How well Wes Moore describes the culture of the streets, and particularly disenfranchised adolescents that resort to violence, is extraordinary considering the unbiased perspective Moore gives. Amid Moore’s book one primary theme is street culture. Particularly Moore describes the street culture in two cities, which are Baltimore and the Bronx. In Baltimore city the climate and atmosphere, of high dropout rates, high unemployment and poor public infrastructure creates a perfect trifecta for gang violence to occur. Due to what was stated above, lower income adolescent residents in Baltimore are forced to resort to crime and drugs as a scapegoat of their missed opportunities.
Where we’re from, who we know, and how our mental makeup is, is very important in our lives. It can be the deciding factor between life in prison and a life dedicated to giving back to others. In The Other Wes Moore, The lives of two young men are examined through three distinct lenses, how the role our environment, social capital (How we get ahead by helping each other) and how our mindset can dictate who we become later on in life. Both of these young men grew up in roughly the same environment, the ghettos of Baltimore, Maryland and the Bronx, New York, respectively.
After reading, The Other Wes Moore, it intrigued me how so many of our young people are growing up in families where the parent or parents cannot provide a suitable environment that provides fundamental resources. This book talks about two males that could have ended up with the same fate only if there had not been any assistance to guide one of them on a different path. It is evident that our environment is an essential factor in how we adapt and attain the life that we live. With limited resources, our youth has become a statistic of their environments. As these generations continuously extend, minorities have become the target of a huge issue such as teen pregnancy.
Elijah Anderson, a Yale professor, developed the concept or theory entitled the “code of the street” which explains the reasoning for high rates of street violence among African-American juveniles in a Philadelphia community. The “code of the street” is the way of life for many living in poverty-stricken communities which attempt to regulate behaviors. Anderson observed that juveniles in inner-city neighborhoods who are exposed to racial discrimination, economic disadvantages and alienation from mainstream society may lead violent behavior. The strain, social learning, and labeling theories are all directly related to Anderson’s work.
Even though you may be a part of a particular cultural system at the moment, this does not mean that it cannot evolve. Throughout the course of the film, the characters have conversations concerning the racial prejudice, the brutality of the police, and the cycle of violence that is plaguing their community. For instance, a quote appeared in the beginning of the movie, and it stated that the vast majority of African-Americans pass away at the hands of another African-American. As Trey's dad explained throughout the course of the movie, this is meant to happen on purpose as a result of the racism that is systemic in the country. Even though Trey's dad and many of Trey's friends and neighbors grew up in the same community, he makes it a point to teach his son every day that just because something is common in your culture doesn't mean you have to do what everyone else does.
The book, Random Family, written by author Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, provides a fascinating depiction of the lives of individuals in disadvantaged urban areas. The book allows individuals to experience a life of crime, deceitfulness, and incarceration through the lives of the characters in Random Family. The endeavors portrayed by the individuals in LeBlanc’s book demonstrate the determination of people who desire to escape ghetto captivity in search for better opportunities. A life in the ghetto inherently derives from an individual’s inability to conform to the expectations of conventional society. Permissible behaviors in underprivileged areas, fail to align with the traditional methods of proper etiquette in modern societies.
In one nation a child is brought up by both of his and or her parents they receive and education, a job, a spouse and a home that is deemed a safe haven. In the other nation, a child is brought up by an unwed single mother who resides in a neighborhood full of irresponsible sexual men but few committed fathers, and deems gang life s necessity of self-protection and valuable for self-advancement. The American sociologist, Elijah Anderson, has put the matter more bluntly: In our big cities, the middle-class, both white and black, thinks of itself as the outcome of the great tradition of Western culture, but nearby, there is a second culture of young, marginally employed, sexually adventuresome, socially aggressive young men who reject the idea of hard work and social conformity that made their elders successful (Wilson,
Wealth is a possession that many individuals inherit, yet Trevor Noah 's memoir, Born a Crime shows that he worked against all odds in order to gain his wealth. Beginning with his birth as an illegal child, he and his mother were at a disadvantage. As such, she had to hide him from society because if the police caught him, she would face imprisonment. Poverty did not help his situation. In fact, it made him put his plans of getting a university education on pause, and caused him to engage in criminal activities.
Children of any culture require nurturing in order to grow to become a productive member of society. However, In African American communities often children are left to fend for themselves. In a one-parent home all responsibilities fall on the shoulders of one person, by default creating a
And as a teenager from a mixed community has triggered her behavior in knowing the different backgrounds of people who surround her, thoughts that led her to think that ordinary
Despite the strength of this system, youth found ways to resist either through committing violent crimes, or politically organizing and returning to schools (Rios 41). A perfect example of a youth resisting is Mike, who stole a bag of chips after being accused of coming into the store to steal by the store clerk (Rios 106). Mike’s form of resistance was to follow these criminalized roles he was given. His race, the way he was dressed, and the people he was with gave the impression that he was up to no good. However, the store clerk performed a symbolized criminalization by observing every move they made throughout the store and profiling the youth as troublemakers and potential criminals by the way they looked.
As characters are exposed to different situations, their feelings and opinions change and develop. 'The Woman in Black', written by Susan Hill, is a gothic novel set in Victorian England. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is sent to an isolated town in the country to recover papers that belonged to newly deceased Alice Drablow. What he thought would be a relaxing time away from the noisy London turns into a nightmare as he is haunted by the Woman in Black. Being alone becomes a fear instead of a luxury.
Vonnie McLoyd discusses in the book Child Development that black families are more likely to face poverty in America and the effects that poverty has on those children. McLoyd states that children that have faced poverty in their lives can have “impaired socioemotional functioning” (McLoyd 311). As a result from job loss creating parental stress, parents often become
Firstly, Huh and Reid (2000) argue that talking about adoption and having racial discussions at home is beneficial for the adoptee. Their argument is supported by Liow (1994) who contends that children’s knowledge of their racial and cultural roots is important in forming their personal identities and such knowledge should be conveyed in a manner that coincides with the children’s understanding ability. Secondly, parents should teach their child how to cope with racial discrimination. Studies have shown that the inability to cope with discrimination will result in the child being unable to deal with racism in a way that protects their self-esteem and positive racial identity (Butler-Sweet, 2011). There are also other protective factors like children’s involvement in cultural activities, parents having friends or colleagues who are of the child’s race, being in racially integrated schools and living in a multi-cultural neighbourhood (Huh & Reid, 2000; Liow, 1994; Robinson,
This increases the chances for their poor and minority children to experience further future racial and class inequality. We need to consider the long-term consequences of this family’s current situation as engage with them. Several implications arise when we consider parental/familial incarceration and the impact it has on their family members left behind. Incarceration elevates risk of divorce or separation, reduces financial resources and security of the partners and children left behind, increases child behavioral problems, increases social marginalization and other negative economic, health and well-being outcomes (Wildeman & Western, 2010; Sugie, 2012). Knowing what we do regarding social determinants of health, these are important issues to keep in mind in our work with this
