Structural Racism and Criminal Violence: An Analysis of State-Level Variation in Homicide

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/21533687211015287
• Author: James D. Unnever,Brian J. Stults,Steven F. Messner
• Date: 01 October 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Structural Racism and

Criminal Violence:

An Analysis of State-Level

Variation in Homicide

James D. Unnever

1

, Brian J. Stults

2

,

and Steven F. Messner

3

Abstract

We advance a structural racism approach to understanding the variation in homicide

across the U.S. states. We conceptualize structural racism by juxtaposing the con-

ditions for Blacks with those for Whites across multiple domains. We also include two

ideological beliefs, racial resentments and Whites perceptions that their racialized

social status is threatened by minority gains. The results show that higher Black

homicide rates are associated with greater exposure to structural racism and that

states with more Whites who harbor racial resentments have higher rates of Black

homicides. We also found that states with more Whites who feel that their status is

threatened exhibit higher rates of White homicides. However, the results reveal that

structural racism exhibits a non-significant association with White homicide rates. We

conclude that the challenge going forward is to develop strategies that can undo the

oppression of Blacks without enhancing attitudes of Whites that promote criminality.

Keywords

structural racism, racism, racial discrimination, White privilege, criminological

theories, race

An impressive body of research has accumulated that documents the multifaceted

relationship between racism andcrime including detailing the racialized pathways that

1

University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

2

Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

3

SUNY—The State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA

Corresponding Author:

James D. Unnever, Sarasota, FL 34234, USA.

Email: junnever@radford.edu

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DOI: 10.1177/21533687211015287

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2023, Vol. 13(4) 433–\ 462

Blacks traverse on their way to engaging in problematic behaviors (Unnever et al.,

2015; Unnever & Gabbidon, 2011). Although the focus on how interpersonal racism

influences Black offending is vital, the equally compelling question of what role

racialized structural inequalities may have in generating racial disparities in rates of

crime warrants furtherattention. Such racialized inequalities span core domains suchas

education, health, income, poverty, and residence to constrain the life chances of

Blacks, and in so doing, subjugate Blacks—while institutionalizing “White privileges”

(Bonilla-Silva, 2015).

Our objectives are to advance the literature by applying a structural racism per-

spective on crime to explain state-level variation in homicide. Toward this end, we

first elaborate the concept of structural racism and discuss how it is grounded in a set

of interconnected institutional processes. Second, we outline how the ideological

component of structural racism produces belief systems that benefit Whites while

diminishing the wellbeing of Blacks. Third we propose that because of historical and

contemporary conditions, structural racism should vary significantly across U.S.

states. Fourth, we review the research on the consequences of racialized inequalities in

social structures, including the health-related studies of structural racism along with

the criminological literature on the relationship between forms of racial inequality and

crime. Based on this literature, we hypothesize that structural racism should predict

lower homicide rates for Whites and higher rates for Blacks. We then assess our

hypotheses with seemingly unrelated regression analyses of race-specific homicide

rates with state-level data for the United States.

Conceptualizing Structural Racism

We conceptualize structural racism as the set of social structural processes that

function to constrain the resources, life chances, and well-being of Blacks, and while

doing so, enhance the resources, opportunities, and well-being of Whites. As Bonilla-

Silva (2015, p. 1360) observed, racism of this sort “produces practices, behaviors, and

mechanisms that are responsible for the reproduction of racial order.” Structural

racism is thus “ ...responsible for the production and reproduction of systemic racial

advantages for some (the dominant racial group) and disadvantages for others (the

subordinated races)” (Bonilla-Silva, 2015, p. 1370).

Our conceptualization of structural racism mirrors that adopted by the U.N.

Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD; Menendian et al.,

2008). CERD argues that “racial discrimination includes distinctions and exclusions

that have an ‘unjustifiable disparate impact’ upon the rights of freedoms of particular

racial or ethnic groups” (Menendian et al., 2008, p. 12). Structural racism is evidenced

by racial disparities that occur across the range of institutional domains. The Com-

mittee thus describes this approach as an “inter-institutional perspective” (Menendian

et al., 2008, p. 14). According to this approach, structural racism and the disparities in

outcomes it produces arise and are sustained by the interconnections among policies

and institutions, along with private decision-making. Note also that structural racism

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Race and Justice 13(4)