which African Americans go through and are discussed in movements such as Black Lives Matter. The dualistic separation between races as postulated by Jefferson has become a part of the broader culture of contemporary American society.
Works Cited
Bell, Myrtle P., et al. "Diversity, discrimination, and persistent inequality: Hope for the future through the solidarity economy movement." Journal of Social Issues 74.2 (2018): 224-243.
Ford, Donna Y., et al. "The Nouveau Talented Tenth: Envisioning WEB Du Bois in the Context of Contemporary Gifted and Talented Education." The Journal of Negro Education 87.3 (2018): 294-310.
Hesse, Barnor. "Of Race: The Exorbitant Du Bois." Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism 20.2 (50) (2016): 14-27
Itzigsohn, José, and Karida Brown. "Sociology and the theory of double consciousness: WEB Du Bois’s phenomenology of racialized subjectivity." Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race 12.2 (2015): 231-248.
Rios, Victor M., Nikita Carney, and Jasmine Kelekay. "Ethnographies of race, crime, and justice: Toward a sociological double-consciousness." Annual Review of Sociology 43 (2017): 493-513.
Varner, Deena. "Nineteenth-century criminal geography: WEB Du Bois and the Pennsylvania Prison Society." Journal of Historical Geography 59 (2018): 15-26.
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