Book Review “Gang Leader for a Day”
In the book Gang Leader for a Day, Sudhir Venkatesh expounds on the memoir of his life in Chicago while studying sociology at the University of Chicago. He took up a quest to research the life of blacks in the gang neighborhood. Sudhir immersed himself right at the heart of the gang, to learn on the events on the streets behind closed doors. In his research, he learned about the Robert Taylor Homes, one of the gangs’ dens where prostitutes, drug lords, and gang members resided. Sudhir developed a friendship with JT, one of the gang’s leaders, to get closer and understand the gang’s operations. After developing the relationship with JT for over three years, Sudhir felt that it was time to discuss his dissertation with his professor. He tried to highlight domestic violence, urban poverty, gun violence, and drug and substance abuse in the communities, and its implications.
Overview
The gang’s name was the Black Kings, one of the most renowned gang groups in Chicago. JT was one of the leaders. By befriending the gang leader, Sudhir gained unprecedented access to the homes and interacted with as many gang members as possible, with the condition that he was not to ask a lot of questions. After a lot of familiarization, he got the privilege to be appointed as the gang leader for a day (Venkatesh, 2009). Through his study, it was not without a share of challenges as his life was threatened, and his views were questioned. He got to understand the sturdy sides of running the gang cycles and ensuring that things are done per the rules of the gang set by their leaders.
Primarily, during this period, he witnessed a lot of criminal activities unfold, from cops facilitating drug sales, prostitution, gang wars and drug deals gone wrong, but notably, how they had each other’s backs in times of need. During his disguised mission, the author discovered that not only the gang members were influential in running the housing project but also, MS. Bailey, is considered a powerful influence in the community. She is the primary contact between the community and the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA). This was the city bureaucracy that managed the housing project. Since the housing project was in less contact with the outside world in case of broken amenities repairs would go for weeks before they were initiated, however, by paying bribes to Ms. Bailey, she would speed up the process given that she was in direct contact with CHA. She also solicits bribes from gang members to keep their activities from the police. She is in a cohort with the gangs to run the project (Venkatesh, 2009). However, she positively contributes to the community by ensuring that impoverished children were well-taken care. She also convinced the local clinics to provide free medical .checkup for the children.
Structure and Organization of the Gang
The gang leadership was hierarchical and was vertically structured. It comprised of the squatters at the bottom of the pyramid, followed by intern gangs, the officers who monitored the gangs the lieutenants, and the leaders who are referred to as the board of directors at the top. These directors conducted regular meetings to discuss crack inventory, finance, and possible intention to expand and secure new territories outside of Chicago. The gang leaders controlled the dealers, the squatters at the Robert Taylor Homes, and paid the soldiers that were in charge of manning the premises (Venkatesh, 2009). Moreover, they punished the members who disobeyed the rules, such as withholding drug money, where they banned from selling the drugs for a while, maybe for a week or sometimes up to a month, cutting off their incomes.
The Gang’s Interaction with the Community
The general community at the Robert Taylor Homes public housing projects are struggling to make ends meet. Most of these residents are unemployed living lives of deprivation with no access to decent functional amenities such s working heaters and refrigerators. Additionally, law enforcement had turned a blind eye on them and did not have efficient access to emergency services such as 911. For instance that they called for these emergency services, they got a slow response or no response at all. Despite these conditions laced with abject poverty, the residents were accustomed to living with the criminal gangs. According to Venkatesh (2009), it was a common trend for the gangs to square out their differences by fighting rather than involving the law. The conditions at the housing depicted the racial inequality from the police negligence and inadequate amenities.
Despite being known for their heinous acts, the gang members played an imperative role in the community. Firstly, they provided safety for women when they went to prevent them from getting mugged. They provide the safest to member so the community. Sudhir witnessed an incident whereby one resident had a broken door; one of the gang members was assigned to take care of the family from getting mugged (Venkatesh, 2009). This comes in handy to protect vulnerable families. Secondly, they provide financial aid to tenants or apartment managers to buy food and other basic needs and distribute them to the residents. Thirdly, they facilitate education for the children. They keep the youth in school and take it upon them to punish school drop pouts. However, nothing comes on a sliver palter; all this is done in exchange for silence concerning the gang’s activities.
However, the presence of the gangs in the community had its share of challenges. First, the rate of drug abuse was high, Venkatesh (2009) projects that about 15% of the residents were drug addicts from the high exposure to drugs, and another 25% were occasional users. The tendency of drug use was damaging to the health of the residents. Secondly, the gangs participated in money extortion. For those tenants that failed to pay, they were eaten up to contribute to the gang money, not even an exception of that old lady worth 20 dollars from selling candy. Thirdly, the gang members were known to abuse women both physically and sexually without fear of any repercussions given that most of the people feared to tell on them. Lastly, the fact that the housing project was a drug den; this meant that it had slowed turned to a war zone from the frequent turf wars, regular shootings, and inspired violence. Consequently, innocent lives were claimed.
Key Takeaways
After close to 10 years of study, Venkatesh had developed close relationships with the residents at the Robert Taylor homes, having worked closely with JT, the Black Kings leader. He had his concerns that his research could land him in trouble with the law. His greatest fear was having so much information that in the event he was put on the spot to testify in court against the gangs, he would be forced to betray his sources’ confidentiality. In his book, Sudhir blames the capitalist system for the misery and crime in the housing settlements. He alludes to the capitalist lifestyle spurring the illegal and unethical lifestyles of the people in Robert Taylor homes had adopted to make a living.
Throughout the book, Sudhir explains the nature and lifestyle of the poor and black people living in Chicago. He also describes their highs and lows in dealing with drug abuse, prostitution, drug wars, and police negligence. He blames the capitalist system that highly contributed to the state of life due to their lack of responsibility. Additionally, he dismissed the misconception that gangs are always fighting each other. Involving gangs and drug peddling is no way to live a life but illustrates the gang’s positive sides and their contribution to the community. This does not, however, justify the criminal activities happening at the Robert Taylor Homes. Reading this book has given me another view of life’s perspective, as seen through the eyes of Sudhir Venkatesh. It was an informative book to read.
Reference
Venkatesh, S. A. (2008). Gang Leader for a day: A rogue sociologist takes to the streets. Penguin
