NCJ Number
82467
Editor(s)
C U Daly
Date Published
1969
Length
79 pages
Annotation
A series of papers outlines the history of violence in U.S. cities, discusses how it differs today from that of the past, examines the psychological basis of the urban revolt, and considers some political and social strategies for change.
Abstract
The history of violence in American cities can be traced to ethnic differences, labor-management conflict, and more recently to racial discrimination. While various urban ethnic groups have assimilated into normative American society and labor-management conflicts are resolved under specialized law, urban violence stemming from racial discrimination from the past and in the present is still with us. From the time of their forced transport to this country, blacks have been conditioned to accept and submit to dehumanizing roles that have nurtured repressed anger, self-hatred, and dependence. Social and economic discrimination have segregated blacks in urban areas where limited educational services and employment opportunities perpetuate lives of poverty, crime, and victimization. The repressed anger and sense of hopelessness has periodically erupted into riots. The defusing of urban violence require political, social, and economic strategies that will give blacks extensive control over the forces that affect their environment and the socioeconomic circumstances that impact their lives. Only as the dominant socioeconomic and political structures affirm the worth of persons through what they contribute to the economy and positive cultural values, without reference to race, will blacks move from postures of self-hate and repressed anger, which inevitably feed violent behavior. Footnotes accompany each presentation.