Book Review: Gang Leader for a Day

Gang Leader for a Day (A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets) by Sudhir Venkatesh. New York: Penguin Books, 2008, 283pp, US$16.00.

     Sudhir Venkatesh begins his ethnography unaware of the participants, or the research required to complete the graduate degree he is working towards. One key concept of this ethnography would be challenging the outsiders views on gangs, and learning how gangs intrinsically work. The basis for the whole book can easily be built off one simple question that Venkatesh asks in the first chapter, “How does it feel to be black and poor?” (14). This one question opens up a whole new world to Venkatesh. Venkatesh can experience a world where he can do more than just imagine poverty. He is placed into a role that few people would ever get the chance to experience, he emerges himself into the lifestyle of the Robert Taylor Projects, one of the most poverty and crime stricken projects Chicago has ever dealt with.

      In the opening chapter of Gang Leader for a Day, we learn about Sudhir Venkatesh, his schooling, and his thoughts as to what he should do for fieldwork in his graduate dissertation. Not knowing much about the inner-workings of Chicago when it comes to race and poverty, he unknowingly walks into one of the most notorious drug and crime filled projects not only in the state of Illinois, but in the country. He goes into the projects with a clipboard and some questions, thinking that his questions will be answered honestly and upfront with no issues. When he picks a random apartment and asks questions, he does not get the expected answer, but is held hostage in one of the buildings overnight. This situation leads Venkatesh to meet J.T., the leader of the gang that runs Robert Taylor Projects, the Black Kings. J.T. becomes the most influential person in Venkatesh's life academically and personally by allowing him into The Black King's community and giving him vast amounts of information which he can use in his dissertation. Over eight years, J.T. takes Venkatesh under his wing, and Venkatesh learns multiple aspects of the Black Kings as a gang. This will include how they control Robert Taylor Projects, the kinship relationships that exist within the gang and the projects, drug trafficking, and prostitution around the projects.

     After spending eight years with the people of the Robert Taylor Projects, Venkatesh is not thought of as a stranger anymore. The people offer him food and beer and he is invited to social events not only by J.T., but also other leading figures in the neighborhood. Being accepted and trusted in this way makes what Venkatesh writes more legitimate and his ethnography more likely to be believed. Through Autry Harrison, who runs the Boys and Girls Club in the Robert Taylor Projects, Venkatesh is invited to meetings the gangs hold for mediation. Venkatesh sees that J.T. is not the only one with power to control and manipulate people within the projects. Miss Bailey, another force of power in the Robert Taylor Projects, mediates conflicts between tenants, funds the fixing of broken appliances, and makes sure the women and children of Robert Taylor are taken care of (but only if it benefits herself). Because Venkatesh is so interested in seeing how the Black Kings influence the people within the projects and in other gangs, and how they oversee the details (economically, politically, and socially) of what goes on in Robert Taylor Projects, J.T. lets Venkatesh act as the “gang leader” for one day. As the leader, Venkatesh helps make (minor) decisions about drug deals and is asked how to keep control over other members of the gang who seem to be challenging their gang authority. As his research continues at the Robert Taylor Projects, Venkatesh gets to see the successes and conflicts of this community and of the gang.

     As an ethnography, the strengths of Gang Leader for a Day lies in being able to provide insight 

throughout the book that demonstrates what Venkatesh witnessed and observed to be the inner-workings of gang life. Though naïvely entering his endeavor, Venkatesh quickly learns about the importance of the inner economy that is exclusive to the gang and Robert Taylor community. This includes: drug deals, protection for people and places in turn of fees paid to the gang, directing people toward local businesses, and prostitution. J.T. provides Venkatesh with a revolting account of how the gang acquires/makes their money, who benefits, and how it is spent. Another point in the book that is looked at strongly is the sense of communal kinship, and relationships within The Black Kings and Robert Taylor Projects. Because of outsiders general fear of the gang and the projects, Venkatesh shows through participant observation that Black Kings provide protection to the people in the gang and the people living in Robert Taylor. Individuals and families living at the Robert Taylor Projects look out for each other to make sure residents can get by. Miss Bailey is a good example of an individual who even if beneficial for her, helps the families in need and helps maintain relationships with the residents in Robert Taylor.

     Gang Leader for a Day had weaknesses embedded within it. Ethical concerns are mentioned (185-189), Venkatesh did not diverge details to his participants with what he was researching. This would be a violation to the residents of Robert Taylor Projects. The subheading of the book is “A Rogue Sociologist takes to the Streets”. Venkatesh is not forthcoming to J.T. or the other participants what he is using this information for. Another point to be made is that Venkatesh did not have vast knowledge about gangs, or Robert Taylor Projects prior to starting his research. This is a problem because Venkatesh had nothing to base the research on, nor did he have any idea of the danger he would be putting himself or his career in by being associated with the Black Kings.

     What if someone else had been doing this research? For example, a woman, or a person of an different ethnicity that was not as readily accepted by the members of the Black Kings? Would the same access to the Black Kings or the Robert Taylor Projects had been made available? Would this kind of research, or this kind or ethnography ever been written? Venkatesh was accepted (for the most part) by the participants (or residents of Robert Taylor Projects), but this is not to say a different person would have been allowed the same opportunities as him.

     Gang Leader for a Day catches the interest of the reader almost immediately, and is informative in showing the inner workings of gangs. Venkatesh provides an angle that shows the participants as more than just the title of “participant”, Venkatesh is able to show the members of the Black Kings and the community in the Robert Taylor Projects as people. Economists, sociologist, anthropologists, students, and general public should read this book. Venkatesh provides a unique point-of-view of what real life in the projects and gangs entail while avoiding outsiders assumptions. This is different from other research because not all sociologist have an insider's access to gangs, and they have to rely on data collected via surveys or from other secondary sources.

By: Meghan Clancy