Friday, April 25, 2008
Gang Leader for a Day
Yesterday I attended a presentation at my old stomping ground of NYU. The speaker -- whom I was very excited to see -- was Sudhir Venkatesh, whose new(ish) book, Gang Leader for a Day, describes the underground economy of the Robert Taylor Homes - the largest housing project in Chicago during the late 80s to mid 90s until they were demolished.
The book describes a demographic of people that had not been thoroughly studied in a meaningful sociological way until the self-described "hippy" Venkatesh wandered into the Robert Taylor homes in 1989 to administer a survey. One thing led to another (my way of saying: read the book), and he ended up befriending the local gang leader of the Black Kings -- one of the most powerful gangs in Chicago at that time.
The relationship between the gang leader, JT, and Venkatesh spans a decade; and in that time Venkatesh had the opportunity to study the informal economies of the projects. The study really examines how people make a living, and in essence survive, in the absence of any government help. The book outlines the complex networks of these economies; replete with rules and unspoken agreements, power sharing, and hostile takeovers.
The importance of this book is found not only in its ability to describe economies so often misunderstood by politicians, scholars, media, and policy-makers; Venkatesh seeks to humanize the people of the projects by highlighting their endeavors to get ahead and their ability to survive. Ultimately, the reader comes to find that the people marginalized and forgotten are the ones with the greatest will to negotiate and struggle. The narrative, to be sure, is not a morality tale. It doesn't judge the variety of ways people make a living, but it does seek to understand the interworkings of it. The book is worth the read, and hopefully, will illuminate the plight of the urban poor in a substantive way that helps inform a way of how to get them out of it.
One more thing: the "rogue" sociologist term on the cover of his book wasn't his idea, it was his publishers; I asked him last night.
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The book describes a demographic of people that had not been thoroughly studied in a meaningful sociological way until the self-described "hippy" Venkatesh wandered into the Robert Taylor homes in 1989 to administer a survey. One thing led to another (my way of saying: read the book), and he ended up befriending the local gang leader of the Black Kings -- one of the most powerful gangs in Chicago at that time.
The relationship between the gang leader, JT, and Venkatesh spans a decade; and in that time Venkatesh had the opportunity to study the informal economies of the projects. The study really examines how people make a living, and in essence survive, in the absence of any government help. The book outlines the complex networks of these economies; replete with rules and unspoken agreements, power sharing, and hostile takeovers.
The importance of this book is found not only in its ability to describe economies so often misunderstood by politicians, scholars, media, and policy-makers; Venkatesh seeks to humanize the people of the projects by highlighting their endeavors to get ahead and their ability to survive. Ultimately, the reader comes to find that the people marginalized and forgotten are the ones with the greatest will to negotiate and struggle. The narrative, to be sure, is not a morality tale. It doesn't judge the variety of ways people make a living, but it does seek to understand the interworkings of it. The book is worth the read, and hopefully, will illuminate the plight of the urban poor in a substantive way that helps inform a way of how to get them out of it.
One more thing: the "rogue" sociologist term on the cover of his book wasn't his idea, it was his publishers; I asked him last night.
Posted by Evan G @ 4:47 PM 
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