U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Lost Souls of Society Become Hypnotized by Gangsterism

NCJ Number
232620
Journal
Journal of Gang Research Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: Fall 2010 Pages: 39-52
Author(s)
Steven R. Cureton
Date Published
2010
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study examined gangsterism in the context of the most damaging subculture affecting poor urban Black males.
Abstract
In order to gain better insight about gangsterism perhaps there is a need to examine our life course for those experiences that equip us with the frame of reference that would allow comprehension of what it means to be identified and treated as statistical casualties of urban warfare. In order to understand South Central's gang mentality attention should be directed towards the possibility that South Central (despite the name change to South, Los Angeles) is still a community where Black males engage in situational ethics governed by gangster politics, which yields organized confusion and depravity. Hence, the South Central Black male experience is best described as an attempt to negotiate manhood in an environment with economic, resource and social stress factors that manifest as oppressive and overwhelming strains, which literally forces a hasty gravitation towards gangstersim. References (Published Abstract)