Righteous Dopefiend

Bourgois “pioneered the ethnographic study of homelessness, poverty, segregation, substance abuse, mass incarceration and both criminal and systemic violence in the US inner city,” according to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A medical anthropologist by training, he was working on HIV prevention among the indigent when he undertook his fieldwork with the Edgewater Boulevard population. In the book, he seeks to bring forward the narratives of this population for others to access, because such a marginalized group is generally excluded from dominant social narratives that inform voters and policies. His position as a well-educated white man with a stable income is important to consider in the power dynamics of his interactions with interlocutors.

Jeffrey is a medical and visual anthropologist. While a graduate student at the University of California, he conducted fieldwork with the Edgewater community. He collaborates with Philippe Bourgois by contributing his experience in photography to make the project a photo-ethnography, bringing images of the interlocutors’ lives into the book as a significant way of building a connection with readers.

Al is a toothless, energetic 40-year-old white man who moves into the encampment at the beginning of the book. He initially has a “girlfriend” named Rosie who uses him for crack, and their relationship reflects the gender dynamics of drug use and life on the streets.