Abstract
You Can’t Stop the Revolution: Community Disorder and Social Ties in Post-Ferguson America by Andrea Boyles chronicles a 3-year ethnographic field study conducted during the years following Michael Brown’s murder. The study included a total of 125 participants distributed among three separate groups: protestors, in-depth interviewees, and focus group participants. Specifically, Dr. Boyles talked to 75 protestors, conducted 41 in-depth interviews, and oversaw two focus groups with four and five participants, respectively.
Boyles identifies “post-Ferguson” as beginning with the “removal of Brown’s body” from the scene and further characterizes it as “the initial call to action among protestors within the inner crime scene and all ensuing forms of direct action thereafter” (p. 14). The ensuing community disorder sparked by the shooting and its effects provided Boyles with a unique opportunity to chronicle Black lives as they are shaped in real time by systemic neglect and injustice.
This project utilized post-Ferguson as a template for approaching social justice amid racially motivated mistreatment and poor social conditions. Boyles identifies these factors as catalysts in Brown’s murder, stating, “Civil unrest in Ferguson and throughout the STL metropolitan area had already been on the horizon, it was just a matter of time until it exploded.” Her work in this book also focused on the transformation of the Black community “post-Ferguson,” as it serves to counter negative perceptions propagated by the actions of some Black protestors following Brown’s murder.
In an attempt to acquaint the reader with the scene as it was that day and substantiate community member sentiments, the introduction includes a graphic depiction of the incidents immediately following Brown’s slaying. Although her intention was to chronicle the unfolding events, Boyles soon finds herself in the middle of a new movement of Black empowerment. Its enemy is a reconceptualized version of the disorder that incorporates social and physical chaos as they pertain to the Black community, and the results of this disorder are the oppression and abuse of Black citizens by police and other Black community members.
The first chapter opens with a portrayal of solidarity from Boyles’ childhood, underscoring the ability to experience unity amid social disarray. Boyles then attacks persistent negative perceptions about Blackness. She investigates the roots of Black plight, identifying “White-fear” as a significant factor leading to disproportionate victimization. She also explains that victim-blaming and identity politics utilized by the dominant class result in the thwarting of efforts for change and betterment within impoverished Black communities.
Following this chapter, Boyles expounds on her reconceptualization of disorder based on a post-Ferguson template. She argues that the term is defined subjectively and that the current definition reflects that offered by the White, dominant class. Boyles instead tailors the operationalization based on culture and finds that the concept was initially limited in its ability to account for (dis)order. She contends that a racial component is essential in the reformation and asserts that racial discrimination should be accounted for as a form of disorder. Boyles then turns her attention to protest communities, insisting their relationship to order be examined. Poor relationships with police and scarcity of community resources due to discrimination result in an attempt by Black citizens to fill the gaps by protecting and serving one another. She explains that through community efficacy, neighborhoods are regulated, and community leaders are established to combat disorder.
Despite previously mentioned poor police–community relations, Boyles found that community members expressed a desire to be protected by the police rather than resentment of them. She also provides insight into heightened responses to police brutality contrasted against the less intense responses to interpersonal violence. Black community members revealed that they implemented informal integration to form alliances and thereby protect and look out for each other.
Chapter 3 provides a contrast between the formation of informal alliances among community members and the formal expectations placed on police. Highlighting this focus, the author asked whether community members believed curbing police brutality and interpersonal violence within the community were equally important. Those involved in the protests unanimously answered “yes,” while those uninvolved only answered “yes” about 70% of the time. There were, however, 41 respondents who were not involved in the protests as opposed to only 9 who were. Collectively, community responses pointed toward mistrust as an intrinsic function of Blackness.
While reviewing various focus group discussions among Black community members on their responsibility to act, Boyles alludes to “exhaustion” as one of the barriers to “acting.” She implies that some disadvantaged community members could be so tired of fighting the everyday battles of discrimination and systemic oppression that they have no energy left for the political fights. She also highlights Black people’s lack of “power,” conceptualized as the ability to influence cultural disorder by advancing socioeconomic goals and manipulating the political landscape. Boyles recounts the redemptive stories of three Black men focusing on their ability to reclaim power over their lives despite overwhelming systemic adversity. She highlights their ability to integrate themselves as productive community members and, as Chapter 5 explains, assume roles in the community, whether formal or informal.
Boyles’ account of post-Ferguson provides context with meticulous detail. Interview responses are presented in an authentic dialect, coupled with esoteric explanations. New terms and reconstructed definitions are introduced (e.g., neighborhood Marshalls, (dis)order, social control, respectability, unhousing), and while they are well explained, they are numerous. Therefore, this book would be best suited for advanced readers with a knowledge of social science research, looking to dive deeply into the nuances regarding Black communities and social disorder. Also, due to the rigorous research design, this book could serve as supplemental material for a graduate-level research methods course or graduate seminar courses focused on race and crime.