Gangs in America
An Annotated Bibliography
Justin Botelho
December 2, 2014
Introduction to Criminal Justice
Gang as defined by Merriam-Webster is a group of criminals. In modern day America, gangs have transcended this rudimentary definition of them and have evolved into vast criminal enterprises. Gang emergence throughout American history has largely been fueled by both immigration and poverty, a way for culture groups in specific regions to unite against the oppressive majority that inhibited their prosperity. This sense of brotherhood and belonging caused gang affiliations in America to explode to unprecedented levels. Gang principles and values are on display in many aspects of modern day American culture. Gangs possess a certain aura around them in America and have been deemed “hip” or “cool” due to mainstream forms of media. Whether it’s Lil Wayne reciting the Blood’s rally cry “suwoop” on a hit song, Snoop Dogg’s adamant proclamation of his Crips affiliation, or Sons of Anarchy’s glorification of the Biker ethos, Television executives, rappers, and Hip-Hop music in general have made enormous sums of money glorifying the gang way of life by painting it as a theology on par with any religion. Gangs in America have existed since the end of the Revolutionary War, but their scope of influence has never been higher than it is today. In all four regions of America (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) multitudes of gangs practice a “by any means necessary” approach to protecting their assets and financial endeavors. (Howell & Moore, 2010)(Endeavors which include but are not limited to prostitution, drug dealing, heists, extortion, etc.) Brutality and violence is the main tool utilized by gangs to assert their dominance over a territory, and they will not think twice about ending a life if ending said life is deemed beneficial to the gang’s continued success. The sheer amount of money these gangs generate and their dominance over the lower income sections of American cities and towns raises an important question. “Are Gangs in America here to stay for the foreseeable future?”
Sanchez-Jankowski, M. (2003). Gangs and Social Change. Theoretical Criminology, Vol. 7(2): 191-216; 032413.
This article tries to approach the concept of a gang as a malleable organism that adjusts to the environment around it. Sanchez-Jankowski shows how researchers fail to sociologically distinguish gangs from other types of collective behavior. Socioeconomic factors that plague the areas these gangs thrive in are rife throughout the piece, highlighting the attractiveness of gangs to individuals who feel as they have no future whilst surrounded by such bleakness. A means of ending the monotony and becoming someone in place of nobodies is a huge draw for misled, impoverished youths. Breaking the 150 year history of social and organizational development of gangs into 5 parts. (Gangs in times of immigration, times of blue-collar expansion, times of drug regulation, times of mass incarceration, times of and monopoly behavior) strengthens the view that regardless of what’s going on around the gang, it can manipulate itself to survive and continue its existence.
This article did a masterful job of branching out from the generic broad definition of gangs and looking at the concept of a gang from an alternative perspective. The ability of the article to show how gangs can alter themselves to adjust to the social structure in the areas they inhabit displays the longevity and potential lifespan of gangs in America.
The National Gang Intelligence Center. (2009). National Gang Threat Assessment. Washington D.C. This report does an exceptional job detailing how serious of a threat gangs pose to communities throughout the United States. Estimating that more than 1 million active gang members belonging to more than 20,000 gangs are active in all 50 U.S. states details the seriousness of the threat. Additional statistics show
Gangs in America 06-06-09 Gangs in America It is estimated that there are roughly 24,000 gangs in America today. There are 750,000 stated gang members. Gangs are taking over our youth and our county. In 1996 50% of all gang members were juveniles. Twelve years later that percentage has not changed. Gang violence is on the rise and it has to stop. We have to take back our streets and our children. The history of gangs goes back to biblical times. Gangs have always caused social issue…
Cohen English 121 Gang activity seems as a means of survival for those involved. Violence has been threatening the progression of our society due to the fear that has been put in everyone’s eyes. More and more people are becoming accustomed to gang life everyday. Some have no choice as they think its their only means of survival. Gangs are becoming more and more of a problem every day in America. More teens are being pressured into joining gangs than ever before. Now gangs are getting new members…
social issues our society faces are drug abuse, gang violence, child abuse, and terrorism. The criminal justice practitioners face these types of issues daily. These professionals must act on the morals and laws stated by society rather than their own opinions, sometimes facing hard decisions. The criminal justice field is always active and busy, dealing with countless amount of criminal activity throughout the country. Drug abuse affects America severely. It is one of the…
American Street Gangs Gangs have always existed in history in some way, shape or form. According to Webster’s dictionary, it defines gangs as a group of persons working to unlawful or antisocial ends; a group of persons having informal and usually close social relations. In this modern day society, the rise in street gangs’ violence intensifies. Street gangs have only become dominant in the last few decades predominantly in the United States. United States have become a land of opportunities and…
States of America has the most crime rate out of any other country, there are obviously many reasons to why this is true. Most crime comes from the place where the poverty level is so high, places like Chicago, the Bronx, Pittsburgh, and even right here in Portland Maine. Where I live there is not much poverty and little crime that happens. There is no murders or rapes that happen where I live, at least none that we know about. Gang affiliation is another main reason for Americas crime rate…
Text Sets • Movies: o West Side Story (1961) Hispanic gangs team up in an award-winning musical to tell the story of Romeo &Juliet in modern America with all of its problems. o Boyz N the Hood (1991) Problems of growing up as African-Americans in South Central L.A., gang violence, and family issues. o Born in East L.A.(1987) Humorous look at discrimination against Mexican-Americans and immigration policies. o Dancer, TX Pop. 81 (1998) Story of four small town Anglo-American boys growing…
GIVING MOVEMENT AND SCENE EXAMPLES TO SUPPORT YOUR POINTS. Jerome Robbins has clearly drawn on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet play to devise the narrative for his work, West Side Story (1961). This is clear through his use of rivalries between two gangs/households and his use of ill-fated love. Though, there are some distinct differences notably the ending, as the way Tony dies in WSS is not similar to the way Romeo dies, and in WSS, Maria does not die in the end, unlike Juliet, and the racial issues…
in Youth Gangs Youth gangs and the myriad of problems associated with them were once thought to involve a relatively small number of major urban areas whose gang troubles mirrors those of the stereotypical West Side Story scenario. Isolated, under-privileged, youth involved with petty crime and "intimate" physical force played-out only amongst themselves. No longer is this the case. Since 1980, the United States has seen a proliferation of youth gangs. The number of cities with gang problems…
One Way Ticket Out of The United States Americans have to pay to live in the free country called America. They do so by paying taxes, that money is then disbursed in order to help improve communities, pay the wages and benefits of government employees and used towards government assist programs. When immigrants come to America they can cause problems for U.S citizens. While Americans are paying taxes, illegal immigrants simple collect the benefits. They are using the money that American citizens…
talking about organized crime, most will talk about the amount of money criminal’s bring in, drugs being used and the amount of murders. Even how much power and respect that comes with being feared as a big time criminal or running the biggest prison gang. But what most people don’t know or talk about is where does the organized crime originate from, how does it grow and why does it get over looked until the crime gets to a point to where the politicians or the country’s military has to step in. Criminal…