...a community , understand? Not the projects - I hate that word. We live in a community ,” says Ms. Mae, the mother of a gang leader (Venkatesh 43). Sudhir Venkatesh, who describes himself as a rogue sociologist, decided to take his PhD studies about the lives of poor black families a step further, a step into the most dangerous streets of Chicago. In his quest for statistics and observations, he meets women such as Ms. Mae along with their violent sons. Gang Leader for a Day is a book of experiences written to show readers the world from a perspective very few are willing to undertake, one from within the structural walls of a gang. Some have suggested that Venkatesh’s study took advantage of the hospitality of the gang leader; however, Venkatesh’s study violated no principles of ethics. Venkatesh began his study in the deprived communities of Chicago. Here, he ran into a drug dealer named J.T. who held a lot of power within a local gang. After hearing his explanation of the study, J.T. decided to take Venkatesh in and show him everything from a completely different perspective. While his intentions remained focused around observing and obtaining statistics for sociological purposes, he learned much more. He met prostitutes and befriended drug dealers, witnessed crimes and brutal beatings, and even became a gang leader for a day. Venkatesh pushed the boundaries of sociology and formed a relationship with his subjects to further validate his findings...
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...DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR GANG LEADER FOR A DAY NAME__________________________ 1. How would you respond if a graduate student from an elite university turned up at your door and announced his intention to study you? How would your reaction differ from what Sudhir Venkatesh encountered in Gang Leader for a Day? 2. Give a character sketch of J.T. What are his particular strengths and weaknesses as a leader? 3. In Gang Leader for a Day, Venkatesh continually compares the Black Kings’ drug trafficking with more conventional forms of American business. To what extent are you persuaded by these comparisons? 4. What strategies does Venkatesh use to gain the confidence of J.T. and the other people he meets at Robert Taylor? Does he ever completely gain their trust? Why are issues of trust so difficult in this book? 5. In chapter two, Venkatesh and J.T. argue about whether a “culture of poverty” exists among poor blacks in America. In your opinion, does Gang Leader for a Day do more to confirm or to dispute that there is such a culture? 6. Why is J.T. so anxious and controlling with regard to where Venkatesh goes and whom he talks with at Robert Taylor? Whom or what is he really protecting? 7. On pages 146 through 149, Ms. Bailey blames the conditions at Robert Taylor on a larger society that has denied opportunities to the poor. To what extent do you consider her arguments persuasive? 8. Venkatesh’s regard for Autry Harrison is so great that...
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...indian that moved to America when he was really young, he is vegetarian which caused some problems, and he considers himself as a special type of sociologist that basically lives with the people he studies. Shortly after the time as of where the last quote was at JT is the leader of the gang in one of the robert taylor homes under the BK controlled. In one of sudhir...
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...“How does it feel to be black and poor?” (Venkatesh, 16) This was one of the questions Sudhir Venkatesh had set out to answer for his research as a graduate student at the University of Chicago. His research focused on gang life and poverty in Chicago during the opioid epidemic. As you would expect, this question starts his relationship with the gang on the wrong foot. However, Venkatesh soon finds himself in not only a self-proclaimed “intimate” friendship with J.T., the leader of the local branch of the Black Kings, but also becomes submerged in the Robert Taylor Homes community. Throughout his time with J.T. and the Black Kings, Venkatesh repeatedly questions the roles and benefits of the gang within the Robert Taylor Homes community. Despite...
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...this reason, Munmun’s brother is pushing her around in a trolley, walking door-to-door. This method raises some new problems; angering people. Munmun's brother explains it this way: “Before, I used to wonder why the sight of Munmun and I angered people so much. It took a while before I understood. They could not stand our sight, we disgusted them; sickened them. Because we were what they might have to do themselves, one day, to their own children.” So the reason people sometimes slam their door in Munmun, and her brother’s faces, is because of fear. They fear that one day they might have to make their children handicapped for them to survive. No one likes the thought of hurting ones child, so when people see the two girls begging, they are trying to push away these thoughts. However, they are merely postponing the terrible decision. The crippled beggars one can see in India are not only children of parents who cannot provide for their offspring. There is also a great deal of young crippled beggars is members of a “Beggar gang”. In these gangs, there is a leader who controls the business. He makes sure that the children are cripples in some way or another, and hereafter...
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...frustrating and undesirable social environments” (University of Phoenix, 2016, para.). Cultural conflict theory is “which suggests that the root cause of criminality can be found in a clash of values between differently socialized groups over what is acceptable or proper behavior.” (University of Phoenix, 2016, para.). Within this essay I will examine the structure that influences the prisoners to commit more crime within the prison. Video Support: While watching the video Pelican Bay State Prison: War Zone, there was several things within the video that supports social structure theory. The video supported crime evolving from a social structure theory. Within the video it stated that Pelican Bay State prison is known for the thousands of gang leaders that want to be there mostly for more recognition. One guy stated...
