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

Choice of Ethnography

     If I was given the chance to write an ethnography I would love to travel over to England and study the poverty stricken and homeless people of London and the suburbs right around London. I would go here because the area is of general interest to me, and I would be curious to learn more about the less wealthy people of the city. Everyone see's the glamour attached to the city, the old buildings, the royalty, tourist attractions; but not everyone is so ready to admit that this is a city that does have a lot of homeless and a lot of poverty.

     I would focus on this group of people because urban poverty has been of interest to me since my first trip into New York City when I was in elementary school and I saw all of the people living on the streets; and London while known for being a wealthy city also has the extreme other end of the spectrum and there are many people who are homeless, and many people who live well below the poverty level.

      It would most likely take (at least) several months to get a good idea of the “thick description” involved with these people. Not only would I be placed in a culture where I have no experience, but I would also have to pick up on traits and commonalities found in the people that I was studying. Getting close to people and gaining their trust would take possibly longer than normal just under the circumstances of the homelessness and poverty.

     I feel like doing an ethnography on this group of people would either go easily or involve a great struggle and many challenges. By this I mean I feel like the people I would be learning from would either be open to sharing their stories, how they live their lives, and open up to the idea of an outsider learning from them; or that the people I would be attempting to learn from would not ever trust an outsider nor would they open up to me because they have other factors in their lives that might be more important (making sure they had a meal and a place to sleep that night for example).

      I hope that the outcome of this study would be a better understanding (from an insiders prospective) of the daily life of the people of the city of London who are homeless/live in poverty. The reader would be able to understand that these people are people just like them except forced to live under different circumstances, and they live by totally different means in ways to survive. Hopefully the reader would be able to form a more educated opinion on this group of people. The way I would write this ethnography would be more of an “easy read” vs. a research paper type format. I would want the ethnography to play out smoothly, almost like the first account of a story.

Katastrophe.

     The first thing I noticed about going to the Katastrophe was the audience. The environment that had been created by the performer and the audience could be felt as soon as walking through the door. Admittedly, I did arrive to the performance about ten minutes late, but what I learned from my own tardiness was that the atmosphere when I did get there was unique to only that room. The stage was small and set close to the audience, and the majority of the crowd was seated close in the first five or so rows. What I had noticed about the people in the crowd was that they all seemed to be seated in groups where they knew each other. A few people were seated by themselves, but for the most part everyone seemed to be close-knit, or at least acquaintances.

     Katastrophe as an artist did not perform the type of music that I normally listen to, but I did not let that hinder any judgments. I wanted to go into this with an open mind. He started each song either describing what the song was about, or what had influenced him to write the song. This not only provided an inside look to what he went through as a person, but it also ensured that what he was writing was transferred well to the people watching the show. He went on to describe his life when younger, the troubles he had in school, or conflicts that he would face with people around him over sexuality issues and gender issues.

     The interesting thing was that this performance was not only an insight into his life, it was also the background and an explanation as to what brought him to this point in life and where he is now. Katastrophe also decided to include the audience and make the performance an interactive one. When discussing gender and sexuality issues, or just talking about things that happen to everyone growing up, he would then ask the crowd something along the lines of, Have you ever felt this way? or Has something like this happened to you? or a simple, You know what I mean?. The audience had responses that paralleled what Katashrophe was talking about and supported the points that he was trying to make. Throughout the whole performance people were taking pictures and videos on their phones and cameras, so it was clear that they not only supported the message that he was relaying, but they also would most likely post these videos or photos and share them with the people that they knew.

     Katastrophe physically went out into the crowd during one of his songs and got up in the faces of the people. This resulted in a group of laughter, and I thought that this is not something that normally happens at concerts, that this was unique to this experience, he wanted to bring the audience to be more part of the performance (no matter how awkward it might be at first).

     Through story telling, memories, and music Katastrophe shares his experiences and his beliefs. The messages relayed sit well with the audience and the whole environment has a judgment free zone sort of feeling to it. Anyone in the audience would have been able to pick up on that too, even while they were just enjoying a fun little concert with messages that they believed.

Glitter, Confetti, and Loud Music

     This week we were asked to write about either gender or sexuality. I could go on and talk about anything from the stereotypes of being gay, or how people tread around the subject or sugar coat things related to it trying to be way to politically correct, or how some people do not care at all what a person's sexual orientation is and how it a person should not be judged instantaneously because of it, and that in the long run sexuality could be considered a characteristic in people like brown or blue eyes and not really telling much about the person.

     The first thing that came to mine was a town about half an hour from where I grew up. I lived on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and at the very end of Cape Cod is a town called Provincetown. It's a normal town, with normal people, it just so happens that Provincetown has one of the nations highest gay populations.

     Provincetown seems just like another town to me, maybe its because I have friends who live there, or it's because I can go hang out there to catch a whale watch or some sun in the summer. But one week each summer is “Gay Pride Week”, and people from all over the country flock to Provincetown.

     The biggest attraction of the week is the gay pride parade at the end of the week. Each year the committee chooses a different theme in hope to get people to get creative. The parade not only attracts people who are gay, but of all sexual orientations. This parade is usually filled with extreme stereotypes of gays, such as people dressed up flamboyantly, lots of glitter and make-up, drag queens, lesbian couples, just a whole mix of stuff. Picture packed cobblestone streets, lots of confetti, loud music coming from the floats, and a lot of dancing. The stereotypes are played up to a level in which they will not be seen for the rest of the year, and this is probably what attracts so many people. But in that this parade is held in a place where people are accepted for who they are, it seems like everyone is comfortable.

