Scaling the Mountain: How White People Climb Ahead in Burdensome Bureaucratic Systems

• In Event: Racial and Ethnic Minorities Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table Eleven: Open Topics on Race and Racism

Abstract

How do racially uneven outcomes remain persistent in otherwise ‘color-blind’ state bureaucratic processes? In this paper, I argue that they are in part a result of the racialized forms of capital available to white people. Thus, where other perspectives focus on the factors that keep people of color down, I reorient the conversation toward the hegemonic privileges of whiteness. I observe these processes through a case study examination of commercial permitting in New Orleans, wherein business owners must obtain licensing from City Hall before engaging in legal commerce. I draw on 92 semi-structured interviews with small business owners and others involved in the commercial permitting process, focusing on their experiences in navigating city bureaucracy as they attempted to achieve and maintain legal compliance. Experiences of administrative burden within the commercial permitting process were common in my interviews – across racial groups. And, the risk of administrative hurdles is that they can lead to denial, disengagement, or costly delays for business owners. My white interviewees, however, were often better able to overcome administrative burdens and avoid these delays or denials in ways that my interviewees of color often could not. They did this by relying on two racialized resources: economic capital and social capital. For instance, white entrepreneurs more often boasted social connections to local power brokers like City Councilmembers who could quickly resolve permitting jams. Sometimes, Black business owners relied on third parties – like hired land use consultants – to broker access to these advantages. While third parties can sometimes help to bridge racial gaps, they may exacerbate intra-racial class divisions or place other demands on business owners.

Author

• AJ Golio, Tulane University