The Gradual and Immediate Violence of an Engineered Conflict: School Closings, Public Housing, Law Enforcement, and the Future of Black Life in Chicago

Abstract

Background/Context: This article considers violence, both structurally and interpersonally, in Chicago, a city that moves to isolate and contain many of its Black working-class/low-income/no-income residents. Violence (particularly death by gun violence) should never be understood as a singular social problem that requires unilateral decisions on how to address the issue. Instead, it is critical to understand that homicides and other forms of violence are often the outcomes of conflict exacerbated by planned scarcity and abandonment (engineered conflict). In short, we should consider these conflicts as largely engineered by the state, declaring some Chicago residents to be of value along the lines of race, class, gender, age, (dis)ability, and sexual orientation, while others are deemed disposable. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: Instead of the deficit narrative of crazed, pathological criminals roaming the streets, another conversation pushes us to understand violence beyond the acts that result in bodily harm or death, and begin to consider the structural conditions that increase the chances of a violent act taking place. For these reasons, this article contemplates the following questions: What pushes people to be in conflict with each other while remaining reluctant to strike back at the system that has largely engineered the conditions of marginalization, isolation, and containment? More important, for those who have decided to resist, what are they doing to address the situation while building new realities for themselves and the people they care about? Research Design: The design of the study is qualitative, utilizing archival and current data on school closings, the destruction of public housing, and law enforcement. Utilizing conceptual design, the study positions engineered conflict as a material and ideological process with the goal of rendering certain Black communities in Chicago disposable. Conclusions/Recommendations: Instead of ending with the adage that “there’s nothing we can do about it,” we should understand that people who find state-sanctioned violence to be unacceptable are operating in ways that are proactive and compelling. Local organizations throughout the city have created their own unique processes in developing strategies to address affordable housing, quality education, and public safety. Their consideration of fugitive possibilities (strategies that are not based in commonplace policy solutions offered by the state) and actions is critical in a city that attempts to enforce a logic of disposability on their humanity.