African American Conspiracy Theories and the Social Construction of Crime*
- 1 July 1995
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Sociological Inquiry
- Vol. 65 (3-4) , 265-285
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682x.1995.tb00417.x
Abstract
This article examines conspiracy theories about crime, drugs, and violence expressed by African American residents of Boston, Massachusetts. The theories attribute crime and violence to the clandestine actions of powerful whites. The data upon which the article is based were gathered in a series of peer group discussions among participants in neighborhood crime watch groups. The article describes the prevalence of the conspiracy theories in the sample of peer group discussions. It also advances arguments to explain why the theories persist and why they tend to be expressed in vague and multiple forms.This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- Policing the Ghetto Underclass: The Politics of Law and Law EnforcementSocial Problems, 1994
- I Heard It Through the GrapevinePublished by University of California Press ,1993
- Victims Still: The Political Manipulation of Crime VictimsPublished by SAGE Publications ,1993
- Common KnowledgePublished by University of Chicago Press ,1992
- Media Discourse and Public Opinion on Nuclear Power: A Constructionist ApproachAmerican Journal of Sociology, 1989
- The 1987 Distinguished Lecture: A Constructionist Approach to Mass Media and Public OpinionSymbolic Interaction, 1988
- Church's Fried Chicken and The Klan: A Rhetorical Analysis of Rumor in the Black CommunityWestern Folklore, 1987
- Attribution, Salience, and Attitudes toward Criminal SanctioningCriminal Justice and Behavior, 1985