Analysis: Gang Leader For A Day

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In the midst of completing his graduate studies in Sociology, Sudhir Venkatesh happens upon a character known as J.T. and the Black Knights, his gang, in the Robert Taylor housing complex of Chicago. Interested in the causes and effects of urban poverty, Venkatesh befriends J.T. and shadows him and his crack-cocaine producing gang throughout and beyond their base. Going where no police officer dared to go, Venkatesh described in detail his multi-year escapade including his experience as Gang Leader for a Day. Despite Venkatesh’s sociological background and claims, Gang Leader for a Day makes very little use of substantive sociological theory. His ethnography of the Black Knights covers a very broad area of study; it does little to focus on …show more content…
and the Black Knights. However, it is hard to overlook the consistent use of the “hard R” when quoting individuals using the “N word.” Myself, as well as many other individuals would argue there is a very distinct difference between the word “nigger,” which uses the “hard R,” and more colloquial “nigga,” which makes use of the “soft A.” Despite all his time spent with the Black Knights, he never realized the profound distinction between the two forms of the word. He even quoted himself calling one of the gang members “Nigger” (Chapter 4). This example highlights a large flaw within his work. How can someone so out of touch with the subjects he is dealing with possibly draw accurate conclusions about them? Venkatesh was born in India, moved to California, then attended the University at Chicago. It could be argued that Venkatesh had very little dealings with black folk, let alone those within the “hood.” He described the Black Knights as having a different culture; they used a different dialect, had different norms, and even their own forms of social control (Chapter 1). It is though he knew nothing of black culture. He may as well have left the United States and gone to a different, unknown country. Despite all of this piece of non-fiction gives the reader a unique view into of the complexities that make up the underground economy and gang

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