Reference no: EM133260805

First, consider the following quote from pp. 34 of Gang Leader:

"He [J.T.] made a few references to the gang's hierarchy and his effort to rise within it. There were a few dozen Black Kings officers above him, spread throughout Chicago, who earned their money by managing several gang factions like J.T.'s. These men were known as "lieutenants" and "captains." Above them was another level of gangsters who were known as the "board of directors." I had had no idea how much a street gang's structure mirrored the structure of just about any other business in America," (Venkatesh, 2008).

Believe it or not, Venkatesh is classifying the Black Kings gang in the quote above. His impression of the gang's structure contains surprise, but it also draws conclusions about not only the gang's ability to run itself like a proper business, but also, the more human (universal) elements of gang life, I.e. the desire to "move up" and progress in the organization like with any other job.

Question 1: How can you begin to "classify" the Black Kings through the first three plus chapters of Gang Leader? This can be an impression about the structure of the organization, or it can be a notion about the goals and aspirations of the prominent figures from the gang--up to you. Whatever the focus, make sure you classify the Black Kings in some way.

Question 2: Draw conclusions from the classification and describe the significance of your conclusions (see quote above). How are your conclusions significant with regard to gang life specifically (crime control, prevention, policy, quality of life, etc)? And how are they significant in a general or human way (human condition)?