Article published In: Narrative Inquiry: Online-First Articles
Bearing witness
Personal narratives of police terror in the NAACP archives, 1937–1965
Published online: 26 June 2026
https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.25093.mch
https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.25093.mch
Abstract
This article uses Critical Race Theory to analyze personal narratives of police violence contained in NAACP
correspondence from 1937 to 1965, focusing on how African American victims and their communities used storytelling to challenge
dominant narratives of police legitimacy. Through thematic analysis of 93 cases drawn from NAACP archival records, three primary
narrative practices are identified: bearing witness to state-sanctioned violence, naming perpetrators to assert agency, and
constructing corrective stories that challenge dominant racialized narratives. These narratives document individual experiences
while also reflecting broader patterns of violence, institutional non-response, and community-based resistance strategies.
Personal testimonies function as counter-narratives that preserve collective memory, expose systemic abuse, and contest official
accounts of policing. These findings underscore the power of narrative as both a historical record and an ongoing tool in
struggles for police accountability.
Article outline
- Introduction
- Theoretical framework: Critical race theory and counter-narratives
- Counter-narratives and master narratives
- Methodological implications
- Methodology
- Data source and selection
- Critical race methodology framework
- Centrality of experiential knowledge
- Challenge to traditional objectivity claims
- Transdisciplinary perspective
- Commitment to social justice
- Analytical process
- Phase 1: Data immersion and initial coding
- Phase 2: Pattern recognition and theme development
- Phase 3: Counter-narrative analysis
- Coding framework
- Validity and reliability
- Limitations and ethical considerations
- Findings
- Bearing witness: The testimonial function of narrative
- Detailed documentation of violence
- Preserving community memory
- Challenging official silence
- Naming perpetrators: Reclaiming agency through identification
- The power of naming
- Challenging police impunity
- Asserting dignity and humanity
- Constructing corrective stories: Counter-narratives and resistance
- Challenging master narratives of police legitimacy
- Exposing institutional collaboration
- Reframing black resistance as legitimate
- Creating alternative frameworks for understanding police violence
- Bearing witness: The testimonial function of narrative
- Discussion
- The functions of counter-narrative in resistance
- Narrative as community building and memory preservation
- Implications for critical race theory
- Contemporary relevance and applications
- Limitations and future directions
- Conclusion
- Notes
References
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