Incarcerating the Crisis: Freedom Struggles and the Rise of the Neoliberal State

282 Pages·2016·7.023 MB·English

by  Jordan T. Camp

Incarcerating the Crisis
Freedom Struggles and the Rise of the
Neoliberal State
Jordan T. Camp
university of california press

The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support
of the African American Studies Endowment Fund of the
University of California Press Foundation, which was
established by a major gift from the George Gund
Foundation.
Incarcerating the Crisis
american crossroads
Edited by Earl Lewis, George Lipsitz, George Sánchez, Dana Takagi, Laura Briggs, and
Nikhil Pal Singh
Incarcerating the Crisis
Freedom Struggles and the Rise of the
Neoliberal State
Jordan T. Camp
university of california press
University of California Press, one of the most
distinguished university presses in the United States,
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in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by
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University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2016 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Camp, Jordan T., 1979- author.
Title: Incarcerating the crisis : freedom struggles and
the rise of the neoliberal state / Jordan T. Camp.
Description: Oakland, California : University of
California Press, [2016] | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifi ers: lccn 2015037551| isbn 9780520281813
(cloth : alk. paper) | isbn 0520281810 (cloth : alk.
paper) | isbn 9780520281820 (pbk. : alk. paper) | isbn
0520281829 (pbk. : alk. paper) | isbn 9780520957688
(ebook) | isbn 0520957687 (ebook)
Subjects: lcsh: Protest movements—United States—
History. | Race riots—United States—History. | African
Americans—United States—Social conditions—
History. | Neoliberalism—Social aspects—United
States—History. | Social problems in mass
media. | Race relations in mass media. | United
States—Race relations—History.
Classifi cation: lcc hn57 .c33 2016 | ddc
303.48/40973—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015037551
Manufactured in the United States of America
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In keeping with a commitment to support
environmentally responsible and sustainable printing
practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures
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and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso
z39.48–1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
For Christina Heatherton
The author gratefully acknowledges the permission to reprint
the following song lyrics and articles: “What’s Going On,”
words and music by Renaldo Benson, Alfred Cleveland, and
Marvin Gaye, © 1970 (renewed 1998) JOBETE MUSIC CO.,
INC., MGIII MUSIC, NMG MUSIC, and FCG MUSIC. All
rights controlled and administered by EMI APRIL MUSIC
INC. on behalf of JOBETE MUSIC CO., INC., MGIII
MUSIC, NMG MUSIC, and FCG MUSIC, and EMI BLACK-
WOOD MUSIC INC. on behalf of STONE AGATE MUSIC
(a division of JOBETE MUSIC CO., INC.). “Inner City Blues
(Make Me Wanna Holler),” words and music by Marvin
Gaye and James Nyx, © 1971 (renewed 1999) JOBETE
MUSIC CO., INC. All rights controlled and administered by
EMI APRIL MUSIC INC. All rights reserved international
copyright secured used by permission. Reprinted by
permission of Hal Leonard Corporation. All rights reserved
international copyright secured used by permission. “If We
Must Die”: by Claude McKay. Courtesy of the Literary
Estate for the Works of Claude McKay. Portions of chapter 2
previously appeared in Jordan T. Camp, “Challenging the
Terms of Order: Representing the Detroit Rebellions,
1967–1968,” Kalfou 2, no. 1 (2015): 161–80. Used by
permission. Portions of chapter 5 appeared as Jordan T.
Camp, “We Know This Place: Neoliberal Racial Regimes and
the Katrina Circumstance,” American Quarterly 61, no. 3
(2009), 693–717. Reprinted with permission by Johns
Hopkins University Press. Portions of chapter 6 previously
appeared as Jordan T. Camp, “Blues Geographies and the
Security Turn: Interpreting the Housing Crisis in Los
Angeles,” American Quarterly 64, no. 3 (2012), 543–670.
© 2012 the American Studies Association. Reprinted with
permission by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: An Old World Is Dying 1
1. The Explosion in Watts: The Second Reconstruction and
the Cold War Roots of the Carceral State 21
2. Finally Got the News: Urban Insurgency,
Counterinsurgency, and the Crisis of Hegemony in Detroit 43
3. The Sound Before the Fury: Attica, Racialized State
Violence and the Neoliberal Turn 68
4. Reading the Writing on the Wall: The Los Angeles
Uprising and the Carceral City 98
5. What’s Going On? Moral Panics and Militarization in
Post-Katrina New Orleans 116
6. Shut ’Em Down: Social Movements Confront Mass
Homelessness and Mass Incarceration in Los Angeles 134
Epilogue: The Poetry of the Future 146
Notes 155
Bibliography 217
Index 255