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“Afraid of Walking Home From the ‘L’ at Night?” The Politics of Crime and Race in Racially Integrated Neighborhoods
Social Problems ( IF 3.0 ) Pub Date : 2017-02-28 , DOI: 10.1093/socpro/spw059
Jan Doering

Street crime can easily agitate residents and cause distrust and division in integrated neighborhoods. How does this sensitive issue materialize in local politics? This article examines 25 years of electoral campaigning for the position of city council representative (“alderman”) in two integrated Chicago neighborhoods. It reports three main findings. First, crime became and—at least in one neighborhood—remains a central issue in local electoral campaigning even as the crime rate continued to drop over the study period. Second, the politics of crime often spilled over into racial politics as candidates charged each other with inciting racial division or discounting legitimate fears. Third, despite nearly identical crime rates in the two neighborhoods, crime as a political issue eventually declined in one neighborhood, while remaining highly salient in the other. This finding suggests that neighborhood politics influence local discourse and produce divergent perceptions of crime. Implications for scholarship on the politics of crime and race, as well as urban neighborhoods, are discussed. K E Y W O R D S : politics of crime; perceptions of crime; racial integration; electoral campaigning; neighborhoods. After decades of entrenched racial segregation, black-white integrated neighborhoods are slowly becoming more common in the United States (Logan and Stults 2011), but concerns about street crime complicate and decelerate this process (Gould 2000; Hwang and Sampson 2014). White residents worry about street crime and systematically overestimate its prevalence in proportion to the presence of black (and Latino) residents (Chiricos, McEntire, and Gertz 2001; Quillian and Pager 2001). To no small measure, whites’ acceptance of racial integration depends on their perceptions of crime and safety (Taub, Taylor, and Dunham 1984). African Americans, on the other hand, often appreciate the better conditions that integrated neighborhoods offer in comparison to segregated neighborhoods (Peterson and Krivo 2010), but they can feel alienated by a climate of unease and surveillance and the failure of white residents to distinguish the majority of law-abiding from the For their helpful comments on previous versions of this article, the author wishes to thank Larry Bennett, Lauren Eden Jones, John Levi Martin, Rory McVeigh, Andrew Papachristos, Daniel Silver, and Wesley Skogan, as well as four anonymous reviewers for Social Problems. The study was supported by a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation (SES-1303625). Direct correspondence to: Jan Doering, Department of Sociology, McGill University, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T7, Canada. E-mail: jan.doering@mcgill.ca. VC The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social Problems. