When Riots Erupt In Black Communities

May 28, 2010
Written by Sticky Wicket in
"Sticky Wicket" Questions
Login to rate this article
burning building viewed from the air
Burning building viewed from the air

Dear Sticky Wicket,


Why do some members of the Black Community destroy their own neighborhoods in response to some racial injustice?


~Confused in Idaho


Dear Confused in Idaho,


We saw it in Watts in 1964. We saw in Detroit in 1967. We saw it after the police beat down incident involving Rodney King in 1991. If we didn’t see it in real life, we’ve all seen it on TV: Blacks rioting, looting, and burning down their own neighborhoods after some racial injustice.


On the surface, it looks like the most illogical of behavior, you are tearing yourself and your livelihood down, and all because you’re mad at someone else. Even birds don’t tear down their own nests.


However, according to two professionals who have studied this phenomenon, the roots of this anger runs much deeper. And it’s an anger that’s based in reason.


Christina Greer is a professor of political science at Fordham University in New York, who has studied American politics, black ethnic politics, and urban politics, says the phenomenon of blacks destroying their own neighborhoods, is more an act of rebellion than rioting.


She’s currently working on a book tentatively entitled, “Black Ethnicity: Identity, Participation, and Policy.” Dr. Greer explains the difference as a riot being an instantaneous, non-intellectual act whereas a rebellion has a historic genesis to it.


And that history begins with years of frustration.


“The reason why I call them rebellions is because it’s actually a form of resistance to an established order of dominance,” Dr. Greer says. “So if we look at cities and what happens to people of color in these cities, as well as their reaction to what’s happened, it’s usually because of a long term oppression that has essentially reached a boiling point.”


The incident whether it be the beating of Rodney King, or some other injustice, merely serves as a catalyst for this frustration Dr. Greer adds. It’s bred out of a larger sense of hopelessness, despair, and isolation from mainstream education and economic opportunities. Add to that an overall lack of respectful treatment in the criminal justice system, and not being offered the same economic, housing, and employment opportunities, and the ingredients are all there for a rebellion whenever an incident takes place. And when you’re angry, you’re going to take it out on the closet thing to you, in this case your neighborhood, probably most which you don‘t own anyway.


“If it’s an explosion, I’m not going to sit on the bus, or wait an hour for the bus, then take an hour and a half ride on the bus to the other side of town and bust out a window. I need to bust out a window right now,” Dr. Greer said.


She adds that the media often makes it look as if the whole neighborhood is burning and looting, when actually it’s only a small percentage.


“If you remember from the Rodney King riots, many people were outside, but many people were begging the people rebelling to not rebel,” she explains.


Jonathan Bean, editor of the book Race & Liberty in America and Professor of History at Southern Illinois University, explains that this behavior was relatively rare prior to the 1960s. Blacks received a sort of ‘moral holiday’ whenever some real or alleged grievance caused rioting or looting.


"This type of behavior was relatively rare prior to the 1960s when liberal elites in major cities adopted the policy of "it is better to let them loot than shoot," and handcuffed private property owners by passing stringent gun control laws that were invoked when business owners defended their property – this occurred in the Rodney King riot, for example." Mr. Bean said in a prepared statement.


"Edward Banfield, the famous Harvard social scientist, called this "looting for fun and profit," and it was/is only possible because of the moral abdication of (mostly) white policymakers. In effect, blacks were given a "moral holiday" whenever some real or alleged grievance caused rioting or looting.


However, the number of rioters was always a small percentage of the population and they never took a vote on whether to burn down their neighborhoods and steal from shops that contained goods owned by other blacks (e.g., pawn shops, dry cleaners, black-owned businesses). Indeed, survey data suggests widespread condemnation but the failure of police to act, coupled with mob dynamics, led to not only riots but also a spiraling crime wave.


Eventually, this became unsustainable as both political parties ended the moral holiday and started imprisoning criminals of all types. The result has been very favorable to blacks in business districts in Harlem and other flourishing areas once written off as hopeless. It turns out that eliminating crime was a far better business policy than the conservative solution of tax incentives (enterprise zones) or the liberal solution of "more welfare."

Tags:
"Sticky Wicket" Questions