You’ve read Freakonomics…right? One of the most popular chapters Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live With Their Moms? is about Sudhir Venkatesh, a grad student at the University of Chicago who studied a crack cocaine gang The Black Kings in Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes (Building #4040) during the height of the crack epidemic in the 1990s. I wanted to learn more about Sudhir. His book Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets is now available.
I recall my own orientation at the University of Chicago was exactly like Sudhir’s story — being warned by police where NOT to walk around campus and when. The tragic killing of a grad student last Friday, (January 25th) is such an example of the danger facing faculty, students and staff members.
My daily commute from Glenview via Metra to Citigroup Center, then to the Midway Plaisance (map via Google) via the University’s charter bus service passed the Washington Park Lagoon everyday. Sudhir mentions his exploration of the Lagoon and lessons learned from speaking with older black men about Chicago and its history. Sudhir allows readers to see another side of America.