“A report from unoccupied territory”, by James Baldwin, describes the discrimination and violence that was erupting in the 1960’s towards Negroes. The narrative records multiple incidents between police officers and the Black citizens in Harlem. Baldwin says, “the police are simply the hired enemy of this population”. The actions police had taken were unjust and broke the rights of these citizens. Some rules/beliefs broken by the police were the rights to a fair trial, and the 4th amendment which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and requires any search warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.

As a fieldworker we question different society’s to solve issues within them. During the 1960’s, if a fieldworker were to read Baldwin’s magazine description they might question, what is the driving force behind such discrimination? Why are men and women of color not treated the same as white’s? What can be done to support the minority? As a fieldworker it is key to learn how to adapt in society’s whether it is an outsider stance or insider stance. To require more sources of information as a emic – insider of perspective- a fieldworker would deploy themselves into where the damage Harlem. Examining and listening to the people of Harlem would lead them to resolve issues. All they need to penetrate this perspective is a cause such as the Harlem six.

James Baldwin’s essay “A report from unoccupied territory” discusses violence and police brutality in Harlem during the 1960s. The essay includes multiple narratives of the power dynamic between police officers and the public as well as a critique of the education taught to black and brown people nationwide. The narratives mentioned in the essay shared common beliefs and experiences. A common belief shared by Harlem residents was that the “No knock, stop and frisk” laws– that violated their fourth amendment — was placed with intention to suppress black bodies. Another shared belief that Baldwin mentions in his essay is that Harlem believes that the “Harlem Six” is not guilty of the crime they have been convicted of. Baldwin uses words like “ghetto” and “abolitionist” to demonstrate his identity as an insider. 

If a fieldworker was looking at Harlem, they would ask numerous questions. What is the socioeconomic dynamic of the community in Harlem? How are convicts treated based on their race? Inequalities in prison sentences? How has the policing of the Harlem community impacted its residents? What laws are most used in Harlem in comparison to other neighborhoods? A fieldworker looking to uncover the culture of Harlem would have to think about their own identity and acknowledge any cultural differences and investigate any similarities. To investigate the culture and develop an understanding, a fieldworker must also look at the dynamic in the city. How policed are white neighborhood compared to black neighborhoods? And is the quality of education different based on what the race of the student body is? As well as insider narratives, a fieldworker must use outsiders and the police officers to penetrate the insider’s perspective. Outsiders may include lobbyists and any higher-ups that have an influence on the community.

In Baldwin’s essay readers are introduced to a variety of cultural information, such as when the older man (Fecundo Acion) called a policeman ‘sir’ in order to show him respect. In this readers see that there is a certain respect for policemen, and yet they betrayed that respect by beating him for asking questions. Another piece of cultural information we see is the visibility of cops in the community which Baldwin says makes Harlem more of occupied territory than anything else. Therefore exposing the reader to the fact that there is high tension in the community already with all these men carrying guns, and abusing their powers as though they were gods. Some questions fieldworkers may ask to further uncover the culture the article describes include but are not limited to: “Why aren’t the cops put under surveillance like people of color are?”, “how many times has this happened before?”, “will this happen again?”, “is the tension between whites and people of color still high? And will it ever get better?” and there are so many more questions. Some information a fieldworker may need to penetrate the insider perspective is to ask other informants about their experience in Harlem, whether it is good or bad. They should also collect information on all fronts; whites, people of color, and cops to see how their experiences differ. Most importantly they should remain nonbias when they collect this information, and although one group may be more in the right than the other at the end of the day fieldworkers are only here to collect the history of human experience. Finally, to answer one of the questions I asked (will this happen again?) as though I were a fieldworker myself, when reading Baldwin’s report I thought the story took place recently until I read the date so that question pretty much answers itself.

In the essay  “A Report from Occupied Territory” by James Baldwin, the author describes the events that take place within Harlem to give context to the intensity of the discrimination that takes place within this territory. The author began by providing details about how African Americans were brutally treated by the law enforcement by giving details of an average male working to begin the essay, then proceeds to show how a simple question from his mouth can lead to him having to watch over his shoulder for the rest of his life. A fieldworker would have to question quite a bit in order to uncover the culture that was described in this article, one of those questions being the following. Are there other instances of similar injustice that took place that weren’t so publicized? Why specifically were those six individuals targeted? Questions such as these would help an individual further uncover the truth about the culture at this time. In order to penetrate the insider perspective, an individual would have to visit these locations through many different perspectives to see the daily activities of these people, this would help the individual further understand the story being portrayed in this essay. James Baldwin does a great job providing one perspective but it is crucial to read other perspectives on this matter. Mr. Baldwin even provides one within this essay, one fieldworker would take the time to understand this article as well. 