     While I know these stereotypes are exactly that, they are stereotypes, I know that not all people understand this. They see people of a different sexual orientation to be totally different lifestyles, and not similar to themselves in any way. It would make sense to me to at least be aware that we are not the only culture to have different sexual orientations, but they can be found around the world. In fact, in certain cultures it is more common and acceptable to be gay or bisexual or a lesbian. People in other places in the world can accept people for who they are and not based off one trait, so why can't we?

Kinship Diagram

     This week, our class was asked to use their imagination and make a unique kinship diagram. In mine, I decided to not only include the normal "male" and "female" titles, but I also chose to add in friends as a category, and pets. I believe that friends can be close enough to be considered family, and that they can play an influential role in an individuals life. My kin was included, but only the people that I see on a normal basis. All the long-lost-cousins wouldn't really make sense to add because I barely even know them.

It's Time to "Live Within Your Means"...possibilities in solving economic crisis.

     Just to start off, there is no way that I want to sound like a pretentious prick while writing any of this. I don't know any statistics, or percentages about this economic “crisis” that the United States is currently in. What I do know is that we are in a recession right now, with people out of work, companies going bankrupt, and people losing there homes. In fact, I know someone who has worked their entire life, and with just a couple months left on their mortgage to own their house, they were foreclosed on and lost the house they had almost completely paid off. Situations like this are not uncommon at this point in the United States, and there has to be a ways to get around people suffering from financial deficits.

     One way that I believe could provide a solution for this economic crisis is by strengthening the international communications. The United States has numerous companies and corporations that not only exist domestically here, but also have headquarters in other countries. By giving communication a more important role in how these companies interact, it might be a more reliable way to run a business and keep knowledge of exactly what is happening with the country all around the world. Understanding where the company does the best business, where it make the most sense to place a headquarters, and by constantly looking for ways to improve the way a business is run could make a positive impact in this time of recession.

     This crisis has not only caused companies to lose money (and shut down in some cases), but it has also caused havoc on people's everyday personal lives. Jobs got cut, and are still being cut. The working class saw the number of jobs dwindling, and the number of unemployed rise. The logical thing that seems like it would solve this problem of people losing their jobs is to create more jobs. There are programs put together by the government and programs put together at the local community level that are putting people back into the job world. While creating jobs would be a logical solution to the crisis, with the amount of people that are out of work not voluntarily, there would have to be a mass amount of jobs created. This would be the difficult part. These jobs that could be created might help rebuild communities and houses, they might be strategical and mathematical jobs to figure out ways for companies to get back on track, they could be farming and agricultural jobs, infrastructure...the possibilities are endless.

     My grandmother has always told stories with little pieces of advice woven into them. One of the common pieces of advice that she has offered was to “live within your means”. This could be another way to come to a solution for the economic crisis. Some people are buying into a luxurious life that they cannot financially support. This lifestyle might work for a little bit, but in some cases things like mortgages get too expensive to afford because of the niceness of the house, or their expensive car would be repossessed for failed car payment. This goes into credit card debt as well. If people in the United States would live within what they could afford, then this would lead to a more stable economic state.

What does it mean to be an "American"?

What does it really mean to be an American? There are endless aspects in which a person can look at this. Does the person posses an “American” culture? Do they follow the “American” tradition? Are they living the “American” dream? There is really no certain way to define what it means exactly to be an American. Everyone will have their own opinion on what this concept is saying.

There are so many different versions and images that might come to mind when you think of an American. You might think of a cowboy on a farm driving a Chevy truck. You could think of a business person on Wall Street carrying a briefcase, and being financially successful. Then there is football...the American sport. College students getting degrees to have good jobs waiting for them after they receive their degree. The stereotypical suburban house with a nice car in the driveway and a white-picket fence in the front. Or you could think of the ghettos that exist in the cities with their own sets of rules to live by. The gated communities that lock out people that don't belong. The list is endless...

I guess the “American” tradition would be growing up in a suburban neighborhood, with both parents being involved in your daily life, you get your education, get a good job, get married, and have kids. At least that was the stereotypical tradition. Up until recently, this tradition was basically expected out of everyone. If you did not fall into this pattern of living, you might be looked at as an outsider, or not part of the “correct” culture that is to be American. Now however, this tradition has wavered and taken many different routes. People are given the choice of having children or not (based on economic issues, health issues, or just choice of living without kids). Marriage is not only between a man and a woman now, it can be between two men or two women now in many states, or some people choose never to marry. There are so many different lifestyles that people grow up around. Now, more than ever, children are being raised in single parent households; this not only poses different influences on the children, but also causes the economic situation to differ (the parent must now earn enough on their own to support themselves, their children, and pay all the bills, and this is not always possible).

The “American Dream” is another aspect of what it could mean to be American. The “American Dream” can be found in plenty of literature from the 19^th and 20^th centuries, it can easily be found in the news, and in biographies. If you work hard, you can achieve anything you want. When immigration was thriving in America, this was considered a new start, a land of opportunity, a place where if you worked hard that your life would be good. This is not always true. Different groups of people will not get the same chances as others, and there will always be clear advantages based on gender, race, and ethnicity. Job opportunities, full-time careers, housing options, and income levels vary on gender and race factors in certain cases. More times than not, the people who are making less money to support themselves and their families are working hard and extreme jobs, long hours, and doing most of the work that the business takes to be run successfully. The people with the higher paying salaries (while there are exceptions to this) tend to just tell the people in positions lower than them what to do to get all the jobs done, and then they end up getting a larger paycheck than the person doing the work. So even if you work extremely hard, its not always the case that you can achieve anything you want. If we live in such an intelligent and “advanced” country, then why are people still so stuck on general characteristics that should not define a person.