Renegade Dreams paints a vivid picture of a gang-ridden, violence-heavy, and very poor neighborhood within the city of Chicago. Laurence Ralph spent years within the area of Eastwood Chicago, meticulously noting how the previously mentioned violence and poverty affect the citizens of the place. In the book, a gang renegade is described as “young gang affiliates that seasoned members claim don’t have the wherewithal to be in the gang.”(Ralph 56) The environment is so corrupt that straying from the established gang wars and fights earns a person the title of renegade or deserter. These renegades work for the community to be a better place, attempting to get rid of the obvious issues of gang violence, but also limit racialization, gender, and …show more content…
The last three problems all intersect to affect the people of Eastwood directly for the worse. These conditions influence opportunities that people are given in the area, limit their access to valuable resources, and shift the power dynamic within the community. Racial ethnicity of the area compared to the rest of Chicago is extremely prevalent and brings significant turmoil to residents of Eastwood. Consequently, this specific neighborhood within Chicago represents an African American majority that has and continues to be looked down upon for 40 years. Work is put in to assist in ridding the area of systematic racism. "Wilson’s work helped dismantle the racist presuppositions that were still embedded in mainstream sociological scholarship of the 1970s and 1980s, which suggested that African Americans were predisposed to delinquency and violence" (Ralph 13). During that time, a movement within America was formed because of the Civil Rights Act and Martin Luther King Jr’s efforts to improve the state of America. When he was assassinated, riots and protests began, which painted negative connotations of the African Americans within these areas. Despite efforts to improve, government officials push off development of the area because of its
This book was about a street gang called the Mighty Vice Lords. They were the second largest gang in Chicago with about 30,000 members. The Vice Lords started in the Illinois Training center (Juvenile Correctional Facility) for boys in St. Charles Illinois during 1958 and was led by Edward “Pepalo” Perry and Alfonso Alfred. This group was known to be brutal and violent. It discussed how a violent gang can become a community organization and change the way things were done for the betterment of the community. This information is important because it showed that gangs can become a positive force.
In the film, Dreamkeeper, I felt that I learned a lot of interesting stories that the Grandfather Pete Chasing Horse told his troubled young grandson, Shane. The movie started off with the grandfather talking with kids and telling them the story of Eagle boy until Shane was thrown out of a car from the people he owed money to. Shane got in trouble because he pawned a ring for his girlfriend rather than a boom box for the gangster he worked for. The Eagle Boy was alone on the hill with just the buffalo robe and sacred pipe as well as himself, he desired a vision. However, we later find out why he was being denied a vision over and over again. His path to redemption somehow coincides with the destiny of Shane. The Grandfather Pete Chasing Horse
There is a deep seated hatred between rival gangs, which makes it difficult for the gang’s members to let go. Gangs became a source of income for some people, which made it difficult for many young African Americans to escape the gangs. Significance: This film shows how the police saw activist groups such as the Black Panthers and the U.S. Organization as a threat, which led to repression despite the Civil Rights Movement. This repression leads to anger and hatred and the need for a sense of belonging amongst the African American community.
