Racial Purity and Dangerous Bodies

Moral Pollution, Black Lives, and the Struggle for Justice

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Theology, Christianity
Cover of the book Racial Purity and Dangerous Bodies by Rima L. Vesely-Flad, Fortress Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Rima L. Vesely-Flad ISBN: 9781506420509
Publisher: Fortress Press Publication: June 15, 2017
Imprint: Fortress Press Language: English
Author: Rima L. Vesely-Flad
ISBN: 9781506420509
Publisher: Fortress Press
Publication: June 15, 2017
Imprint: Fortress Press
Language: English

At the center of contemporary struggles over aggressive policing practices is an assumed association in U.S. culture of blackness with criminality. Rima L. Vesely-Flad examines the religious and philosophical constructs of the black body in U.S. society, examining racialized ideas about purity and pollution as they have developed historically and as they are institutionalized today in racially disproportionate policing and mass incarceration. These systems work, she argues, to keeps threatening elements of society in a constant state of harassment and tension so that they are unable to pollute the morals of mainstream society. Policing establishes racialized boundaries between communities deemed “dangerous” and communities deemed “pure” and, along with prisons and reentry policies, sequesters and restrains the pollution of convicted “criminals,” thus perpetuating the image of the threatening black male criminal. Vesely-Flad shows how the anti-Stop and Frisk and the Black Lives Matter movements have confronted these systems by exposing unquestioned assumptions about blackness and criminality. They hold the potential, she argues, to reverse the construal of “pollution” and invasion in America's urban cores if they extend their challenge to mass imprisonment and the barriers to reentry of convicted felons.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

At the center of contemporary struggles over aggressive policing practices is an assumed association in U.S. culture of blackness with criminality. Rima L. Vesely-Flad examines the religious and philosophical constructs of the black body in U.S. society, examining racialized ideas about purity and pollution as they have developed historically and as they are institutionalized today in racially disproportionate policing and mass incarceration. These systems work, she argues, to keeps threatening elements of society in a constant state of harassment and tension so that they are unable to pollute the morals of mainstream society. Policing establishes racialized boundaries between communities deemed “dangerous” and communities deemed “pure” and, along with prisons and reentry policies, sequesters and restrains the pollution of convicted “criminals,” thus perpetuating the image of the threatening black male criminal. Vesely-Flad shows how the anti-Stop and Frisk and the Black Lives Matter movements have confronted these systems by exposing unquestioned assumptions about blackness and criminality. They hold the potential, she argues, to reverse the construal of “pollution” and invasion in America's urban cores if they extend their challenge to mass imprisonment and the barriers to reentry of convicted felons.

More books from Fortress Press

Cover of the book The Role of Justification in Contemporary Theology by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book Embracing Hopelessness by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book Resurrection Son of God V3 by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book God Ahead of Us by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book Paul and the Faithfulness of God by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book Parables Unplugged by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book African Theology on the Way by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book Irenaeus by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book The Authors of the Deuteronomistic History by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book A Generous Symphony by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book Ecumenical, Academic, and Pastoral Work by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book Heaven Opens: by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book Sarah Coakley and the Future of Systematic Theology by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book From a Liminal Place by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
Cover of the book The Figure of Adam in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15 by Rima L. Vesely-Flad
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy