Abstract

• Discusses several 'peculiar institutions' defining, confining, and controlling African-Americans in U.S. history.

  • Chattel Slavery: From colonial era to Civil War.

  • Jim Crow System: Enforced segregation in the South post-Reconstruction until Civil Rights revolution.

  • Ghetto: Area of confinement for African-Americans in the northern industrial cities until the 1960s.

  • Prison System: Became the new institutional complex after the decline of the ghetto, addressing a supernumerous population viewed as deviant.

Key Themes

• Ghetto and Prison as Institutions of Control:

  • Both serve as forms of forced confinement aimed at neutralizing the social threats posed by marginalized groups.

  • Ghetto (social prison) and prison (judicial ghetto) share similar functions in maintaining racial and class divisions.

Historical Context

• Slavery:

  • A malleable institution aimed at labor extraction and maintenance of racial caste.

  • Establishment of a racial caste line between black and white.

• Jim Crow Laws:

  • Codified racial segregation and submission of African-Americans through social and legal codes.

  • Maintained social distances and economic dependency on white society.

• Great Migration:

  • Migration of African-Americans from the South to Northern industrial cities seeking economic opportunities.

  • Disappointment as new ghettos emerged, limiting social mobility and equality.

Evolution of Institutions

• By the 1970s, the ghetto's function evolved with increased economic marginalization and racial tensions.

• The Prison System's Rise:

  • Viewed as a solution to the challenges posed by the eroding ghetto and societal unrest.

  • Increased incarceration rates among African-Americans reflects the shift towards punitive measures in response to perceived social threats.

Characteristics of Ghetto/Prison

• Common Elements:

  • Stigma: Both ghetto and prison populations face societal condemnation.

  • Constraint: Individuals are confined and controlled within defined territories.

  • Territoriality: Specific areas that function to isolate and regulate populations.

  • Institutional Encasing: Creation of parallel institutions and culture within confinement zones.

Conclusion

• The emergence of prisons as a solution highlights ongoing racial domination and class control strategies.

• Importance of understanding the interconnectedness between historical and contemporary forms of racial and social control in the U.S.