also exemplifies a compassionate leader, but another leadership quality of King’s was his unmatched trustworthiness amongst the black people of the 1950’s and 60’s. Martin Luther King Jr. lived during a time of severe segregation and hate toward the African-American people of the United States. Many African-American civil rights activists- such as Reverend George Lee, Lamar Smith, and NAACP State Director Medgar Evers- were victims of gruesome murders due to their efforts in the Civil Rights Movement (Austin, 2002). Martin Luther King Jr. too was killed as a result of his efforts as one of the leaders of the movement, and every time that King organized a demonstration, his followers also risked their lives by participating. Their trust in Martin Luther King Jr.’s non-violent demonstrations was eventually rewarded, as now the African-American people comprise an important part of
The book emphasizes the idea of how difficult it is to leave the gang lifestyle. There are frequent cases of relapse by individuals in the book, who were once out to again return to gangs. This case is brought by what gangs represent to this in the book and what leaving entails them to give up. The definition of gangs presented to the class was, three or more members, share name, color, or affiliation, or must exist in a geopolitical context. To members associated with gangs, this definition can include your family members, neighborhood, everyone that they associate with. Take for example Ronnie from Jumped in by Jorja Leap it states,” Ronny’s role models are gangbangers. His family is a hood. His mentors are older homies in county jail.”(102). Ronnie and other gang members like him do not
If there was any one man who demonstrated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man was Malcolm X. The African American cultural movement of the 1920s lost momentum in the 1930s because of worldwide economic depression. The Great Depression helped to divert attention from cultural to economic matters. Even before the stock market crash of 1929, unemployment and poverty among blacks was exceptionally high. It was under these difficult conditions that Malcolm X experienced his youth in the South. Malcolm X was a very controversial character in his time. He grew up in a very large family. His father hunted rabbits to sell to the white people for money, and his mother stayed home to take care of all the children. Several times when he was young, his family was forced to relocate due to the racist groups that would burn or run them out of their home like the Ku Klux Klan. One of these groups called the Black Legion killed his father by tying him to the railroad tracks. Malcolm’s father had life insurance but was not given to his family because they said that Earl Little had committed suicide. This was quite impossible because his head was bashed in and he tied himself to the railroad. Without his father’s income, Malcolm's family was forced to get government help and food. Applying for this type of assistance brought many white Social Workers into their home. They asked questions and interrogated the entire family. Malcolm’s mother always refused to talk or let them in.
Rothstein (2014) states “long before the shooting of Michael Brown, official racial-isolation policies primed Ferguson for this summer’s events” (p. 1). Rothstein writes how African-Americans were denied access to better jobs, housing, education, and were placed into areas that eventually became slums. Blacks were relocated several times, which eventually “converted towns like Ferguson into new segregated enclaves” (Rothstein, 2014, p. 9). Government policies were a catalyst that caused what is known as white flight, or the movement of white residents to more private residential, upscale areas, in which blacks could not afford or were not permitted to reside. Some neighborhoods used eminent domain laws to keep blacks from moving into white developments. Blacks were targeted with unethical lending rates by banks. Deceptive real estate practices were the norm when it came to selling houses to African American families. Before 1980, laws allowed boundary and redevelopment policies to keep blacks from white neighborhoods. However, in 1980, the federal courts ordered all forms of government to create plans on school and housing integration. Rothstein (2014) adds “public officials ignored the order” and only “devised a busing plan to integrate schools” (p. 4). The housing market collapse, along with exploding interest rates, left the black neighborhoods devastated, as stated by Rosenbaum (2014, p. 9). Ferguson was less that 1% black in 1970, however by the time Michael Brown was killed in 2014, the community was nearly 70% black, with its schools nearly 90% black. In review, Hannah-Jones (2014) relays how the white flight from St. Louis caused businesses and jobs to leave along with the residents. With their departure, the schools also suffered. Schools
In the book Luis thinks that by joining gangs he will be empowering others.The author exposes the readers to gang violence, rape, drugs, and trouble with the police.
Latino grassroots politics in the academic realm has been considered as predominantly Chicano in nature. However, the geometry of this academic sector is no longer one dimensional, due to the formation of a Chicana feminist consciousness; the rise of an identified gay community within the Chicana/o student populace; and the emergence of “Latinos” in era of Chicanismo, The abrupt growth of Latinos (e.g. Spanish speaking of Mexican, Central or Latin American decent) in the United State’s educational system led the general population to characterize them as subjects on the cusps of political power and influence. But this widespread depiction of Latinos as an untapped potential is intrinsically linked to an impression of civic cohesion within the Latino student population. Although there is a correspondence between these parties in terms of the alienation they have felt and the discrimination they have endured throughout their academic careers, there is a minimal collective effort in confronting against their oppressive status. This is mainly a result of conflicting ideologies and social agendas within the Latino student community, as well as the relegation of Hispanic subgroups into the lower echelons. Latino students, nevertheless, have demonstrated their capacity, when both Chicanos and the marginalized Hispanic subgroups join efforts to reach a communal objective. This debunks the historical notion that Chicano students are the only group of Hispanics in the academic sphere that have been actively challenging the processes of social exclusion, and also displays the capacity of a collaborative effort.