James Baldwin’s essay highlights the injustices and discrimination in the late ’60s that are still very much present in today’s environment in 2020. Police brutality has not magically been erased, in fact reading this essay has given me a deeper understanding as to why people have certain attitudes toward the police. Baldwin compares the common up-town New York block as an “occupied territory” in order to compare racist policing to America’s trend of occupying foreign land in the name of colonization and imperialism. The fear and silencing of people of color fuel these unjust power structures of white America. Baldwin recognizes that in order for people to comprehend change, people need to know what in the system has to change; so he uses descriptive language to explain the Negro experience: “the government which can force me to pay my taxes and force me to fight in its defense anywhere in the world does not have the authority to say that it cannot protect my right to vote or my right to earn a living or my right to live anywhere I choose.” Baldwin presents two stories, one about the Harlem Six and another about another senseless common arrest of innocent citizens of color near a fruit stand in Harlem. These two stories are interchangeably the broken record of stories that define melanin as “criminal.” Baldwin incentivizes his audience to consider future generations and their treatment in society. His solution for a stable and safe environment for communities of color all over the states to put pressure on legislators and the government to make it a priority to protect everyone equally. He writes, “The law is meant to be my servant and not my master, still less my torturer and my murderer. To respect the law, in the context in which the American Negro finds himself, is simply to surrender his self-respect.” I found this statement very powerful and blunt. As a fieldworker, Baldwin uses similar strategies that I would consider using in order to penetrate the insider perspective through interviews of police, politicians, and citizens.

My questions as a fieldworker to further uncover the culture the article describes would be:

1. How is the treatment of blacks in society addressed in education and the school environment?
2. What’s the difference between a “good” nigger and a “bad” one in the eyes of the law? Is there even a difference? What about in the eyes of a black American?
3. What are the socioeconomic factors at the workplace elevating black families or failing them?

In his essay “A Report from Occupied Territory,” James Baldwin examines the violence and discrimination Black folk faced in Harlem during the 1960s. He identifies various shared experiences and/or views among Harlem residents: They are taught the habit of inferiority from the segregation of schools. Black people are expected to respect the laws even though said laws are inherently anti-black. Being loathed for the color of their skin while being ripped away from the safety their homes offered. Exposed to false accusations and subjected to violent beatings. Harlem locals acknowledge that their current conditions are because the government consented to the destruction of the neighborhood. Baldwin recognizes that these circumstances – which could be considered as a culture/subculture – are not bound to Harlem, but rather to any city heavily populated with Black people.

If a fieldworker were to research the culture described, they would ask a multitude of questions. What conditions do Harlem residents live in? How do they interact amongst themselves versus outsiders? How do police officers treat Black suspects versus White suspects? What do they deem as moral/right? How do they approach achieving goals and/or dreams? A fieldworker looking into this culture would have to also have to investigate White life and culture to identify the disproportional differences Black people see themselves. The fieldworker would also have to acknowledge their cultural differences to truly resonate with the Black culture being studied. To further their findings, a fieldworker should talk to not only those in the community but also police officers. Baldwin mentioned how a real estate lobby was able to reorganize New York City, a fieldworker should talk to those lobbyists and see the thoughts and goals of their actions. When studying this particular culture, a fieldworker would have to talk with a wide range of people since many actions – inadvertently or not – affect the lives that Black people can live.

1. There is a lot of cultural information present in James Baldwin’s essay. The usage of the N-word in the essay is symbolic of the brutal systems of racism present at the time and a system of which the effects can still be seen today. Baldwin also goes into great depths to explain how the police (and by extension the law system) works as an enemy of African American people in America. This creates a lot of resentment between the people and the law. Some people took it upon themselves to speak out against the police for the unjust treatment they faced but as Baldwin goes to great detail to describe, they were treated horribly, and in many cases beaten brutally by the police forces.

2. Some questions a fieldworker may ask are:

To people: Do you feel the police are against you? What kind of unjust treatment have you personally witnessed or have been affected by? Do you think people of color still experience this brutal, unfair treatment today? How can you survive in a system that is working to keep you down?

