Forcible Social Displacement in the African American Historical Experience

• In Event: 40461 - Section on Sociology of Law Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 5: Discrimination and Displacement

Abstract

Forcible Social Displacement refers to both the name of this project as well as the theoretical backbone of it. Predicated on Pierre Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory, FSD argues that social inequality is generated artificially, as opposed to cyclically, and functions to affirm the means of stratification through the interactions between authority and subordinate. This research is aimed at examining the phenomenon of authoritative self-sustenance through the proposed theory of forcible social displacement, defined as: the event in which an authoritative entity gives legitimacy to itself, cementing its position and right to hold said position. This is done through an interrogation of slave codes in the United States, specifically from the text The American Slave Code in Theory and Practice by William Goodell. This anthology of slave codes will be the primary object of analysis in ascertaining the authority/subordinate dynamic between White and Black people in the antebellum United States and understanding how the nuance of that dynamic allowed it to exist in near perpetuity. Specifically, this research is invested in exploring the following question: “How do the various components of Forcible Social Displacement manifest when used as a lens to examine the African American experience within the context of various portions of American History?”.

Author

• Marq Riggins, Morehouse College