Gang Leader For a Day

Venkatesh begins to spend time with J.T. and some of the senior members of his gang. He tells us that it would take him years to learn the details of J.T.’s life but, in the first few weeks of their acquaintance, Venkatesh discovered that J.T. grew up in the projects and won an athletic scholarship to college; he loved to talk about history and politics. After graduating, he got a job but was frustrated by the limited opportunities he had as a young black man. He chose to return to the projects and joined the Black Kings in the hope of making a better life for himself.

Venkatesh and J.T. often hang out at diners, where they discuss topics ranging from the history of Chicago to the sociological literature on gangs. J.T. always offers to pay for Venkatesh’s meals, for which he is very grateful. Sometimes they would sit in silence while J.T. worked out the logistics of gang operations and Venkatesh read his textbooks. J.T. writes almost nothing down—he doesn’t want to leave any evidence of his gang’s activities—and as a result, he has an excellent memory. While Venkatesh does make notes of his time with the Black Kings, he hardly ever does so in front of J.T., in case it makes him nervous.

Their meetings are arranged through brief phone calls and are on J.T.’s terms; Venkatesh sometimes has to skip classes in order to meet him. Venkatesh is eager to learn as much as he can about the Black Kings. He has been hanging out with J.T. for eight months when they first visit Robert Taylor Homes, the largest public housing project in the United States. J.T. is going to meet someone there and Venkatesh is told not to open his mouth or their relationship is over. He agrees.

On their way to Robert Taylor, J.T. repeatedly asks Venkatesh if they are being followed by the police; this makes him consider, for the first time, exactly what it is he’s doing hanging out with a criminal gang. At the same time, he’s excited and loves the thrill of his research—he considers himself another pioneer, like the University of Chicago scholars who founded the field of sociology.

J.T. receives a warm welcome at Robert Taylor Homes which, unlike Lake Park, is bustling with activity. An obese man named Curly greets J.T. and they go to his apartment to discuss business. Venkatesh is surprised by how cozy and domestic the apartment is; it doesn’t fit with stereotypes of Robert Taylor Homes.

Venkatesh can’t really follow J.T. and Curly’s discussion and he’s afraid to interrupt them—even to ask permission to go to the bathroom. On their drive back to Lake Park, J.T. explains that he grew up in Robert Taylor Homes and that when Lake Park is demolished, he’ll be returning there, where his faction of the Black Kings will merge with Curly’s. Their meeting was about the details of the merger.

Robert Taylor Homes is a good place to make money from the drug trade because it has a high population and it’s accessible to white people, too. J.T. hopes to make enough money to buy houses for his mother and the girlfriends with whom he has children. J.T. is ambitious about moving up in the Black Kings’ hierarchy, which mirrors that of a regular business. Venkatesh is worried that J.T.’s move will mean an end to their relationship and his research, but J.T. assures him that they can still hang out. In fact, he seems to crave the attention and wants to be taken seriously.

Venkatesh tells us that in the 1980s, Robert Taylor Homes became the center of Chicago’s gang and drug problems, yet there was very little information about the reality of daily life in the neighborhood. He feels his work can change that, his relationship with J.T. is an opportunity to make a difference. However, he’s still not sure how his academic advisers will react to his research and so he decides not to tell them until he has a firmer idea of the shape his project will take.

A few weeks after his meeting with Curly, J.T. invites Venkatesh to a birthday party at Robert Taylor, where he’s now living with his mother. He sends a number of BK members to pick Venkatesh up at the bus stop as it’s not safe for him to walk around the projects on his own. J.T. introduces Venkatesh as “The Professor” to his friends and his mother, Ms. Mae, with whom Venkatesh forms an immediate bond. He and Ms. Mae discuss the challenges of raising a family in public housing; she explains that today’s party is for a little girl called Carla, whose parents are both in jail. Rather than allowing Carla to be put into foster care, the tenants at Robert Taylor have banded together to care for her—and to hide her situation from social services.

J.T. invites Venkatesh to a different party that same night: The Kings have won a basketball tournament held between the different buildings at Robert Taylor, each of which is run by a different organization, or gang. However, J.T. tells him that non-gang members also play in these tournaments because “it’s not like everyone hates us” (33). During the party, Venkatesh stays close to J.T. and says very little.