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com 1 Social Problems, 2017, 0, 1–21 doi: 10.1093/socpro/spw059 Article minority of criminal black residents (Anderson 1990). Thus, street crime can undermine interracial community and even the very viability of residential integration. Given its fundamental importance, crime should be an important item on the local political agenda. How does the sensitive issue of street crime materialize in neighborhood politics, especially electoral campaigning? This question matters all the more as studies of crime and race in state-level and national campaigning reveal that political leadership deeply affects voters’ attitudes and perceptions (e.g., Beckett 1997; Kinder and Sanders 1996; Mendelberg 2001). It is therefore plausible that electoral campaigning could make a crucial difference in shaping local discourse and volatile perceptions of crime in integrated neighborhoods. Politicians may try to activate or strategically amplify already elevated levels of fear—especially among whites—in order to use them as a political resource. Despite their possibly critical importance, however, electoral politics and political leadership in diverse neighborhoods have received little systematic attention. This article addresses this gap in the literature by examining 25 years of electoral campaigning (19912015) for the position of city council representative (“alderman”) in two integrated Chicago neighborhoods—Rogers Park and Uptown. The article draws on a set of campaign documents, journalistic accounts, online texts, and in-depth interviews that provide insights into the content and dynamics of local electoral campaigning. Three main findings emerge. First, crime served as a central campaign issue although the crime rate continuously fell over the study period. Electoral challengers highlighted the prevalence and dangers of street crime, while their opponents reassured residents that crime was declining. Second, the politics of crime often engendered racial politics. As challengers validated residents’ fears, their opponents charged that campaigning on crime aggravated racial division and reinforced racist stereotypes. Finally, while crime mattered in both neighborhoods, it eventually declined as a political issue in Rogers Park but not in Uptown, although the neighborhoods’ overall crime rates were similar and homicides— caused mostly by gang-related shootings—were in fact more frequent in Rogers Park than Uptown. These findings have significant implications for scholarship on the politics of crime and race, as well as urban neighborhoods. First, scholars of racial politics have so far focused on how politicians can harness stereotypes of black criminality to mobilize white voters. Adding to this, the article reveals that opposing candidates can mobilize racial concerns about stereotyping, harassment, and gentrification to counter tough-on-crime messages. This political tactic demands scholarly attention particularly in light of how the black lives matter movement is changing national discourse about crime and race. Second, the different trajectories of electoral politics in the two neighborhoods demonstrate that structural factors—such as crime or sociodemographic composition—cannot explain the dynamics of electoral politics. Instead, the findings suggest that electoral campaigning is a mechanism that mediates the impact of crime on local discourse and perceptions on crime. I elaborate on these implications in the discussion section. L I T E R A T U R E R E V I E W Residential segregation is the lynchpin of racial inequality in the United States (Massey and Denton 1993; Peterson and Krivo 2010). Integrated neighborhoods are therefore crucial test cases for envisioning the beneficial effects of desegregation. Scholars have measured how integration shapes mobility-related outcomes, especially the frequency