3. I think other sources of information a field worker can use are asking people who have lived in Harlem during the time period. Asking them questions such as “How their experience was like during the time period. the things they witnessed etc.” Even people who were not around then, but are currently living in Harlem would likely provide valuable information. In addition, simply living in Harlem for a time would be useful to get information on insider culture.

James Baldwin, “A Report from Occupied Territory” tells the story of the Harlem Six and two older men who were brutalized under the New York Police Department. Unfortunately, this is not the first case of brutality towards Blacks and other minorities, and it certainly will not be the last.

Through years of brutalization from their white counterparts, Blacks were able to learn from past tragedies in order to help them maneuver safely in the future. Some examples of this cultural information are the belief that the police are “the hired enemies of (Blacks and minorities) and they are hired to keep Blacks in place and protect white business interests”. This belief still stands in the Black community because of decades of mistreatment police forces are displaying towards Blacks. Consequently, minorities learned that it is always best to keep someone around them because of the brutality. Another example of cultural information Baldwin includes in his writing was when he was explaining the purpose of police forces in the country. Baldwin argues that the police are not enforcing the laws that they embody daily, but instead are putting the laws and their interests above the heads of minorities. Baldwin argues that “respecting the law means surrendering his self-respect” and this fact is shared between many Blacks across the nation for hundreds of years.  

There are many questions a fieldworker may ask to further discover the African American culture discovered in the article. One example can be: What is the history between police force in the U.S. and minorities and does that history justify the reason in implementing frisking laws that target minorities disproportionately? A fieldworker can also ask about the living situations of Blacks in Harlem. Why are they only getting menial jobs, and why are some so discouraged that they prefer being in the street?  

Additionally, a field worker can investigate many sources to penetrate the insider perspective. For instance, a fieldworker can interview many people who were close to the Harlem six and the two older men, for instance, family, teachers and pastors. A fieldworker can also interview many community organizations like the NAACP and the YMCA for their takes on NYPD’s policing strategies and their use of excessive force. Lastly, fieldworkers can also interview Blacks who tried to get a higher education and saw no results in terms of success; how has that impacted their lives?  

Racial discrimination was a huge problem in American society back in the days. The whole country was segregated basically in everything between African Americans and White Americans. The schools, public bathroom, and many more things were separated between White American and African American. Also, at the time the White Americans were superior to the African Americans. Meaning the White Americans ruled over America and had all the power in their hands. Prime example would be the Harlem Six. They were charged with a murder and basically couldn’t do anything about it and faced jail time just because they were dark skin. There was many other cases where White Americans showed their superiority(hate) over the African Americans.

Some questions for fieldworkers to ask to uncover for information are

How often do you go outside?

What kind of people are being arrested? Are they educated or not?

How often do you see police beating up a person on the streets?

Have you had any interactions with the police?

If you have any problems are you willing go to police for help?

To get an insider perspective, a fieldworker should have an informant in the police department and live in the community where the issue is. Having an informant will lead you to get information such what are they thinking and why are they taking the actions they are taking. This can be very risky because you never know what they will due to the informant if they even suspect him/her. Also, living in a neighborhood like that will give you firsthand experience. You will get to see what happening for yourself.

After reading Baldwin’s essay, I believe the cultural information included in the article would be the way they speak, how grammatically incorrect they are and yet seem to be understood easily. I believe this shows how different African Americans and white people speak. I also found it absurd that the police had such a strong negative reaction to the boys who overturned the fruit stand and wholeheartedly agree that had the boys been white, the chance of police taking out their guns would have been much more nonexistent. I think this shows an insight into police behavior, rules/rituals. The use of the N word is also prominent to expose perception and how they distinguish who they deem to be good and bad. 

A fieldworker might ask 

Have the police been around there before?

Have they interacted with you before the incident?

Have you been on this street for long?

Do people who are approached know their rights and enact them? 

Do police interactions differ when speaking to different subgroups in the community? 

A fieldworker might insert themselves into the lives of the people living in the area, get to know everyone in the area by providing help to the street vendor whose eye is now missing. A fieldworker should familiarize themselves with the people they would like to study/ observe. A fieldworker’s best bet would be to use the insider stance by inserting themselves into the community and just observe all that is going on without manipulating it or changing it, having any effect on it at all could possibly jeopardize the investigation like Dunier did in Sidewalk when he inserted himself into a police altercation which I believe led to more troubles for the street vendors. Also, having someone be an inside man for fieldworkers might be good because you have a public figure in the community who everyone trusts and they might be able to vouch for you and help you infiltrate the community you’re trying to study.