In our final class, we reflected on the Boyles reading and connected themes from this reading to themes from the entire semester. I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion. Our discussion about black heterogeneity really stuck out to me. Boyles went to great lengths to make clear the heterogeneity of black identity. This goes all the way back to our talk about black heterogeneity while discussing W.E.B. DuBois. It is concerning that issues of black homogeneity still exist today and that we can relate to DuBois’s emphasis on black heterogeneity even today. It concerns me that people today still categorize people of color in one group and the issues it creates within a minority group. For example, middle and upper black people try to distinguish themselves from lower class black people so they themselves are not seen as “dirty” or as “criminals.”
The idea of riots as a concept of place making also intrigued me in our discussion on Wednesday. This raises the questions: who has rights to the city? In my opinion, the residents have the rights to the city and it is the job of city officials and law enforcement to meet the needs of these residents. Instead, what we see in the case of Ferguson is that the police hyper police the residents, most of whom are black residents, by being unnecessarily rough and implementing rules such as the five second rule. Instead of policing to protect residents and to gain their trust, residents lose faith in their law enforcement and see them as enemies. In class we talked about hyper policing and the broken windows theory, which is highly relevant in the case of Ferguson. Ferguson is a poor suburb with a majority black population, therefore there are plenty of broken windows, per say. According to this theory, the destruction makes Ferguson seem like an unsafe place, which relates to the hyper policing in the neighborhood. Hyper policing makes residents feel as though they do not have control or claim over their own neighborhood and make them feel as if they are constantly doing something wrong. Therefore, rioting is a way for residents to take claim to their own neighborhood by destroying it.
In class, we contemplated whether rioting is, in a sense, an example of a pop up. Pops up occur spontaneously and riots, in a sense, do as well. In the case of Ferguson, the riots that followed were spontaneous after Mike Brown’s death. All it took was a spark, one more unjust death, for the people to take the streets. I can’t help to compare the spontaneity of the Ferguson riots to the calculating planning of the Civil Rights Movement. For example, the arrest of Rosa Parks was a calculated decision on behalf of Dr. King. The arrest served as a spark for the Montgomery bus boycotts, just as Mike Brown’s death was a spark for the Ferguson protests. Dr. King theorized that riots occur because the people feel unheard and have no other option but to resort to violent protest. The people of Ferguson felt unheard by their officials and attacked by the police, ultimately leading in violent protest.
I agree that riots give citizens a right to the city by engaging in a form of DIY urbanism. This practice allows citizens to change the city much as Douglas describes. They do so physically, by altering the landscape through sometimes destructive measures, but these actions also take on a more symbolic form. By asserting their beliefs about necessary changes to be made in their community, rioters fill in the gaps where institutions have failed them and exert decision-making power much as DIY urbanists do. Thus, rioting serves as a powerful means of place making.
I agree with your thoughts on riots and people’s fight for their space. I think it is a powerful tool many POC communities feel is the best way to speak up and fight to end injustice. The issue stems back to more rooted inherent racism within black communities. If a neighborhood has more police officers roaming around, it makes people feel unsettled, and as if the neighborhood itself is not safe, why else would there be so many cops? Rarely, do we see multiple police cars roaming suburban streets or police officers stationed in certain areas. With that, there is a stereotype that black neighborhoods are more dangerous than white neighborhoods, but I think that has more to do with the overload of police officers stationed throughout black neighborhoods. Especially because of the history between black communities and police officers black people probably feel more apprehensive walking around their neighborhood in fear of taking the wrong step, or saying the wrong thing and ending up like Michael Brown.
I agree wholeheartedly with your statement that residents have the right to the city and that city officials and law enforcement should ensure that the needs of residents are met. However, in many of our class discussions we have talked about how power structures impose challenges to residents being able to truly take command of their cities. Some of these include the lack of agency that residents have in making decisions regarding what developments are made in their cities, their ability to inhabit and own space, and the ways in which they are confined to certain areas within their cities. If residents were truly integrated into the decision making processes in their cities, and felt that they were well represented and heard, I feel that many of these issues that we discuss in class would not be as pressing.
I am intrigued by your question, as it bring up whether or not rioting is a destined place making strategy or not. Do those who riot believe they have a right to that space? Does that make them part of a community? I think that the residents certainly have a right to their city especially in the case of Ferguson. This collective efficacy defines the group and I would consider this to fall under the Relative Deprivation Theory, which focuses on the actions of oppressed groups who seek rights and opportunities that are already enjoyed by others in society.
I thought the Ferguson piece was especially effective in its unpacking of the rise in police militarization and its community-shaping effects. Ferguson is of course an example of this not just through the overall heightened policy in the period leading up to Michael Brown’s death, but then the militarized, riot-preventing efforts following the shooting itself. The way the book described the show of force as almost antagonistic and showboat-like sums this up for me. The state has always held the right to justified violence, but they do little to hide this monopolistic reality these days. While its spun as prevention through intimidation, the reality is that police officers dressed as soldiers with assault rifles and military vehicles isn’t the best way to calm tensions.
I agree with your statement that the residents have the right to the city, and it is the job of city officials and law enforcement to meet the needs of the residents. I think it is an extremely intriguing point that you brought up at the end of your blog post with the Civil Rights Movement. I think that the comparison to the beginning of the Ferguson Riots were sparked by Brown’s death and the calculated Civil Rights Movement was sparked by Martha Parks arrest. These two events couldn’t have been planned but both resulted in similar results of residents attempting to be heard. The ability for a community to come together is demonstrated in gatherings like these.
Mani and others- The class discussion focused on whether or not rioting is an example of a pop up really stood out to me, especially after discussing pop ups in a previous class as often “trendy”, temporary spaces. I would not think of riots as “trendy” in anywhere near the same way that I would think of something like a pop up bar. Upon more thinking, however, protests and marches have become more and more common and participated in, and advertised and shown especially through social media. Movements take off and spread outside the boundaries of a geographic communities. Ones that come to mind are pride marches, anti-gun violence marches, and women’s marches. In the case of Ferguson and other violent riots, violence always seems to catch the most attention of officials, cities, and governments.