Book Review: On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City Jaleesa Reed University of Georgia Book Review: On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City is a fascinating ethnography that seeks to expose and unpack the everyday lives of African American men living in Philadelphia. The author, Alice Goffman, examines the lives of these men who are “on the run” not only from the laws that seek to restrict their lives, but also from their own identities that have become synonymous with outstanding warrants, prison time, and running. Like ethnographers before her, Goffman immerses herself in the lives of her informants. Her study reveals the oppressive nature of neoliberal America and urges …show more content…
In Goffman’s book, these themes are represented in her chapter titles. First, in “The 6th Street Boys and Their Legal Entanglements,” Goffman describes the types of legal troubles the men are frequently involved in. The most common offenses were outstanding warrants for small reasons such as “failure to appear for a court date” or delinquent “court fines and fees” (Goffman, 2014, p. 18). The more serious technical warrants were issued for probation or parole violations such as drinking or breaking curfew. Most of Goffman’s legal analysis focused on outstanding warrants and the men’s reaction, or desire, to stay out of jail. To accomplish this, the men are forced to participate and train others in “The Art of Running.” In this chapter, Goffman depicts the constant cat and mouse game of running for freedom as a community interaction. A successful run is the accomplishment of many, not just the wanted man. From the neighbor who notifies him, to the church friend that hides him in her closet three blocks away, the community does what it can to protect their young men. Not all men are successful, some are caught and for most, running is only one form of
In 1973, Clifford Geertz- an American anthropologist- authored The Interpretation of Cultures, in which he defines culture as a context that behaviors and processes can be described from. His work, particularly this one, has come to be fundamental in the anthropological field, especially for symbolic anthropology-study of the role of symbols in a society- and an understanding of “thick description”-human behavior described such that it has meaning to an outsider of the community it originated. Alice Goffman is an American sociologist and ethnographer widely-known for her work, On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City (2015). In this work, she relays how for her undergraduate and doctoral research project, she immersed herself in a predominately African-American community of Philadelphia as a white, privileged woman. Goffman goes on the explain how the frequent policing and incarceration of young, black men from this neighborhood affects the entire community and even affected Goffman herself.
How culture unconsciously harms Always Running, by Luis J. Rodriguez, was written as an autobiography about his experience growing up as a first generation Mexican American in the 1960s and 70s in Los Angeles. During this same period of time, the second wave of feminism took place, which sought equal rights, freedom and more opportunities for women. Despite this, the main character Luis, is unconsciously informed through his cultural patriarchal influences to objectify women– causing harm to both the women he interacts with and also to himself. The main form in which Luis objectifies women is by splintering.
David Feige is no stranger to the system. His book is merely a condensed version of the reality behind both life in the Bronx and life in the criminal justice system. It becomes apparent very early on that one is doomed, even when given a decent judge. Feige basically condemns the system for virtual inability to win.
Although Basil was raised in a loving and nurturing home, eventually he turned his back on his mother. Basil was Mattie’s life, when Basil was arrested for manslaughter Mattie offered her home as bond to post Basil’s’ bail. Basil was released from jail pending his upcoming trial. One night, he left his mother’s home and never returned. Mattie refused to accept Basil’s abandonment; she avoided areas of the house that indicated his absence.