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...Strayer University PAD 515 Dr. Michael W. Popejoy Julian Hoggard January 19, 2012 According to Draft (2011), leadership is an influenced relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes (pg. 5). According to Dr. Brooks (2008), he suggested that the overall outcome of effective public leadership is the creation and demonstration of public value. Based on these definitions, one argues and disagrees with the ideal that “Young public leaders are usually less effective because they have so little experience”; due to the fact, both definitions does not mention experience. Young public leaders may not have more experience than others, but one advocates that young public leaders are usually more effective in leadership due to the more increasing enthusiasm and passion the leader may have inside him/herself and to the public; not yet understanding the norm of this place we live, which is “society”. One opposes this view that “Young public leaders are usually less effective because they have so little experience”, due to which public sphere they interact in. The definition of the public sphere is a metaphorical term used to describe the virtual space where people can interact. The World Wide Web, for example, is not actually a web; cyberspace is not a space; and so with the public sphere. It's the virtual space where the citizens of a country exchange ideas and discuss issues, in order to reach agreement about 'matters...
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...Modern-Day Prison Gangs and How They Operate Angel Ruby March 21, 2013 American River College Modern-Day Prison Gangs and How They Operate There are several different prison gangs currently in power within the prisons today. There is the Mexican Mafia, La Neustra Familia, Black Guerrilla Family, and The Aryan Brotherhood. Though each gang has separate syndicates, these four gangs remain the most influential (A. Ruby, personal interview, March 19, 2013). How these gangs operate depends on the prison they occupy. While each of these gangs was initially created to survive in ethnically segregated situations that is not the case any longer. Currently the aspirations of these gangs have to do with protection, money, and reputation, they are very organized and efficient (A. Ruby personal interview, March 19, 2013). La Nuestra Familia was formed in the mid 1960’s to protect rural Mexican-American inmates from predator gangs, primarily from the urban Mexican-American inmates affiliated with the Mexican Mafia (Gangs OR Us Gang Identification, 1999). They represent northern California and are identified by their tattoos which are normally a dagger or sombrero with the letters “NF”. The NF use to operate through three categories (cat.1, cat.2, etc.). The higher the category you were in, the higher your rank within the gang. They later abolished that structure to try to institute equality inside the gang. They created a “mesa” which was an order of six members (A. Ruby, personal...
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...Gangs within the System Prison is a system that was made to make inmates better. Since the start of prisons, gangs have become a big part. Gangs fight in order to dominate and run everything. It is a constant battle between them. Who you are affiliated with says a lot. Gangs in prison are more than just a group of men killing each other , It is more family oriented . Prison gangs were originally formed by inmates as a means to protect themselves from other inmates. Throughout the years, prison gangs have evolved from a group that provides protection to its members, to criminal entities involved in prostitution, assaults, drugs and murder. Prison gangs continue to thrive because prosecuting them has, historically, been difficult due to the fact that many members are already serving life sentences with no possibility of parole. Most inmates use gangs as protection because once you go to prison your “Out of Bars” life is gone so you do not have anyone to protect you. This is why people join gangs in prison for the protection. When you first get into jail you are technically a “Newbe” because no one knows who you are or what you are capable. This creates the idea of “Moving Up the Ladder” this is when you create a resume of doing things such as killing selling and earning respect to become of high statue. Inmates have to put in “work” to move up. When they first arrive, the inmate has to gain respect from everyone else. In the documentary you see Bulldog talks about how...
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...Prison: War Zone,” there was a great deal of information in it that supported crime evolving from a social structure theory. The prisoners in Pelican Bay State Prison set a goal to get into this prison because it is more like a reward than a punishment. The motive for the a reward of these prisoners is that only the meanest most violent prisoners who are gang leaders out of prison. These gang leaders still run the gangs, although they are in prison and are fearless. These gang leaders come from the only family that they have ever known and would give their lives for the gang. Most prisoners, gang leaders are educated only in the streets and nowhere else. In the video it speaks of how Pelican Bay State Prison is known for the thousands upon thousands of gang leaders who set a goal to end there for more recognition. The prisoners who end in Pelican Bay go in strong and hardcore, and when they come out they are not weaker but stronger and more dedicated than ever to be the gang leader that they are. The gang is not lost without their leader right beside him or her because they know they will be keeping in touch, with the leader on a regular basis. It is a life wanted by these...
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...Prison Gangs Prison gangs are criminal organizations that originated within the penal system. The first known American prison gang was the Gypsy Jokers. The Gypsy Jokers formed in the 1950’s in Washington state prisons. The first gang with nationwide ties was the Mexican Mafia, which formed in 1957 in the California Department of Corrections. According to statistics, gang activity in prisons has increased from only 9.4% in 1991 to 24.7% in 1999 and is even higher now. Today there are five original major prison gangs known as “Traditional Prison Gangs.” These prison gangs formed in the 1960’s and 1970’s in the California corrections system. A prison gang consists of a select group of inmates who have an organized hierarchy and who are governed by an established code of conduct. In addition to committing criminal acts in the prison, a prison gang also shares the following characteristics: * Formal membership with a required initiation or rules for members * A recognized leader or certain members whom others follow * Common clothing (such as jackets, caps, scarves or bandannas), or group colors, symbols, tattoos, or special language * A group name * Members from the same neighborhood, street, or school * Turf or territory where the group is known and where group activities usually take place. Prison gangs vary in both organization and composition, from highly structured gangs such as the Aryan Brotherhood to gangs with a less formalized structure...
