The Counterpublic Papers vol. 4 no. 19

I’ve been going to the Midwest Political Science Association conference off and on for the last twenty years or so. I’ve gone from being the young graduate student in need of a job to someone closer to the end than the beginning.

If we look at the history of the study of race in politics over the last several years we’ve gone through significant shift. Even before the election of Obama on one hand and Trump on the other we’ve recognized that race plays an important role in politics both as a factor that shapes it and as something it shapes.

(Funny story. My dad did one of those genetic “what the hell are you” type tests. My DNA summary looks something like this: 27% Cameroon, Congo and Southern Bantu Peoples; 24% Benin/Togo; 18% Ireland and Scotland; 13% Mali; 12% Ivory Coast…and then some other stuff. Now while on the one hand this not only fits what I thought more or less, this also fits what I “wanted”, as I’ve always had a not-so-secret affinity for Ireland and Scotland…on the other hand this is a huge scam. I was talking to a couple of my friends at the conference and they ended up independently bringing up their own results. I guess once you put your results in, they don’t just remain in a database to be accessed later, they are consistently analyzed. So one of my friends received results that suggested her percentages broke down one way and then approximately three months later received a set of results from the same firm that suggested a different breakdown. Her “ethnicity assessment” actually changed over time. While one could suggest that perhaps we’re looking at a case of improved estimation over time that gets more precise as their technology improves part of me thinks that what we’re really looking at is a massive random number generator that assigns you criterion based on how the wind blows, whether the grand rapids griffins won, and whether it happens to be raining in Kampala.)

While it is still possible, likely even, for a political science department to not offer classes in race and politics, they mostly acknowledge that gap as a real one.

But the problem is that we’ve primarily studied racial politics from an attitudinal standpoint. What types of attitudes do people hold about different racial groups? Have those attitudes changed over time? What causes them? We get something from this, don’t get me wrong. As it relates specifically to the issue of criminal justice, knowing how people think about different racial groups can help us understand how prosecutors end up throwing the book at certain groups of people while taking a drastically different approach when it comes to others. And it can definitely help us understand why a black kid with a Snickers in his hand is far more likely (compared to his white counterpart) to: a) be viewed as a full fledged adult; b) to be viewed as a gun wielding threat.

But attitudes only get us so far.

As long as police departments in places like Ferguson are used to extract revenue from poorer populations to make up for diminished municipal resources, as long as police departments in places like Baltimore are used as tools of social control, I’d suggest that to an extent attitudes don’t matter. Political economy matters. Institutions matter.

….

I didn’t know Nipsey Hussle’s work although I had heard of him. He was murdered last week over a conversation gone wrong.

If I were to update Stare in the Darkness for the modern moment, I’d probably substantively update it to take someone like Hussle into account, someone who doesn’t just care about black folk in the abstract, or as a way to build a brand. He wasn’t supposed to be at his store when he was murdered but was there trying to help Kerry Lathan who’d just been let out of prison. He’d committed to hiring men returning from prison as well as the homeless. And he’d planned to create a 100-unit affordable housing development among other things. He wasn’t JayZ, and while they both shared a neoliberal outlook, Hussle’s was far more rooted.   

(Because Hussle was at the time of his death still listed as a gang member in California’s gang database, Lathan—who was the first person shot in the Hussle murder—was briefly in danger of going back to jail because of parole violation. Only after public outcry—Barack Obama was one of the many to offer condolences in the wake of Hussle’s murder—was Lathan’s “violation” dismissed.)

One of the things about attitudes worth studying in this case is how malleable they are depending on the context. What I mean is this—I’m willing to bet a lot of people who supported Hussle and his work are against the carceral state while simultaneously being for severely punishing the brother responsible for his murder.

….

The FBI raided Mayor Cathy Pugh’s home last week, as it looks as if she exchanged contrasts and other privileges for purchases of her “Healthy Holly” books. The University of Maryland Medical System CEO has been forced out as a result of the scandal.

In an interview after Pugh vetoed minimum wage legislation that she promised she would support if elected, Pugh purportedly said “it’s not like I swore on a whole stack of bibles” that she’d support the legislation after elected.

There’s a lot about that statement that says not just where Baltimore is politically speaking, but where we are politically in general.

There wasn’t an institutional apparatus that kept Pugh from going against the will of her constituents. It’s tragic, because the institutional apparatus that would’ve forced Pugh to vote for what was clearly in the best interests of the people who live in the city, would’ve likely protected Pugh from herself.

With the last election we came a step closer to a far more progressive government than we’d had. With the next election just about a year away I think we still need to think about what type of institutional structures we can create to hold institutions and individuals accountable.

….

Do me a favor? So as part of my fifty is the new fifty tour I’m raising money for Research Associates Foundation. It’s a left micro-grant foundation that serves Baltimore, and I’ve been on its board for the past several years now. I’m trying to raise $100 for every year of life. For those on FB, here’s a link.  For those NOT on FB, here’s a link. Given what’s going on now I’ve never been more convinced of its value.

If you’re around on Tuesday, come to the Baltimore Student Film Showcase. I’m hosting. Should be a blast. Great work. A new Baltimore is possible.

I teach two more classes tomorrow and then I’m off for the next year. Can’t come soon enough. Maybe next time I see you I’ll write about why.

Keep your head up. Even though it’s Winter in Chicago and Detroit…in most other places Spring is finally coming.