After a month spending time at Robert Taylor, Venkatesh finally convinces J.T. not to pick him up from the bus stop. This gives him a chance to see the surrounding neighborhoods. When he arrives at J.T.’s building he normally goes straight to Ms. Mae’s apartment where he will get something to eat and talk with her. At one point, he tries to give Ms. Mae money for the food he eats but she refuses, telling him “when you’re here you’re in my home and my community. And we’ll take care of you” (35).

J.T. arrives and asks Venkatesh to accompany him while he surveys the building. The Black Kings try to keep the place in order so that the cops won’t be called, which would disrupt their drug trade. J.T. always checks the stairwells first but never on his own, “just in case” (36). J.T. explains that the gang allows a number of squatters to live in the building for a fee and they mostly hang out in the stairwells. As a result, it’s the Kings’ responsibility to make sure no fights break out. This job is usually given to junior members—it’s a way for them to earn some money and a way for J.T. to determine whether they’re ready for promotion within the gang. There are stable squats—empty apartments that are run by people like C-Note, who oversees the behavior of those living there. These tend to cause less trouble than the temporary squats, where fights often break out, bringing the police.

During their tour of the building, Venkatesh sees women wearing jackets emblazoned with “Tenant Patrol”: they help out older residents and help make the building safe for women and children. Sometimes they ask the gang for assistance: for example, J.T. gave the Tenant Patrol money for after-school activities. He tells Venkatesh that this keeps them off his back—the first hint he has given that not everyone at Robert Taylor is in favor of the Kings.

Venkatesh is overwhelmed by all this information and tells J.T. he needs a break. J.T. understands and tells him to go and write up his notes; Venkatesh feels awkward because this is the first time either of them has mentioned a written record of what Venkatesh is witnessing, but J.T. is unperturbed. He has someone escort Venkatesh back to Ms. Mae’s apartment, which becomes something of a safe haven for him during his time at Robert Taylor. People get used to seeing him there, working on his notes, and respect his privacy. Ms. Mae even clears out a space for him to keep a few things in the apartment. Spending time at Ms. Mae’s also gives him a chance to talk to a range of people in the community, who are usually happy to talk about their lives as long as he doesn’t ask too many questions.

Evenings spent on the open-air landings also provide him the opportunity to meet more of the tenant, including a prostitute named Clarisse whom he eventually discovers is J.T.’s cousin. Her family is ashamed of her, but she refuses to hide what she does. She tells Venkatesh that there are two types of prostitutes working at Robert Taylor: “hypes” and “regulars”. Regulars, like Clarisse, sleep with men to make money, but only go with men they know. They don’t work full-time, just enough to feed their families. Hypes, on the other hand, work for drugs or to get money for drugs. Some have pimps or work for a gang and they often cause trouble. While J.T. had told him that the Kings didn’t have a prostitution racket, Venkatesh learns that they still have a say in the industry, and often earn a fee from those who work in the building.

In most sociological literature on gangs, they are portrayed as having difficult relationships with other residents in their communities. However, J.T.’s gang seemed to act “as the de facto administration of Robert Taylor” (43); they policed the building and organized neighborhood clean-ups and basketball tournaments. However, these activities often interrupted tenants own plans—it’s a complicated dynamic. This is made clear in an incident involving the Kings and C-Note, leader of the squatters. C-Note and some other men are working in the building’s parking lot when J.T. and his men arrive and tell them to move because they’re holding a basketball tournament. C-Note refuses and they argue; J.T. has two of his men grab C-Note and they beat him so badly he has to go to hospital.

J.T. doesn’t notice that Venkatesh is present until afterwards, and seems annoyed that he has witnessed this act of violence. While he often accompanies J.T. on tours of the building, Venkatesh knows he only sees a small part of what J.T. does. The incident with C-Note forces him to look at his relationship with J.T. and the Kings in a different way and to acknowledge the fact that his perspective on the gang is a limited one that J.T. controls. Venkatesh decides that he needs to learn more about the gang’s relationship with the wider community and to do that, he needs to distance himself from the Black Kings.