Chapter 1: How Does it Feel to be Black and Poor?
It was interesting to see how Sudhir first
interacted with the gangs. He was either fearless and bold, or just completely unaware
of the danger that he was entering. I agree with Sudhir when he explains that
the studies and seminars in the academic world seem “cold and distant, abstract
and lifeless”(3). This can be seen by comparing his awkward questioning with
his hang outs with JT. Being submerged into the culture helps immensely in
understanding exactly where that group is coming from.
Chapter 2: First Days on Federal Street
I was surprised that JT enjoyed having Sudhir around
as much as he did, but I guess it makes sense if you look at it as JT having a
pet that follows him around and who he can show off. I liked being introduced
to Ms. Mae as it seems she has a good understanding of her surroundings at yet truly
desires to help the people around her. This was starkly contrasted by Sudhir’s
witness of the beating of C-Note. Part of Sudhir’s naivety was finally
shattered, and he began to understand a little better of what he got himself
into and how JT is able to lead the BKs.
Chapter 3: Someone to Watch Over Me
With the beating of C-Note Sudhir finally realized
that he is witnessing a lot of illegal actions. He struggles with the idea of
whether he should call the police or not. However, he knew if he did this that
his connections inside of the BKs would probably be cut off. It took me by
surprise that a gang would get involved in politics and how the structure was
so similar to corporate companies with a hierarchy and rivals. In regards to
these rivals, Sudhir is forced to pick sides and decided if he is with Autry or
if he is with JT.
Chapter 4: Gang Leader for a Day
I think the name of this chapter and the name of the
book is very misleading because Sudhir barely did anything in regards to
leading the Gang. However, it did give him a better perspective of what the day
to day jobs are and how JT goes about solving conflicts within his gang. When
they realized that one of the members were selling diluted crack, JT asked
Sudhir what he would do, and he responded that he should be kicked out of the
gang. JT’s response surprised me in that he doesn’t want to belittle the
members thought process of obtaining more money, but he does need to learn that
diluting crack is not the way to go about it.
Chapter 5: Ms. Bailey’s Neighborhood
Ms. Bailey is scary. It is almost as if she is in
control of her own little gang and yet still is connected to the BK. On the
surface, it looked as if she really was helping out the people in the
community, but it turned out that she was very biased in who she helped. You
could tell that her motives were not to help the people in the projects, but to
make a profit for herself by any means necessary. Sudhir had a rude awakening
when he got taken advantage of by Clarisse. Ms. Bailey proceeded to inform him
of the consequences that could be produced because of it. In addition to this,
Sudhir again proceeded to break the correct way to perform an ethnography by
kicking Bee-Bee.
Chapter 6: The Hustler and the Hustled
How did he just now think about consulting a lawyer?
Whatever the reason, he finally realized in this chapter that he is a hustler
just as much as the people in the BK. This was highlighted by his mistake of
revealing personal financial information to Ms. Bailey and JT. Through this
mistake many of the tenants stopped talking to Sudhir. Sudhir plays this off as
he just didn’t know, but I think he knew completely what he was doing. He was
just to consumed by the information that he disregarded the effects that it
would create.
Chapter 7: Black and Blue
This was the second recorded incident of a drive by
shooting. The response was different because the attackers had “no business sense”.
So, JT found the shooters, beat them up, and took their guns. Sudhir was also
able to learn a lot more about why the people in the projects were scared of
the police and never called them. He was able to see how corrupt they were. His
perception of protective police officers was erased and replaced with a more
realistic view which displays both sides of the coin.
Chapter 8: The stay-Together Gang
News of the demolishment of the Robert Taylor Homes
had everyone scared. People had to start thinking of where they were going to
live and what they were going to do. This area was one reason why JT was doing
so well, and he knew with it gone that his leading the BK would be over. In
this turmoil, some families were intent on staying together because of the
network that they had already created with the Robert Taylor Homes. Dorothy
took it upon herself to help these families stay together in order to survive
in another neighborhood. It was interesting to see the sympathy that was
created for these gang members and their troubles.
Book Overview:
This book was actually a really fun read that helped
to spur ideas and questions to ask when doing our own ethnography. It was very
enlightening to view gangs and gang members in this light. It reminded me of
their humanity and their sad circumstances that they were born into. Given
those circumstances, it is amazing how they have learned to survive in their
own community. What would it look like if each and every neighbor helped each
other out like the people in the Robert Taylor Homes did? Even though this wasn’t
the main purpose of the book, it is one of the themes that I connected with. I
believe that Sudhir’s main reason for writing this book was to persuade the
benefits of being an ethnographer verses those in sociology who use quantitative
and statistical techniques. He more than likely exaggerated his naivety in
order to better support this point that he wanted to make as well as making it
a better read. He also used this tactic in order to portray himself in a better
light since he did act in morally questionable ways at some points. This can be
observes in his process of gathering information. He broke many rules of an
ethnographer and had to contemplate within himself how to correlate his actions
with his moral compass. In addition to this, he witnessed how corrupt police
officers could be. This was also a shock to me since I have grown up with a
huge respect for them and their ability to protect the community. Obviously,
the account of this book doesn’t mean all police officers are like that, but it
did make me realize that there are a few out there and this in and of itself
changed my viewpoint a lot. It was also interesting to note the different
roles/positions that comprised of a life in the projects. You have the leaders
like JT, T-Bone, Autry, or Ms. Baily. Then you have the other officers and the
lower members who sell outside on the streets. Outside of the gangs, but not free from them, there
are squatters, prostitutes, and business stores. I think that Ms. Baily is
almost the foil of JT in that her corrupt means of obtaining what she wants
demonstrates how JT is a more sensible business man and cares a little more
about his people even if he is also power hungry. Seeing this type of structure
in a gang was very surprising for me to read about. I did not realize how it
ran was so similar to a normal legitimate or shady business. It was also
interesting to note how Sudhir was able to build relatively close relationships
to everyone in the gang – even to the point where T-Bone gave him the Black
Kings financial ledger. This obviously could never be obtained by the previous
reporters that came in because they were associated to “be with” the police. Therefore,
they were not able to understand the people and community as well as Sudhir
came to know them. In the end, it was amazing to see how just demolishing a
building could completely destroy the BK in that area. The chaos that it
produces is good to remember whenever the government wants to supplant homes
with some other project that they think would better help the community.
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