At the beginning of the article “They Call Me Dr. Ore,” Ersula J. Ore asserts that “battling an epistemological system that assumes me always already “out of place” is a constitutive feature of my lived experience and, thus, a chief component of my rhetorical situation” (1). This assumption of being “out-of-place” affects many marginalized individuals (particularly African American women) in academia and everyday spaces, but the distinct ways people like Ore understand and address their rhetorical situations reveal not only successful rhetorical strategies but also the complicated design of their public ethos. Likewise, Ida B. Wells’ autobiography Crusade for Justice exemplifies these lessons in rhetorical strategies. By analyzing Wells’ developing
The book On the Run by Alice Goffman narrates six years Goffman spent hanging out in a black poor neighborhood of West Philadelphia that she calls 6th Street. During her stay there, she became friends with a group of resident young men, and got to know their surroundings such as girlfriends and family members. This experience in this disadvantaged neighborhood pushed her to write this book where she describes the neighborhood’s conditions, the violence encountered by the police and the residents, and the injustices of the criminal justice system. The book’s primary argument is that the continuous threat of surveillance and continuous investigations that lead to the arrest and imprisonment of young people did great harm to 6th Street, turning many of its residents into
We live in a society where ethnic minorities are target for every minimal action and/or crimes, which is a cause to be sentenced up to 50 years in jail. African Americans and Latinos are the ethnic minorities with highest policing crimes. In chapter two of Michelle Alexander’s book, The Lockdown, we are exposed to the different “crimes” that affects African American and Latino minorities. The criminal justice system is a topic discussed in this chapter that argues the inequality that people of color as well as other Americans are exposed to not knowing their rights. Incarceration rates, unreasonable suspicions, and pre-texts used by officers are things that play a huge role in encountering the criminal justice system, which affects the way
Resulting in deaths of black people of all ages. The stereotypes that portray black people as dangerous and savage has persisted decades after its creation and now more than ever even though its results aren’t the same and slavery has been abolished black people continue to suffer the consequences in various forms. From being afraid of black people because they seem suspicious, to believing that the victim of this whole situation are the dangerous ones when in reality they were part of such vile and very well planned atrocity to cover the real criminals of taking over the world. I am of course not saying that white people are all criminals and do not intend to say that whites are the ones that should be suffering all the misfortunes that black
“Black Men and Public Spaces” Diagnostic Essay Brent Staples in “Black Men and Public Spaces,” illustrates the inescapable prejudices and stereotyping that African-American men face in America. He does this by relating to his audience through his personal experiences with stereotyping, and sharing his malcontent on how these events have made him alter his way of living. From “victimizing” woman, watching people lock themselves away, and having to whistle classical music to calm the nerves of people around him; Staples builds a picture to help people better sympathize and understand his frustration. Although Staples describes himself as a college graduate, a journalist, and a softy in the face of violence, he details that the overall public deems him a dangerous criminal.
In his essay, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space”, Brent Staples uses the rhetorical strategies of anecdote and diction in order to convey his message that due to racial discrimination black people (mainly men) have to change the way they naturally conduct themselves in public for they run the risk of something terrible happening to them. Staples uses anecdotes to bring in the personal side of the message to the audience. Staples creates a persona of innocence and almost alienation in his writing. Anecdotes such as his both instances in which he accidently scared women on walks and the time in which he and another reporter were mistaken for murder suspects or robbers are used to show real life proof of his message.
In a “post-racial” society, the notion of race becomes irrelevant in the regular intercourse of society. However, race still plays a major in modern society even though suggests that race should be part of the past. This inability to recognize race in the regular intercourse of life creates an inability to recognize the faults of institutions – including the police and legal system – that perpetuate structural disadvantages for people of color. Michelle Alexanders shines a light on these disadvantages that occurred as a result of race and continued to be seen today in a “post-racial society.” By turning a blind eye to race, the legal system, police system, and government can take advantage of communities of color.
In her book, On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City, Alice Goffman provides a detailed account of the six years she spent living in and observing a poor, predominantly African American neighborhood in Philadelphia. This community, which she refers to as “6th Street,” directly experienced the immediate effects of mass incarceration in the United States. Thus, that reality caused 6th Street residents to shape their actions, socialization, customs and norms to avoid the police while simultaneously maintaining behaviors––that would otherwise be considered criminal––to survive in a rough and unforgiving environment. To further explore and to try to understand the conditions 6th Street inhabitants faced, Goffman conducted ethnographical research
Synthesis Research Paper Everyday growing up as a young black male we have a target on our back. Society was set out for black males not to succeed in life. I would always hear my dad talk about how police in his younger days would roam around the town looking for people to arrest or get into an altercation with. As a young boy growing up I couldn’t believe some of the things he said was happening. However as I got older I would frequently hear about someone getting killed by the police force.
In The Meaning of Freedom, activist Angela Davis critiques the plausibility of democracy and collective freedom in the United States. By examining parallels between slavery and the carceral state, Davis contends that the two systems mutually characterize black people as disposable and compels them to incapacitation. Focusing on the two oppressive systems’ reliance on the maintenance of ignorance, Davis discusses how this ignorance is connected to America’s dominant sentiments of capitalism and self-interest, which, altogether, perpetuate cycles of abuse that disproportionately harm communities of color and lower-class peoples. As a result, this propels the creation of social hierarchies which, because it inherently cultivates inequalities, causes America’s classification as a “democracy” to be impossible.
Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a slow read. It is about two slaves named Isabel and Ruth set during the revolutionary war. Their owner, Miss Mary Finch, promised them freedom when she died. Before they girls could leave Miss Finches plantation upon her death, her nephew claimed the girls and resold them into slavery. They were sold to a british merchant couple in New York.