Bodies out of Place: Theorizing Anti-blackness in U.S. Society (Sociology of Race and Ethnicity)

Bodies out of Place asserts that anti-Black racism is not better than it used to be; it is just performed in more-nuanced ways. Barbara Harris Combs argues that racism is dynamic, so new theories are needed to help expose it. The Bodies-out-of-Place (BOP) theory she advances in the book offers such a corrective lens. Interrogating several recent racialized events―the Central Park birding incident, the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, sleeping while Black occurrences, and others―Combs demonstrates how the underlying belief that undergirds each encounter is a false presumption that Black bodies in certain contexts are out of place. Within these examples she illustrates how, even amid professions to color-blindness, fixed attitudes about where Black bodies belong, in what positions, at what time, and with whom still predominate. Combs describes a long historical pattern of White pushback against Black advancement and illuminates how each of the various forms of pushback is aimed at social control and regulation of Black bodies. She describes overt and covert attempts to push Black bodies back into their presumed place in U.S. society. While the pushback takes many forms, each works to paint a narrative to justify, rationalize, and excuse continuing violence against Black bodies. Equally important, Combs celebrates the resilient Black agency that has resisted this subjugation. "In Combs's own words, "Racism is dynamic, and because of its changing and adaptable nature, we need new theories to help elucidate it. Therefore, it is extreme error to try to understand contemporary acts of violence against black bodies by solely employing historical methods and theories." This book introduces a theoretical framework called Bodies out of Place (BOP) useful to explain continuing acts of violence against black bodies. The book extends the theory's application from political acts of violence to emotional and physical acts. In Bodies out of Place, Combs argues that underexplored cognitive (i.e., learned) aspects of place (both as a physical/geographical and social/relational idea about where people belong, especially in relation to others) are essential for understanding not only race relations in general but also the continuing assault against black bodies in America"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Part I. Connecting the Dots Chapter 1. Testify Chapter 2. This I Believe: The New Social Order Is the Old Social Order Chapter 3. The Pushback Part II. BOP Frames Chapter 4. The Historical Fear Factor Chapter 5. Presumed Criminal Chapter 6. Massah Has Spoken Chapter 7. You Don’t Belong Here! Chapter 8. It’s All White Space Part III. Do You See What I See? Chapter 9. The Weight Chapter 10. Sincere Ignorance and Conscientious Stupidity Chapter 11. Policy Matters Chapter 12. Tell “the Story”: Lest We Forget Notes Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y Z