Thesis Statement
The problem facing some of Chicago's neighborhoods is that they are plagued with gang activity and abandonment of tenants and by the their own city, Chicago. The city of Chicago is a wonderful place to live. There are countless interesting places to visit and there is always something for everyone. However, the parts of the Windy City that people that don’t want you to see, is what makes Chicago one of the most dangerous cities to live in. Gangs, homicides, and abandonment is what is breaking down Chicago's most violent neighborhoods. The issue with some of the areas is the amount of gang violence that has risen in the past century. Most originating from European immigrants that formed early 20th century gangs that then
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Most famous is the neighborhood of Englewood. Originally home to serial killer H. H. Holmes Murder Castle, it too had its share of gangs originating with German, Irish, and Norwegian immigrants coming in and starting fights with police during the prohibition era such as the Irish South Side gang, the Forty-Two Gang, and The Chicago Outfit. Present day Englewood is riddled with violence that originated from gangs formed during the crack epidemic in the nineties including the Black Gangster Disciples, Mickeys Cobras, and the Vice Lords that have infected the neighborhood with murder, drugs, and crime. A video report about Englewoods violence says, ¨ Gang leaders like Hoover, make conscious decisions to enrich themselves while contributing to the destruction of their own community, and are ultimately responsible for thousands of deaths because of drugs and guns and the culture of violence they left behind. In the end, the only true contribution by gang leaders, like Hoover is, more misery for the people of neighborhoods, like Englewood.¨ The problem that faces most of Chicago's violent neighborhoods is that they have never been able to truly recover from the gang activity from the 1900´s. These factors has given Chicago the nickname of Chi-raq for it’s vast amount of violent
Andrew Diamond examines several Chicago gangs and multiple other movements in Chicago during the end of the 1950s through the 1960s. Diamond follows Dr. Martian Luther King Junior’s ambition to desegregate Chicago, the most segregated city in the United States. King focused his attention first to the West Side’s most notorious black street gangs. This source shows how racial solidarity within the city and youth gangs became a vital source of inspiration for the civil rights movement that was developing during this period. This article suits those who are studying the impact that gangs have on urban community, influences and inspiration for black West Side Chicagoans, historians, and other academic professionals.
North Lawndale is known for drug dealing, burglary, gangs, poverty, and hopelessness, due to
Together Venkatesh and Hinojosa-Smith demonstrate how a person’s exposure to a group of people or region can alter how that place or those individuals are perceived and portrayed. The traditions and operations of a group show how some individuals and locations are different than what meets the eye. In Gang Leader For a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets, it is apparent the Black Kings set up their operations by organizing where a person is stationed on the streets. Additionally, the memoir includes the ranking of the gang’s leaders, the numerous shootouts, and competition between Chicago’s gangs.
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.
This supports a couple of other claims in the exhibit about the gang problem being more than just a Chicago problem. I mean, they were bootlegging, so they would need to impede in areas where transport took place. If there was a dispute or a misunderstanding, and someone was killed, that could easily create a nasty situation for a small town or village. This is key to getting the larger scope of how massive the problem was. “During the 1920's, death by alcohol was very common.
In the film Crips and Bloods Made In America by Stacy Peralta, the history of the two south L.A. gangs is discussed in depth. The current disadvantages these modern gangs are faced with can be traced back to the oppressive and segregative history of America towards people of color. In the 60’s the black community was extremely strong and had a plethora of leaders who united and led their fight against inequality. Even in the face of white flight and segregation (Schneider, Escape From L.A.) the community had thriving social programs, cultural hubs, and vocational opportunities that was beneficial to its members (Film: Crips and Bloods).
In the 1920s, the “Untouchables” impacted the system of crime in Chicago by ridding the streets of notorious criminals such as Al Capone. To comprehend the legacy of The Untouchables, it is important to first understand the cause of the crimes they were tasked with stopping. Much
Also, from my observation of the author’s interaction with the gang members, he acted in a way, that was out of respect, and in no way condemning of the gang members or their culture. He befriended them and truly showed great interest in their personal lives. He also knew that he couldn’t’ approach these gang members in a hostile manner, as he learned this from a gang member, who stated that “You can’t just walk into the neighborhood and act like a tough guy, you get beat up.” Moreover, I also observed that the author seemed mild mannered, and certainly did not come across as this know it all, arrogant researcher. I can only imagine how scary this entire experience may have been for him, but nonetheless, he allowed himself to “hang around” the gang members as they drove him around their dangerous neighborhood.
The new development in progression today shows the idea of how marketable land around the city is and how diverse neighborhoods cause for better funding and better relationships between people of different ethnicities and cultures. Even though the Chicago Race Riots was a negative event, over the years its effects became positive. As a result of all the looting and burning down businesses, it gave the developers a chance to integrate new business ideas and housing plans to help advance the community in the future. This is one of the major historical events used today as a lesson taught to students to eliminate
Law enforcement agencies worked tirelessly to investigate and prosecute members of criminal organizations, and many high-profile arrests were made. Additionally, the city implemented a number of community-based programs designed to prevent young people from getting involved in gangs and other criminal activities. These efforts helped to reduce crime rates in some areas of the city, but organized crime continued to be a major problem throughout the 2000s. Despite the challenges, the city and its residents remained committed to fighting organized crime and making Chicago a safer place to
Chicago is known for it’s violence and a lot of this violence is between gang over territories. In my opinion I dont think that the territory problem isn’t going to end until the entire city is taken over by one gang. I think this because the way America was completely taken over by
There is a 25% increase of gang activity in Chicago as of 2009 to 2011. There are about 100 different types of gangs and a few of the most dangerous ones are in Chicago. For example you have the Latin kings, Bloods, Crips, Disciples, Folks, and many more. One of the most dangerous gangs in Chicago would be the Latin Kings. Each gang could have over 100 members or more in their
Furthermore, most of this increase is the result of Chicago 's murder rate increasing so significantly. We are thrilled that crime rates are decreasing, but wish to know what is driving up the murder rates in certain cities. Some experts believe it is due to fewer police officers and/or fewer programs designed to prevent violence. Poverty does appear to play a role in this problem, and the same is true of a rise in gang violence in these cities. With the current administration looking at gun control laws, this may be changing, but no one can say what impact this will truly have.
During his time studying these boys, he found that most cases of conflict were resolved without the use of weapon(s), but rather with “harsh conversation”. This observation highly contradicts the typical view of gang members who are commonly stereotyped by their local community and justice system in Oakland. Rios describes how the boys “Conversations often involved references to guns as analogies for resolving conflict and demonstrating manhood”. The fact that most conflicts are dealt with in non-violent ways, highlights the negative role
Throughout the 17th-century gangs have been causing havoc in people's life and destroying the society. The National Institute of Justice (2011) has defined a gang as "A group of collective members which create an atmosphere of intimidation among citizens. " Many of these gangs are well organized, using different forms of violence to control neighbourhoods and to conduct their illegal activities. The National Gang Threat Assessment (2011) reports that “Gangs are responsible for an average of 48 percent of violent crime in most jurisdictions.” Street Gangs have caused incidences of violence that is confined in the inner city of many countries.