Gang leader for a day
review by: Adeel Chaudhry November 27, 2011
The Gang leader for a day written by Sudhir Venkatesh a graduate student in sociology from University of Chicago is perhaps one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. Initially we see the author trying to conduct his research in a form of a questionnaire his first question being “How does it feel to be black and poor in America?” (pg. 14), but this attempt failed as he found himself kidnaped by the gang. It took the gang leader J.T and his mother known as Ms. Mae to make him realize how wrong his methods were. Although the topic remained the same which was to find out what it was like to be poor and black in American but the methods were quiet unique.
This ethnography, which occurred in gang controlled Robert Taylor housing projects, takes a deep insight of the gang life and how it affects the community. Venkatesh briefly describes his background as well, which makes Gang Leader for a Day more relatable to people who grew up in American suburbs and had a relatively privileged or middle class life. In contrast his participants living only a few miles from his University campus lived under severe poverty in neighborhoods portrayed in the media as troubled spots.
Venkatesh's research takes place over long period of about 10 years during the height of the crack epidemic. Initially he tries to get accepted by the residents of the project especially the gang during which he develops close friendship with the Black King gang leader J.T who was in charge of the gang operations in Robert Taylor projects. His friendship and development of ties with the people in the projects enabled him not only better understand the day to day operations of the gang but also the dynamics of the community it operates in.
Venkatesh’s unorthodox methods of collecting data, itself makes this book more interesting. Instead of conducting one to one interviews with the subjects, Venkatesh focused on blending himself in the community, enabling him better access to peoples’ personal lives and what role did the gang had to play in their lives.
In a research done on people one the margins of society there have to be some moral that need to be addressed, one can argue about the morality of Venkatesh’s methods, but to me at least his methods provided a more detailed insight of the life of people living in urban areas infamous for their violence. Venkatesh found ways in which he could perform a more detailed research benefitting his new career as a sociologist while bring the problems of the communities in which the gangs operate more light.
Gang Leader for a Day portrayed the gang not just as a criminal group, but a complex corporation, which also helps the local economy and keep peace in areas largely ignored by the government organizations. The gang indeed places its interest first as in the C-note beating (pg. 62, 63) and others instances such as keeping the peace so the police doesn’t interfere. The interests of the people only were mutual due to the lack of services.
Sudhir’s blending in the Robert Taylor project of community and the Black King gang and providing us a deep understanding of the gang and people was a brave step but did it only benefit his career of helped bring more light to the socio-economic problems which revolve around it. In my opinion it did both, Gang leader for a day made Venkatesh a well-known sociologist and helped pin point the problems which enable the existence of the gang in such poor and ignored communities. This ethnography is a must read for someone who would like to better understand the interactions between the community and the gangs.
