Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City

Elijah Anderson has done an outstanding job of explaining the sociological, economic, and geographical factors that contribute to the mentality commonly seen among young men in the inner city and the violence that can emerge as a result. As a young black man that grew up in a two parent home in suburban Maryland, I was extremely confused when I left my small town for middle school. It was there that I was first exposed to black children with less fortunate financial backgrounds, single parent homes, and low value of education and order. As Anderson explains, even in the suburban regions of Maryland adjacent to D.C. inner city attitudes, styles, trends, and even volatility can be seen in young blacks as a result of 'cultural diffusion'. A phenomenon which has a peculiar property of moving up the socioeconomic ladder in the black community. What I appreciate about Mr. Anderson's book most is that it has finally helped me to answer the question of 'WHY', which has tormented me for almost 15 years. Why have I found myself to be different than many of my black peers as a young man and an adult when all I wanted was a good education, a good job, and to live a decent life. EVERY person, Black or White who has found themself glaring at the low socioeconomic black community and wondering what is wrong, or quoting Bill Cosby Rhetoric while watching a group of hoodlums bully any and everyone off of the sidewalk, or turning up your nose at a pregnant 19 year old girl yelling at her toddler as she mopes down the sidewalk... YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK. