Shaun L. Gabbidon

Racial Profiling by Store Clerks and Security Personnel in Retail Establishments An Exploration of “Shopping While Black”

This article examines Shopping While Black (SWB), which is the practice of racial profiling in retail settings. The study couches this form of racial profiling under the following three criminological perspectives: labeling theory, conflict theory, and the colonial model. Based on a review of the literature and an analysis of appellate cases at the state and federal levels, the author concludes that, like racial profiling in automobiles, the concept of Shopping While Black requires serious scholarly attention. Given the nature of the problem, the following represent viable strategies to reduce such profiling: require clerks and security personnel to receive education on the perils of racial profiling, encourage victims of profiling to sue retailers who engage in these practices, and work with civil rights groups to organize boycotts. The article concludes by urging federal officials to increase current levels of funding to study and remedy these discriminatory practices.

Race, Gender, and the Perception of Recently Experiencing Unfair Treatment by the Police: Exploratory Results From an All-Black Sample

Using a national poll with a representative sample of Blacks (N = 854), this article examined the experiences of those Blacks who believe that they had recently been treated unfairly by the police. More specifically, the research examined the role of gender in the perception of unfair treatment by the police. The results of the analysis from the full sample found that age (being older), region (being from the South), and being female decreased the likelihood of reporting having been recently treated unfairly by the police. To examine the differences between Black men and women, the authors conducted a split-sample binary logistic regression analysis. The analysis revealed that Black women who resided in the South were less likely to report experiencing unfair treatment by the police. For Black men, being older and having a higher income resulted in the reduced likelihood of the perception of having been treated unfairly. The implications of the research also are considered.

Exploring the Influence of Race Relations and Public Safety Concerns on Public Support for Racial Profiling during Traffic Stops

The purpose of the present study was to explore hypotheses related to the influence of race relations and perceptions of safety on public opinion regarding racial profiling in traffic stops. Using a representative sample of the United States of America, our results indicate that views regarding race relations influenced public opinion on racial profiling in traffic stops, but perceptions of safety did not influence this view.

W.E.B. Du Bois: Pioneering American Criminologist

Over the past several decades, numerous scholars have shown the relevance of the work of W.E.B. Du Bois to several academic disciplines including sociology (Rudwick, 1974), philosophy (Holmes, 1970), anthropology (Harrison, 1992), economics (Boston, 1991), and others. One discipline, however, that has only recently begun to take notice of Du Boiss scholarship is that of American criminology. Over the past several years, African American criminologists have placed Du Boiss works among the classics of American criminology (see Gabbidon, 1996, 1998, 1999a, 1999b; Hawkins, 1995; Taylor Greene & Gabbidon, 2000; Young & Taylor Greene, 1995). This article aims to build on the previous literature in three ways. First, we examine what may have spurred Du Boiss interest in crime and caused him to repeatedly return to the subject throughout his career. Second, we review some of his early crime-related works and then place them in the context of other American criminologists writing during his era. And finally, we consider whether Du Boiss writings speak to the problem of African American criminality here at the beginning of the 21st century.

Still Excluded? An Update on the Status of African American Scholars in the Discipline of Criminology and Criminal Justice

This article reexamines the exclusion of African Americans in the discipline of criminology and criminal justice. Young and Sulton raised this issue in their important article that focused on the role of African American scholars in various aspects of the field. The article revisits several areas investigated in the original article, including the integration of African American scholarship in assorted scholarly outlets, race of editorial board members of the major criminal justice journals, race of grant recipients, use of African American criminologists as experts for media stories, and as consultants in the policymaking process. In addition, the authors’ analysis examines criminology and criminal justice programs at historically Black colleges and universities. The results from these analyses show moderate progress within the past decade. Nevertheless, the authors conclude that in the next decade, much more needs to be accomplished in many of the areas examined to facilitate the integration of African Americans in criminology and criminal justice and to ensure that gains that have been made are not lost.

W.E.B. Du Bois and the “Atlanta school” of social scientific research, 1897–1913

This article seeks to examine whether W.E.B. Du Bois established a “school” during his tenure at Atlanta University. Du Bois has been the subject of several recent publications that examine his criminological contributions. In addition to his criminological thinking, his research has been identified as pioneering work. On the basis of Du Boiss research program at Atlanta University from 1897 to 1913, the author concludes that Du Bois established one of the first “schools” of social scientific research in the United States.

Living While Black A State-Level Analysis of the Influence of Select Social Stressors on the Quality of Life Among Black Americans

This article examines the effects of select social stressors on the quality of life among Black Americans. Specifically, the authors created a state-level Living While Black index, which includes the Black poverty level by state, the number of Black prisoners by state, the lack of access to health care per Black population, the Black infant mortality rate, the Black homicide rate, and dollars per Black population of Black businesses. Using multivariate statistical techniques, the authors carried out a first-order test of the influence of the living while Black measures on a quality of life index comprising the following measures: number of days per month 5 or more drinks, percentage of Blacks indicating they have mental health problems, suicide rates by state for Blacks, and years of life lost per state for Blacks. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the findings and directions for future research.

Do Blacks Speak with one Voice? Immigrants, Public Opinions, and Perceptions of Criminal Injustices

This paper tests core tenets of the theory of African-American offending proposed by Unnever and Gabbidon. Their theory posits that African-Americans have a common worldview on matters of race that is related to their offending. However, Unnever and Gabbidon further hypothesize that immigrant blacks do not fully embrace the worldview shared by US-born blacks. Using a 2008 national Gallup poll, we examine whether US-born blacks share a common worldview and whether foreign-born blacks differ in their opinions on key issues including: criminal injustices, the state of American race relations, attitudes towards immigration and illegal immigrants, and the perception of mobility within American society. The results partially confirm their two key hypotheses; there are no entrenched differences in the public opinions of US-born blacks on race-related matters while immigrant blacks do not wholly endorse their worldview. We discuss the implications of these two findings in relation to how scholars conceptualize offending among blacks.

The Influence of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Faculty Perceptions on Scholarly Productivity in Criminology/Criminal Justice

This study examined the scholarly productivity of faculty in criminology/criminal justice programs. Using a sample comprising members from two major criminology/criminal justice associations, the research examined whether gender and race/ethnicity influenced scholarly productivity. In addition, the research explored whether the perceived importance of scholarly publications in influencing the discipline contributed to scholarly productivity. Similarly, the research also investigated whether the perceived impact of publications on policy‐making influenced scholarly productivity. Multivariate analyses revealed differences in publication trends by gender and race/ethnicity, with males publishing more than females and Whites publishing more than non‐Whites. The nuances of these findings show numerous additional differences regarding scholarly productivity by gender and race/ethnicity.

PERCEPTIONS OF CONSUMER RACIAL PROFILING AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS An Exploratory Study

Racial profiling has been an interest among society and scholars for several years. The main focus of racial profiling has been on law enforcements use of the technique, with little investigation of it occurring in consumer environments, that is, consumer racial profiling (CRP). Moreover, even less research has focused on the negative emotions that occur as a result of perceptions of CRP. Using data from a telephone survey of citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the present study indicates that perceptions of experiencing CRP do result in negative emotions. Furthermore, the present study identifies a profile of individuals who are likely to experience these negative emotions due to perceptions of CRP. The implications of these findings are discussed.