Murder Town, USA
Homicide, Structural Violence, and Activism in Wilmington
By Brooklynn K. Hitchens, Darryl L. Chambers, Yasser Arafat Payne | Publisher: Rutgers University Press
About the book
Far too many poor Black communities struggle with gun violence and homicide. The result has been the unnatural contortion of Black families and the inter-generational perpetuation of social chaos and untimely death. Young people are repeatedly ripped away from life by violence, while many men are locked away in prisons. In neighborhoods like those of Wilmington, Delaware, residents routinely face the pressures of violence, death, and incarceration. Murder Town, USA is thus a timely ethnography with an innovative structure: the authors helped organize fifteen residents formerly involved with the streets and/or the criminal justice system to document the relationship between structural opportunity and experiences with violence in Wilmington's Eastside and Southbridge neighborhoods.
Earlier scholars offered rich cultural analysis of violence in low-income Black communities, and yet this literature has mostly conceptualized violence through frameworks of personal responsibility or individual accountability. And even if acknowledging the pressure of structural inequality, most earlier researchers describe violence as the ultimate result of some moral failing, a propensity for crime, and the notion of helplessness. Instead, in Murder Town USA, Payne, Hitchens, and Chamber, along with their collaborative team of street ethnographers, instead offer a radical re-conceptualization of violence in low-income Black communities by describing the penchant for violence and involvement in crime overall to be a logical, \"resilient\" response to the perverse context of structural inequality.
Editions of Murder Town, USA
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781978817364
- EBook
- ISBN 9781978817388
- PDF
- ISBN 9781978817401
Read an Excerpt
Far too many poor Black communities struggle with gun violence and homicide. The result has been the unnatural contortion of Black families and the inter-generational perpetuation of social chaos and untimely death. Young people are repeatedly ripped away from life by violence, while many men are locked away in prisons. In neighborhoods like those of Wilmington, Delaware, residents routinely face the pressures of violence, death, and incarceration. Murder Town, USA is thus a timely ethnography with an innovative structure: the authors helped organize fifteen residents formerly involved with the streets and/or the criminal justice system to document the relationship between structural opportunity and experiences with violence in Wilmington's Eastside and Southbridge neighborhoods.
Earlier scholars offered rich cultural analysis of violence in low-income Black communities, and yet this literature has mostly conceptualized violence through frameworks of personal responsibility or individual accountability. And even if acknowledging the pressure of structural inequality, most earlier researchers describe violence as the ultimate result of some moral failing, a propensity for crime, and the notion of helplessness. Instead, in Murder Town USA, Payne, Hitchens, and Chamber, along with their collaborative team of street ethnographers, instead offer a radical re-conceptualization of violence in low-income Black communities by describing the penchant for violence and involvement in crime overall to be a logical, \"resilient\" response to the perverse context of structural inequality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Murder Town, USA about?
Far too many poor Black communities struggle with gun violence and homicide. The result has been the unnatural contortion of Black families and the inter-generational perpetuation of social chaos and untimely death. Young people are repeatedly ripped away from life by violence, while many men are locked away in prisons. In neighborhoods like those of Wilmington, Delaware, residents routinely face the pressures of violence, death, and incarceration. Murder Town, USA is thus a timely ethnography with an innovative structure: the authors helped organize fifteen residents formerly involved with the streets and/or the criminal justice system to document the relationship between structural opportunity and experiences with violence in Wilmington's Eastside and Southbridge neighborhoods.
Earlier scholars offered rich cultural analysis of violence in low-income Black communities, and yet this literature has mostly conceptualized violence through frameworks of personal responsibility or individual accountability. And even if acknowledging the pressure of structural inequality, most earlier researchers describe violence as the ultimate result of some moral failing, a propensity for crime, and the notion of helplessness. Instead, in Murder Town USA, Payne, Hitchens, and Chamber, along with their collaborative team of street ethnographers, instead offer a radical re-conceptualization of violence in low-income Black communities by describing the penchant for violence and involvement in crime overall to be a logical, \"resilient\" response to the perverse context of structural inequality.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Murder Town, USA?
Society and Social Sciences > Social services and welfare, criminology > Crime and criminology
Where can I read a sample of Murder Town, USA?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781978817364
Is Murder Town, USA part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series Critical Issues in Crime and Society
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Murder Town, USA?
Brooklynn K. Hitchens, Darryl L. Chambers, Yasser Arafat Payne
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Murder Town, USA is available as paperback(ISBN 9781978817364) and ebook(ISBN 9781978817388) and pdf(ISBN 9781978817401)
Where can I buy Murder Town, USA online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Murder Town, USA from below
Where can I buy Murder Town, USA?