Bird Leg.

This week, the book There Are No Children Here has a very similar story to the documentary, Legacy.  Both families were living on welfare and living in public housing projects in Chicago, the Henry Horner Homes. LaJoe is a mother to 8 kids and she knows that living in the projects is not how she wants to raise her kids. LaJoe and her family were the first ones to move in the projects. The building and everything else was in good conditioned when she moved there and “it was quiet and peaceful” (Kotlowitz, pg. 20). LaJoe first thought moving here will be a big change for her and her family but as the year gone by, it got worse. Just like the documentary, the violence, gangs, and drugs were in the neighborhood and nothing seems to be getting better. 

Families in Henry Horner Homes may also felt disconnected from one another. There was little in the community and even less trust. With this, I want to relate this back to what Professor Weffer asked us a while back in class if any of us knew our neighbors, what they were like, and if we’ve ever been inside their homes. I feel like it definitely relates to this be because the community at Henry Horner Homes has little communication. Some could be close but I feel like most of the time, with their living environment, you may only have to depend on yourself. This weeks course not only taught me how the environment is like living in these situations, it gave me a clear image of what really goes on living in the projects. For example, LaJoe and her family is in the living room and all of a sudden, they hear shots being fired; her and her children have to huddle down to the floor and away from the doors/windows. LaJoe also explained how bullets had came through her apartment before, and others have tried placing stuffed animals by their windows so gangs members would mistake them for people. She goes on describing how the bedrooms are like and it’s “not much bigger than some prison cells” (Kotlowitz, pg. 27).  Something I thought was interesting I got out of the reading was that gang members who were the ones that controlled the projects. They were the ones who approved of who/what drugs you can sell it to, an only with their approval. A drug gang leader named Jimmie Lee was the head of the Conservative Vice Lords. Him and his members were the ones who had the power at Henry Horner Homes. The community knew who they were and feared but respected the gang that they never called 911 when there’s an incident. Police were aware of Lee and his members, but what they probably didn’t know that the residents thought Lee could be a positive influence in the community. The book mentions that he does not take any drugs, he does drink occasionally and sometimes help the community out by bringing food to families who need it.

Although he was the leader of a drug gang, he often tells young boys to stay away from drugs and gangs. I’ve never really thought about the positivity towards being in a gang. Often, gangs are viewed negativity, but as you see here, there is some positive influence out of this. In class, we mentioned if gangs are bad in these types of environments, and clearly there are 2 effects of positive and negative. What makes it so hard to see is that these young boys are recruited at a very young age, for example, Bird Leg. Bird Leg was a friend of LaJoe’s son, Lafeyette. As Bird Leg got more involved with the gang, Bird Leg and Lafeyette grew apart. Bird Leg got shot by a rival gang member. With an environment like this, children were not allowed to go outside and play. It was very dangerous and once there was a shooting, kids who are walking home from school, or anywhere else would have to drop down or hide for their lives. So far, I really like this book; I can also relate it to previous books from what we read in class. It truly showed the living conditions and how ones live is like living in Henry Horner Homes.

Kotlowitz, A. (1991). THERE ARE NO CHILDREN HERE. Anchor Books.