Mistrust between the police and black community in Chicago only lent violence as an answer to their problems, leading to a violent riot. James Baldwin, an essayist working for true civil rights for African-Americans, gives first-hand accounts of how black people were mistreated, and conveys how racial tensions built up antagonism in his essays “Notes of a Native Son,” and “Down at the Cross.” In the mid and late 1910’s, a mass movement of African-Americans from the South to cities in the North took place.... ... middle of paper ... ... 2004 http://www.uic.edu/orgs/kbc/ganghistory/Industrial%20Era/Riotbegins.html.
The increase in population due to the Great Migration led Chicago to be the nation’s fastest growing city. In the city, homicide rates increased dramatically. The nature of homicide among African Americans in Chicago changed when the traditional impulsive violence between young boys became family violence or fights with acquaintances. Essentially, the Southern African Americans who moved to northern cities for freedom still experienced discrimination in jobs and housing from whites living in the neighborhoods prior. Many of them became frustrated about this and proceeded to demonstrate that through violence. In result of the increased violence, juvenile courts were developed. To address the concerns of juvenile delinquency, Chicago initially advocated courts to punish them for the acts of violence. The courts were filled with cases of violence between races due to the increasing racial tensions in neighborhoods throughout Chicago. Often, racist comments would be made, or an African American would fight against segregation or speak out and there would be a fight. Acts of violence became more and more common throughout the city and the juvenile courts were only one way to attempt to solve it. In Standing at Armageddon: A Grassroots History of the Progressive Era, it is said that the violence in Chicago was “the
Tobin, Kimberly. Gangs: An Individual and Group Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
After the death of Malcolm X the movement started to get funky. It seemed as though after the assinaition of Malcom X, the revolution’s focal point began to change. The movement began to head towards a more intense, and nitty gritty level. It seemed as though all the non-violent organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Congress of Racial Equality, as well as the Christian Leadership Conference had little hold on what was about to happen to the movement. The death of Malcolm X brought a new direction in the movement. In a society of a violent system it was hard for young blacks to take charge in an non-violent organization, it seemed to be a hypocrisy. And the idea of tolerance was wearing thin for the whole generation.
On April 4, 1968 America experienced the tragic loss of one of its greatest social leaders, Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a pivotal leader in the civil rights movement who permeated American history as a man who maintained the importance of nonviolent social change. He fought racism within the public domain by pursuing school integration and basic civil rights for the African-American community. Thirty-one years after his death, America is forced to evaluate the exact implications of his legacy on modern society's attitudes towards race and race relations. Did the civil rights movement really promote positive changes in race relations? How far has American society really come?
From the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the Civil Rights Movement and the Pro-Life Movement of the 1960s, to the Tea Party Movement and Occupy Wall Street Movement of current times, “those struggling against unjust laws have engaged in acts of deliberate, open disobedience to government power to uphold higher principles regarding human rights and social justice” (DeForrest, 1998, p. 653) through nonviolent protests. Perhaps the most well-known of the non-violent protests are those associated with the Civil Rights movement. The movement was felt across the south, yet Birmingham, Alabama was known for its unequal treatment of blacks and became the focus of the Civil Rights Movement. Under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, African-Americans in Birmingham, began daily demonstrations and sit-ins to protest discrimination at lunch counters and in public facilities. These demonstrations were organized to draw attention to the injustices in the city. The demonstrations resulted in the arrest of protesters, including Martin Luther King. After King was arrested in Birmingham for taking part in a peaceful march to draw attention to the way that African-Americans were being treated there, their lack of voter rights, and the extreme injustice they faced in Alabama he wrote his now famous “Letter from Birmingham.”