Code of the street
Subtitle: decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city
By: Elijah Anderson.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: W.W Norton
Published: 1999
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 352
Subjects: African Americans -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Social conditions; African Americans -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- Social life and customs; Inner cities -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia; Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Social conditions; Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Social life and customs
Description: Inner-city black America is often stereotyped by random, senseless street violence. In fact, although violence is a salient feature of the most impoverished inner-city communities, its use is far from random; rather, it is regulated through an informal but well-known code of the street. How you dress, how you talk, how you behave, whether you make eye contact, your understanding of the pecking order - such crucial details can have life-or-death consequences, and young people are particularly at risk.

This examination of inner-city life shows that the code is a complex cultural response to the lack of jobs that pay a living wage, to the stigma of race, to rampant drug use, to alienation and lack of hope. Elijah Anderson demonstrates that the most powerful force counteracting the culture of the street is a strong, loving, decent family, and we meet many heroic figures in the course of this narrative.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [333]-342) and index.