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Summary Of Sudhir Venkatesh's Gang Leader For A Day

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“Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets” by Sudhir Venkatesh is a book that described the recollection of Venkatesh’s time with the Black Kings, a crack-dealing gang, in the Robert Taylor Homes. Venkatesh was a sociology student at the University of Chicago and began a project in which he conducted years of research in the urban poor of Chicago. He “ditched the questionnaire in favor of just spending time with his subjects…as he tried to learn about their lives on their terms, not his”. He wanted to discover how people, such as the crack-dealing gangs, tenant leaders, and cops in the projects buy, sell, and use drugs. Hierarchy and social structure was described in Venkatesh’s autobiography of what occurred in the Robert Taylor Homes. After …show more content…

For example, I was both a sales and back associate. At HomeGoods, the lowest-ranked individuals are the sales, back, and merchandise associates. The lead associates, supervisors, or department managers are second, assistant managers are third, and the store manager is fourth. The highest-ranked level is above the store manager, which is the CEO. Hierarchy is similar in both cases because there is a leader to follow. The gang members followed JT because he was the boss and they also feared him. “He runs things around here, so I have to play by the rules” (Venkatesh, pg. 57). Although the members committed violent acts and illegal activities, they did what they were told. Many of the members are also allowed to rise up in the ranks and be promoted, such as JT receiving a new job in the Black Kings hierarchy. At HomeGoods, associates who were ranked higher, especially managers, were perceived as leaders. We, the lower-ranked associates, followed what they instructed us to do. Consequently, a few associates who were consistently working hard and pleased the managers were often promoted or had higher

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