and strength of cross-cutting social ties (Chaskin and Joseph 2010; Putnam 2007; de Souza Briggs 1998). Unfortunately, scholars consistently find that cross-cutting ties tend to be relatively rare and fragile in diverse neighborhoods. One obstacle is crime. Fear of crime creates distrust that can keep white and black residents apart, thus preventing the development of durable relationships and trust (Anderson 1990; Chaskin and Joseph 2010). Based on a comparative study of 14 diverse neighborhoods, Philip Nyden, Michael Maly, and John Lukehart (1997:509-10) argue that “because of commonly held perceptions in the broader society (fed by long-standing racism) that the presence of minorities translates into crime,” integrated neighborhoods are highly sensitive to crime. 2 Doering

中文翻译:

“害怕晚上从'L'步行回家?” 种族融合社区中的犯罪和种族政治

街头犯罪很容易激怒居民,并导致一体化社区的不信任和分裂。这个敏感问题如何在地方政治中体现出来?本文考察了 25 年来在芝加哥两个综合社区中为市议会代表(“市议员”)职位进行的竞选活动。它报告了三个主要发现。首先,尽管犯罪率在研究期间持续下降,但犯罪已经成为并且——至少在一个社区——仍然是地方竞选活动的核心问题。其次,犯罪政治经常蔓延到种族政治,因为候选人互相指责煽动种族分裂或打消合理的恐惧。第三,尽管两个街区的犯罪率几乎相同,但作为政治问题的犯罪最终在一个街区下降,同时在另一个方面保持高度突出。这一发现表明,邻里政治会影响当地话语并产生对犯罪的不同看法。讨论了对犯罪和种族政治以及城市社区的学术影响。关键词:犯罪政治;对犯罪的看法;种族融合;竞选活动;邻里。经过数十年根深蒂固的种族隔离,黑人和白人融合社区在美国逐渐变得越来越普遍(Logan 和 Stults 2011),但对街头犯罪的担忧使这一过程复杂化并减速(Gould 2000;Hwang 和 Sampson 2014)。白人居民担心街头犯罪,并系统地高估了与黑人(和拉丁裔)居民的存在成比例的犯罪率(Chiricos、McEntire 和 Gertz 2001;Quillian 和 Pager 2001)。在很大程度上,白人对种族融合的接受程度取决于他们对犯罪和安全的看法(Taub、Taylor 和 Dunham,1984 年)。另一方面,与隔离社区相比,非裔美国人通常欣赏一体化社区提供的更好条件(Peterson 和 Krivo 2010),但他们可能会因不安和监视的气氛以及白人居民无法区分社区而感到疏远。大多数守法者对本文先前版本的有益评论,作者要感谢 Larry Bennett、Lauren Eden Jones、John Levi Martin、Rory McVeigh、Andrew Papachristos、Daniel Silver 和 Wesley Skogan,以及社会问题的四位匿名审稿人。该研究得到了国家科学基金会博士论文研究改进补助金 (SES-1303625) 的支持。直接通信至:Jan Doering,麦吉尔大学社会学系,855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T7, Canada。电子邮箱:jan.doering@mcgill.ca。VC The Author 2017. 牛津大学出版社代表社会问题研究学会出版。版权所有。如需许可,请发送电子邮件至:journals.permissions@oup.com 1 Social Problems, 2017, 0, 1–21 doi: 10.1093/socpro/spw059 犯罪黑人居民的文章少数(Anderson 1990)。因此,街头犯罪会破坏跨种族社区,甚至破坏住宅融合的可行性。鉴于其根本重要性,犯罪应成为地方政治议程上的一个重要项目。街头犯罪的敏感问题如何在社区政治中具体化,尤其是竞选活动?这个问题更加重要,因为对州级和全国竞选活动中的犯罪和种族的研究表明,政治领导力深深地影响着选民的态度和看法(例如,Beckett 1997;Kinder 和 Sanders 1996;Mendelberg 2001)。因此,竞选活动可能会对整合社区中的地方话语和对犯罪的不稳定看法产生重大影响,这是有道理的。政客们可能会试图激活或战略性地放大已经升高的恐惧——尤其是在白人中——以便将它们用作政治资源。然而,尽管它们可能至关重要,不同社区的选举政治和政治领导很少受到系统的关注。本文通过研究 25 年的竞选活动 (19912015) 在芝加哥的两个综合社区——罗杰斯公园和住宅区——竞选市议会代表(“市议员”)的职位来弥补文献中的这一空白。这篇文章借鉴了一系列竞选文件、新闻报道、在线文本和深入访谈,提供了对地方选举活动的内容和动态的见解。出现了三个主要发现。首先,尽管犯罪率在研究期间持续下降,但犯罪仍是竞选活动的核心问题。选举挑战者强调街头犯罪的普遍性和危险性,而他们的反对者则向居民保证犯罪率正在下降。第二,犯罪政治常常引发种族政治。当挑战者证实居民的恐惧时,他们的反对者指责打击犯罪活动加剧了种族分裂并强化了种族主义的刻板印象。最后,虽然犯罪在两个街区都很重要,但它最终作为政治问题在罗杰斯公园下降,但在住宅区没有,尽管街区的整体犯罪率相似,而且凶杀案(主要由与帮派相关的枪击事件引起)实际上在罗杰斯公园比住宅区。这些发现对犯罪和种族政治以及城市社区的学术研究具有重要意义。首先,迄今为止,种族政治学者一直专注于政治家如何利用黑人犯罪的刻板印象来动员白人选民。除此之外,文章揭示,反对派候选人可以调动对陈规定型观念、骚扰和中产阶级化的种族担忧,以对抗严厉打击犯罪的信息。这种政治策略需要学术界的关注,特别是考虑到黑人生命很重要运动如何改变关于犯罪和种族的全国性讨论。其次,这两个街区选举政治的不同轨迹表明结构性因素——例如犯罪或社会人口构成——无法解释选举政治的动态。相反,研究结果表明,竞选活动是一种调节犯罪对当地话语和对犯罪看法的影响的机制。我在讨论部分详细阐述了这些含义。文学评论 居住隔离是美国种族不平等的关键(Massey 和 Denton 1993;Peterson 和 Krivo 2010)。因此,综合社区是设想取消种族隔离的有益影响的关键测试案例。学者们已经衡量了整合如何塑造与流动相关的结果,尤其是跨领域社会联系的频率和强度(Chaskin 和 Joseph 2010;Putnam 2007;de Souza Briggs 1998)。不幸的是,学者们一致发现,跨领域的联系在不同的社区中往往相对稀有和脆弱。障碍之一是犯罪。对犯罪的恐惧会造成不信任,使白人和黑人居民分开,从而阻碍持久关系和信任的发展(Anderson 1990;Chaskin 和 Joseph 2010)。基于对 14 个不同社区的比较研究,菲利普·尼登、迈克尔·马利和约翰·卢克哈特 (1997:509-10) 认为“因为更广泛的社会普遍持有的看法(由长期存在的种族主义助长)认为少数族裔会转化为犯罪,”综合社区对犯罪非常敏感。2 做事
更新日期:2017-02-28
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