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...Gangs The word “Gang” at one point in time was only used to describe a group of people, now days the word “Gang” is associated with negative groups who commit crime and violence. According to the FBI over 20,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs and prisoner gangs currently exist throughout the United States, with over one million members (Federal Bureau of, 2009). Gangs are made up of all types and kinds of human beings from men, to woman, and even children. A good amount of the crime in several communities around the U.S. is victimized by the gang related activity. Gang activity is higher in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Arizona and New York, with more than half of all homicides thought to be gang related homicides (Muhlhausen, 2007). Overall organized crime is anywhere and everywhere; this is a very difficult area for law enforcement to keep control over, a non ending battle against something that will always gain new members. These new members join for many reasons and come from many backgrounds, mainly from distress and un-oriented families. The word “Gang” at one point in time was only used to describe a group of people, now days the word “Gang” is associated with negative groups who commit crime and violence. A street gang is “an association of individuals who have a gang name and recognizable symbols, a geographic territory, a regular meeting pattern, and an organized, continuous course of criminality” (Kenneth J. Peak, 2009). When you walk out of...
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...Ethnography Excerpt 1: Gang Leader For A Day: Sudhir Venkatesh J.T. seemed to appreciate having the ear of an outsider who would listen for hours to his tales of bravado and managerial prowess. He often expressed how hard it was to manage the gang, to keep the drug economy running smoothly, and to deal with the law-abiding tenants who saw him as an adversary. Sometimes he spoke of his job with the same dispassion as if he were the C.E.O. of some widget manufacturer — an attitude that I found not only jarring but, given the violence and destruction his enterprise caused, irresponsible. He fancied himself a philanthropist as much as a leader. He spoke proudly of quitting his mainstream sales job in downtown Chicago to return to the projects and use his drug profits "to help others." How did he help? He mandated that all his gang members get a high-school diploma and stay off drugs. He gave money to some local youth centers for sports equipment and computers. He willingly loaned out his gang members to Robert Taylor tenant leaders, who deployed them on such tasks as escorting the elderly on errands or beating up a domestic abuser. J.T. could even put a positive spin on the fact that he made money by selling drugs. A drug economy, he told me, was "useful for the community," since it redistributed the drug addicts' money back into the community via the gang's philanthropy. I have to admit that J.T.'s rhetoric could be persuasive, even when I tried to play the skeptic. The fact...
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...mean much to residents of Chicago, Illinois, “the city of broad shoulders” so deservedly named after the gang leader who held an unquestionable grip on the its neighborhoods. Today, every gangster desires to be like “Scarface Al” as Capone was commonly referred. He is the epitome of what a gangster blueprint looks like that is engraved in the minds of those who had a first hand experience of his reign. Young as they may have been during Capone’s reign, they undoubtedly felt his power and effect. Al Capone’s background Alphonse “Al” Capone was born in Brooklyn on January 17, 1899. He acquired “education in petty crime” in the neighborhoods of Brooklyn. His name “Scarface Al” originated from a razor slash across his face (Bergreen, 1994). He later moved to Chicago where he survived several gang wars by having his rivals eliminated. In 1929, Capone’s gang, dressed in police uniform massacred seven members of a rival gang, the “Bugs” Morgan gang. This was revenge of his best friend’s death and abduction of a consignment of liquor from Canada. This became the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. By the end of the 1920’s Capone was in charge of bootlegging liquor. This brought him an annual income of over $20 million. The arrest and prosecution of Al Capone Despite his numerous crimes, including running illegal breweries, heading a gang and killing members of other gangs, Chicago police could not arrest and prove a case against Capone in court. However, the federal authorities...
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... Street gangs have always been a major force in Chicago. In 1969 two street gang families united and formed the Gangster Disciples. They reshaped the life of a gangster. Many gangsters have said that being G.D. was not just a thing to be involved in it was a job, an opportunity. Some have even said, “It was a lifestyle.” The Gangster Disciples turned young men into the people they wanted them to be. They changed the way you lived, acted, walked, talked, and even dressed. This was not just a gang it was any army of young men. An army that was going to get what it wanted at all cost. The Gangster Disciples influenced everything and everyone around them. The Gangster Disciples were born from two organizations. The two gangs in the beginning were Disciple Nation led by David Barksdale and Gangster Nation led by Larry Hoover. Each organization had many branches, such as Royal Disciples, Motown Disciples, and Boss Pimp Disciples of Barksdale side. On Hoover's side there were 18 gangs including; Mafia Gangster, 75th Street Gangsters, and the African Sniper Gangsters. Barksdale was tired of the senseless violence and mayhem between the black communities. (“History of Gangster Disciples”) He really wanted to stop the violence between the Gangster Nation and the Disciple Nation. Barksdale offered Hoover a partnership and equal power of the gang, which Hoover accepted (“History of Gangster Disciples”). The two gangs became one, creating one of the...
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