Defense Date
12-15-2024
Graduation Date
Winter 12-20-2024
Availability
Immediate Access
Submission Type
dissertation
Degree Name
PhD
Department
Psychology
School
McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
Committee Chair
Dr. Eva Simms
Committee Member
Dr. Leswin Laubscher
Committee Member
Dr. Derek Hook
Keywords
racism, racialized, structural racism, structural factors, racialized policing, police brutality, excessive use of force
Abstract
In the last decade, the racial violence that plagues relations between African Americans and the police has been brought to the attention of the American public by means of cell phone video footage of police use of excessive, and at times lethal, force in encounters with African American men. The images of police brutality that have emerged in this time have outraged millions of Americans, sparking nationwide protests, as well as various social and political movements. While perspectives may abound regarding the causes and significance of such brutality, the data is clear on one thing: Police violence disproportionately harms African American individuals, families, and communities in the United States.
Given the social, political, and moral significance of racialized police violence, as well as the fact that such violence is a public health issue, surprisingly little is known about the actual phenomenon of a racialized police encounter. What are the root causes of such an encounter? To what degree is such an encounter psychologically motivated and to what degree is it the result of structural conditions? What are the psychosocial consequences of such an encounter? This dissertation attempts to address these questions by examining the lived experience of African American men in racialized encounters with the police. Data were derived from in-depth interviews and a focus group with six men from the Pittsburgh area and were analyzed according to the principles of critical race theory and critical phenomenology to arrive at the following:
1. The meanings that African American men attribute to their experiences with the police.
2. The nature, or constitution, of racialized police encounters, that is, how racialized policing is experienced structurally and psychologically by African American men.
3. The psychological and social consequences of racialized police encounters.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Goodwin, L. (2024). Excessive before it begins: A critical analysis of racialized encounters between police and African American men (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/2283
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Psychology Commons