The Transformation of Gangs

The Bronx gangs and their culture showed great significance with hip-hop culture through socio-historical context.  Gangs in New York used socio-historical context through Ethno-geography, structure and network, intersection of diasporic ethnic groups, and cohort analysis.  The historical conditions that underline the birth of gangs in the Bronx included post-industrialization, re-segregated neighborhood, and also political distant through different issues.  I feel that these were examples of the gangs in the Bronx because through post-industrialization we have seen examples of neighborhoods getting turned into suburbs and being industrialized.  This showed that suburbanization was taking over and instead of leaving, gangs decided to adapt to their surroundings.  I feel this is the same examples for re-segregating neighborhoods through Mosesʻs experience (Chang, p. 48-49).  I also think there are examples though political distant due to the example of Benji (in the video).  The gangs of the Bronx had that whole meeting to try and increase the peace.

When it came down to the gangs of the Bronx, the people (especially the youths) responded to the changes in political systems and also economic systems that gave birth to a new culture. Since the youth did not have much to do at the time, they needed to find an outlet for their minds and creativity. The new culture was the response to everything that was going on at the time. The political systems that were going on were trying to make peace with authorities. Segregation really took a toll on the youth because that is probably all they have ever known. Since the adults were dealing with peacemaking, the youth used hip-hop to channel their thoughts. Hip-hop gave them the opportunity to express their activist approach. The families in the ghettos struggled because of the bad economic system. The youths of these families did not have much so they had things in common with other youths in the area. Instead of losing hope and drowning in their sorrows, they banded together to give birth to this new culture. Like mentioned earlier, it was an outlet for the youths to express themselves during troubling times. 

Gangs may have been the result of the new culture, Hip-Hop, but what really caused these gangs were the events that were happening. These people had no one to turn to and Hip-Hop was their outlet. The gangs were like their family and they were determined to reinstate peace.

-R.C.