“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 …show more content…
When an individual does not possess the means to achieve these goals, they must resort deviance - or crime. One of the biggest contributors to deviance is poverty. Social Problems and the Quality of Life defines poverty as “a state in which income is insufficient to provide the basic necessities of food, shelter, clothing, and medical care.” Poverty levels in America are higher for minority groups, especially African Americans, and within urban areas. As shown in Gang Leader For A Day, poverty levels for African Americans in Chicago are extremely high. Venkatesh emphasizes this issue of poverty within the Robert Taylor Homes community by sharing the struggles he had witnessed while conducting his research. An example of how some members of the Robert Taylor Homes community coped with poverty was by working either odd or illegal jobs such as prostitution, fixing and washing cars, or selling stolen property. Another coping mechanism that they used to survive poverty was establishing a support system with the fellow members of their community. Whether it is providing at-home day care or inviting one of the regular squatters - such as C-Note - into their apartment for dinner, Ms. Mae contends that since they live in a community, everyone helps each other out as …show more content…
The type of qualitative method used in Gang Leader For A Day is ethnographic research. Ethnography is field research that explores how people live within their society and the researchers conduct their study while living among their subjects. However, according to Venkatesh, sociologists who primarily use quantitative research methods contend that ethnographic research is neither scientific nor broad enough. (Venkatesh, 4) One advantage of ethnographic research is that it provides in depth details about the life of the subjects and the issues that they are forced to endure. A disadvantage of ethnographic research is that the researcher may eventually may struggle to differentiate between both his roles as a participant and researcher; therefore, the researcher may become too emotionally involved in the study and may make some ethical