This investigation examinesdiscursive uses of respect in
talkingaboutinterracial contact. In discussing thedocumentary,Racism
101, themostfrequentlyquotedportionbyAfrican-Americanand
LatinoparticipantswasasegmentondemandingrespectfromWhites.
Ourfirst studyanalyzessuchdiscourse–reportedspeech–forwhat is
maderelevantfromthe originaldocumentarysegment.Theparticipants’
reportedspeechconveys little of the exactwordingof the original,but
doescapture its spiritthroughusingsimilar structural features: the
repetition of ‘respect’,acontrastbetweenrespectandliking,and
addressing this toWhites.Theseuses of reportedspeechareparticipants’
wayof performingthepowerof another’swords, in the sense of being
able to articulateacompellingdiscursive positiononaninterracial
problematic.Oursecondstudyemploys focus-groupinterviewsto further
explore themeaningsof respect forAfrican-Americans.We examine
narratives of disrespectduringinterracial contact in public places,such
asduringserviceencounters instores.Participants’narratives told of
beingdisrespectedbybeingoverlymonitored,notreceivingservice,or
beingtreated inaderogatoryfashion, inshort, the perception of being
treated differentlythanWhites.Reportedspeechwasusedin these
narratives to construct theWhite serviceworker’s actions,howthe
narratorresponded,whatcouldhavehappened,orwhat in-group
members sayasanaggregate.Reportedspeechallowsnarrators to
articulate the subtext towhat isbeingsaid.Also, theevaluation of these
incidents told of theemotionalcosts of beingthe recipient of disrespect |