African American Conspiracy Theories and the Social Construction of Crime *

This article examines conspiracy theories about crime, drugs, and violence expressed by African American residents of Boston, Massachusetts. The theories attribute crime and violence to the clandestine actions of powerful whites. The data upon which the article is based were gathered in a series of peer group discussions among participants in neighborhood crime watch groups. The article describes the prevalence of the conspiracy theories in the sample of peer group discussions. It also advances arguments to explain why the theories persist and why they tend to be expressed in vague and multiple forms.