Juvenile crimes are one of the most common problems that have negative consequences on any community. Juvenile crimes refer to the crimes that are perpetrated by individuals who are under the adult age. Statistical analysis indicated that this number grows daily. This has triggered the government to seek intervention measures to help reduce the increasing trend and hence safeguard the society against future offending. This because such children who have records of crime develop to become uncontrollable gangs in the society.
Music videos have contributed to the depiction as well. Violence has been greatly impacted on the black community. From rappers glorifying time served in jail or surviving several bullet wounds, today’s black community believes this is a way of life for some. The black man has decided to trade college for the
Code of the Street In the ethnographic book, Code of the Street, Elijah Anderson, a professor of sociology at Yale University, makes some interesting and insightful assessments amid his in-depth examination of the many pertinent issues surrounding the economical, educational and social factors that exist in the urban community. These developmental conditions affect its social organization, shape the urban culture and heavily contribute to the aggression and youth violence that is so prevalent today. Some of the major problems that plague the impoverished inner city black community are that of the persistent poverty as well as the widespread violence that the young inflict on one another. Professor Anderson attempts to generally approach and address the question of why the quality of life is consistently compromised for so many inhabitants within urban communities. The book discusses that in addition to the alienation that the people who are struggling financially and reside in poor inner city neighborhoods feel from mainstream America, there is still yet another division within this confine, that is of the “decent” family in opposition to the “street” family.
Julian Perkowski American Literature Native Son Marxist Essay In Richard Wright’s Native Son, there is an incredibly prevalent power struggle between both the black community and the white community that rules above it. Given the story is set during the 1940’s in Chicago, Illinois, the racial and societal tensions felt between the two communities are tangible. Following the perspective of main character Bigger Thomas, Wright portrays these tensions not from the perspective of the white community, but from the perspective of a young black man trying to survive the struggles of everyday life in a vehemently racist and divided society. With Bigger at the forefront of the story, it is easy to see the ever present struggle for power between both the white community and black community through a Marxist lens. Because of the omnipresent power struggle, Wright makes it clear that Bigger Thomas’s thoughts and beliefs are not just those of his own, but also representative of the thoughts and beliefs of the black community as a whole; in the end, this power struggle reflects upon not only the two communities as separate entities, but also about 1940’s society as a whole.
Food, shelter, and money causes juveniles to turn to gangs. Areas with high gang activity forces/intimidates, (peer pressure), children to join gangs. Less popular juveniles join gangs to become cool or to claim the social letter. Gangs may present themselves as a means of survival to youth who lack basic essentials such as food, clothing and shelter (http://www.gangfree.org/gangs_why.html). Juveniles who live in low-income neighborhoods or poor neighbors join gangs for food, shelter, and money.
Others, well they may have different thoughts on that. They may think that the lifestyle is not the safest and that the streets have a negative effect on their children and they prefer a different lifestyle. In Piri Thomas book, “Down These Mean Streets”, Piri Thomas expresses the streets of Harlem to us through his own eyes. Piri Thomas writes about the many different things he had to overcome in the streets, his form of survival, and how he made it through every fall. Likewise in Miguel Pinero’s poem, “Bury my Ashes on the Lower East Side”, Miguel Pinero expresses the streets through his eyes as well.
According to Barbara Solomon (1976), empowerment can be defined as a process where the social worker engages in activities with the clients which is aimed towards reducing the powerlessness that has been created by negative connotations based on membership in a stigmatized group. Empowerment theory allows for social work practitioners to become engaged in their own views and biases regarding oppressed people. When incorporating the black experiences, it allows for social workers to better understand what is necessary to continue to have the African American client feel empowered. Empowerment theory acknowledges the struggle of African Americans, whereas, the psychoanalytic theory and social learning theories omit it. See’s article aids in understanding the importance of incorporating the origin of a culture when working with a group of people.
My personal believe from the African American perspective is that some people may have grown up around a life of crime where parents are gang members or they may think it is cool to be in gangs or being in a gang provides protection. Protection from what? Not exactly sure, but being in a gang gives many a false sense of belonging. Just like African Americans, Latinos are also known for joining gangs. For many, to fit in or be accepted in their “hood” could mean living a life of crime because that is the only way they know to survive.
PE 250 (Online) October 26, 2011 Youth Sports Today, youth sports play a big role in American Society and to most it has become a part of their everyday life. There are many advantages and disadvantages with being involved and or playing youth sports. Some people will side with the fact that sports build confidence, responsibility and a healthy life style, others will argue that youth sports build tension and aggression. Are we teaching the youth confidence, accountability and a healthy way of life, or are we exposing them to a life style of tension and aggression? What is the truth about youth sports?
The increase in violent crime by youth is an alarming trend that has many contributing factors. An environment where violence is fed to our youth daily from all avenues including, home, school, and the media can only reinforce the concept of violence as the answer to our problems. Who has the answer for such dramatic damage in our society? Experts who have studied youthful offenders state that most of them grew up in broken and abusive families marked by drugs and alcohol, violence and mental illness. Abuse at such an early age can lead to aggression and violence (The New York Times, 2000).