The War on “Crime” and "Disorder": Mayor Adams, Media, and Reproducing White Supremacy

• In Event: The Role of Institutional Claims-Makers in Shaping Public Narratives About Crime and Safety

Abstract

This paper aims to map out the operation of power in the white supremacist context of the United States by employing the case study of Mayor Eric Adams and his war on "crime" and "disorder" in the City of New York. The following analysis centers Adams' efforts to "clean up" the city as the most recent Mayor and his relationship with local New York media across three "problem populations": the homeless, men of color, and, immigrant asylum seekers. Through a thematic content analysis of media and NYPD crime data, the study reveals a punitive cultural discourse of racism and criminalization that is necessary for a white supremacist social order that markets "law" and "order". This study thus raises questions of power, civil liberties, and democratic projects in the face of growing authoritarian social patterns.

Author

• Omar Montana, St. John's University