Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-9-2015
Abstract
There is a vicious cycle of drug addiction and displacement for many undereducated, and low skilled African-American men, that leads to a life of frustration, defeat and despair. These groups of African-American males for various reasons, culturally as well as sociologically, have not participated in what is considered mainstream American society but rather have created a social order of their own. Evidences of this alternative order are demonstrated in street gangs, prison life and other socially unacceptable lifestyles. An alternative order is genuine, unrecognized and coexists with the dominant American social order. This study examines offensive, foul, behavior on a selected inner city outdoor basketball court, because I wanted to know if the social dynamics and skills at work on the court are indicative of a social order, a preservation of a commons (Ostrom), among certain types of African-American men, unrecognized by the academic community as well as society at large. I am interested in this particular area of research in order to develop and recommend an approach to better address and break the vicious cycle of addiction, dysfunctionality and displacement among African- American men. From a historical basis, I analyze an unrecognized, invisible, social order maintenance among urban, at-risk, African-American males, which is vividly seen and demonstrated on the outdoor basketball court. In this ethnography there will be three main voices heard in the telling of this intriguing story. The voices will be the voice of the story-teller, the enthnographer, the voice of the Black man from the inner city outdoor basketball court and interwoven will be the voice of a selected case study, E-Man. In conjunction with this ethnography, I also decided to use visual supporting evidence, photographs, to reinforce the images of African-American men as it applies to the perceived and actual social interactions among Black males.
Keywords
African American men, social life and customs
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Soaries, Craig E., "The Foul, Or What's Up (Wassup) on the Court?: A Study of African-American Male Social Interactions on the Outdoor Basketball Court" (2015). Student Scholarship. 447.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/447