Gendered division of labor in the underground economy - Essay Example

Persistent racial disparities in black urban neighborhoods Persistent racial disparity is a concept that is evident in Sudhir Venkatesh’s book “Gang Leader for a Day.” While a city is expected to be made up of good looking and expansive houses with balconies, the case was different in South Lark Park. Here,” the buildings clustered tightly together, but set apart from the rest of the city, as if they were toxic” (Venkatesh, 9). This citation is a clear indication that racial disparity was eminent in the American cities, with the black neighborhoods being totally isolated and neglected, as though they are not part of the city itself.

The same disparity is observable in the nature of the livelihoods that exists in the black neighborhoods. While most of the young blacks do not have jobs or anywhere to go and do something constructive, or even attend school and obtain education, the case was different for the whites. Sudhir was told that he could visit the neighborhoods and collect data anytime, since the residents of these buildings, who were primarily young and youthful black Americans, did not have jobs to do, so they could be found any time.

The case of racial disparity is not only found in South Lark Park. Hyde Park and Woodlawn were black neighborhoods surrounding the City of Chicago. The racial disparity is observable in the author’s statement “privileged students, most of them whites, walking to class and playing sports. On the other hand, were down-and-out African Americans offering cheap labor,” (2). While the disparity in South Lark Park is that of the blacks lacking jobs, it is of a different form in Hyde Park and Woodlawn, where the blacks offer cheap labor services in order to earn a living.

In fact, racial disparity is not only identifiable in the differences between the housing, education and lifestyles for the whites and the blacks. It is also identifiable in the way the African Americans categorize themselves. Therefore, there is some disparity within the black race, as was evident with the answer given by J.T., a character in this book. While Sudhir read out the first question in the questionnaire, J.T. denied being either a black or an African American, choosing to refer himself, and the other members of his gang as niggers.

While explaining the difference, J.T. put it “African Americans live in the suburbs. African Americans wear tie to work. Niggers can’t find no Work” (16). This is a clear indication that even though all blacks are of the same race, some still detested others, whom they observed as living a different lifestyle. Thus, racial disparity is not a matter of one race being different from the other, but also a matter of perceptions and beliefs held by individuals regarding certain aspects of life.

The greatest fear as pointed out by various members of the Black King gang is that Sudhir was a member of the Mexican gang that was constantly fighting with them. This points to yet another aspect of racial segregation, where the gangs, even though out there to protect their interests from the people and the authorities, harbor animosity against one another (Venkatesh, 20). Thus, this book points to several concepts of racial disparity, which include differences in lifestyle and opportunities between races, and between different categories or classes of the same race.

Works CitedVenkatesh, Sudhir A. Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Crosses the Line. London: Penguin Books, 2009. Print.