Between Good and Ghetto African American Girls and Inner City Violence - Outline 1 PDF PDF

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Emmitt Baez Dr. Roschelle Race, Class & Gender 18 Oct. 2018 Outline 1 “Introduction.” Pp. 1-19 -

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Martin Luther King high school located in South Philadelphia Parking lot used as elementary school’s playground for kids Highway is one one side of the school and surrounded by projects in other side - This highschool is positioned in a very low income community filled with violence Important reminder that for these kids, going to school was not a way to escape the dangers of their environment because it would follow to inside school grounds. Main point: Inner-city high school girls lives are structured by circumstances of inner city life Girls are subject to pat down searches just like boys, (security guards take advantage of that) (i.e the little laugh after squeezing the girl’s jean pocket) 3 years worth of fieldwork

Race Gender and Inner City Violence - Regular exposure to violence because of poor Black neighborhoods in Philly - Philly is affected by poverty, hypersegregation of inner city areas - Philly kept getting increase percentage in poverty, while other cities leveled or decreased - Homicide rates remain high - Survival is a daily challenge for the girls just as much as the boys - “Code of the street” - governs social public relations - Street justice and people law - where the policing end and people step up - “A dialectical relationship between respect and manhood lies at the heart of the code - This complex relationship of masculinity, respect strength leads poor inner city men to act in such violent ways - Craig: got shot and says he does not want to fight, but his masculinity might be questioned if he runs away from a fight, “I'm not going to be wearing a skirt” (p. 6) - Men feel need to show challenger they are readily able to fight - Girls do not have manhood to defend but experience same type of violence as boys - Girls in inner cities also learn fundamentals of street code and how it shapes their lives - Danielle and Robert: Gotta do what you gotta do and fight to show them you’re not scared and for them to not keep harassing you - “Code of street” makes young people put up a tough front

Between Good and Ghetto - African American girls are judged by not only mainstream gender expectations but also by the standards of Black respectability - They are severely judge if the mainstream gender expectations is not met - Girls must learn to manage threats of interpersonal violence, at the same time working under the code which puts them at risk of being generalized and stereotyped - Good and Ghetto / Street and Decent - In innercity neigh. Community members used these distinctions - Decent girls are “young ladies” and “ghetto chick” any black female who’s femininity thought not to be “in place” because of her actions - Elijah Anderson and the term “code switching” → adapting to a behavior depending on situation Gaining Access: Girls in the VRP - VRP program targeted Philadelphia girls 12 - 14 - Almost all enrollees were African American - Group of people would follow up with the girls in hopes to reduce violence in their life over all - Most of the fights that happened came from “disrespect” - These girls do not see death as an aspect of the fighting life - Popular belief is that girls always fight about boys - Tracey’s conversation and comment “I don’t expect you not to fight… (p. 15)” - Shows that violence is always a part of the school setting “The Social World of Inner-City Girls.” Pp. 20-45 - Very common for people to think that women and girls do not fight like boys and men - Girls in inner-city learn early on that they must fight to survive in their environment - Violence is a daily occurence in the lives of these girls - Fighting with knives and weapons was the norm. The Urban Terrain: School, The Block, The Corner - Fights in school tend to pour over from disputes on disrespect/ neighborhoods - Conflicts between project buildings and hoods get the younger kids involved - Naima - graduate student from MLK high - speaks on violence and savagery that occurs in the lives of inner city high school students - “The corner” - social hub for inner city students (kids) - sites of social organization - Drugs are sold primarily at “corners” - neighborhood members are aware - The corner also involves women, not just men and their activities - “Old heads” looking out for the kids of the hood - Laurens old head, ex boyfriend of one of her sisters, looks out for her always - “The Corner” is a social location that is hindering the opportunities of men and women from lower income communities Make Sense of Death: “ He didn’t do anything” - Women get in the mix of the drug trade as well

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Some sell it just like their male counter parts, or they hold it for them Holding drug money just as dangerous as selling it because of the high level of violence in the inner city Inner city girls are exposed to severe violence - Syreeta’s story on Shawn (page 26) - Good kid whose mom tried to remove from violence - At end of the day it still found him - Streets are unforgiving

Socializing Inner City Girls For Survival - Inner city girls see violence at such an early age, that by their early teens they know what to expect when they are out in their environment - Socializing with violence as a way to survive brings about parenting issues because then one must teach their child to FIGHT and use VIOLENCE, but it is for protection - Mother’s telling their child to fight, is a survival skill that needs to be passed down - Prevents people from taking advantage of said child - Ms. Jackson’s story teaching Neka to fight for survival, it was necessary - Con: Child may be in trouble while fighting (Neka getting kicked in stomach) - Parenting requires personal set of resources and experiences - Mothers get involved in the fights of children, either to defend or watch their child and make sure it does not escalate to “blood baths” - Fights involving students also resulted in mother’s becoming actively involved in these fights with one another The Role Of Grand Mothers - Historically, Black grandmothers have always been there to assist in child care - Late 1980s and early 1990s, grandmothers were taking in the children of their deceased children. A pattern we see in today’s society - Wise grandmothers teach their girls to be “good girls” and isolate them as much as possible from the streets - Formal education is also emphasized by grandmothers - Grandmothers offer wise input that is crucial to family’s survival - At the end of the day, grandmothers cannot really do everything in their power to prevent their children, and grandchildren from getting involved in the streets - But the knowledge they give out and life lessons they teach do a great job of giving the family a foundation of knowledge for survival Shante’s Story - Spends most time at home and older sister spends most time on the street - Shante’s older sister got put away because of her multiple infractions - Very small social network of friends and family - Lived in the Carver housing projects, she was not really a fighter but held her own - “He say/she say” dilemma got Shante rocked in the head with a brick - She found out months after incident

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Lesson learned: Inner city rumours in close environments, like High schools, make it perfect for fights to boil up between students Her mother almost handled this situation with violence but did not resort to that They ended up pressing charges on the female - This was great because Shante’s mom taught her not all battles are won with violence The law did not handle anything, the female was released into the neighborhood for Shante and her family to worry about future confrontations Shante’s commitment to nonviolence is key in inner city girls being able to escape their extreme violence Black on black crime is overlooked by police forces (racialized) Many cases go unsolved because of the distrust of the people of the neighborhoods and the police forces Shante’s story mentions racism and how it affects people in their interactions with police Young black women do want help from cops but because of their social location and life, it might unsafe to do so. Over all theme from this story: Law forces only do good for whites and leave African Americans in poor areas alone to deal with their issues...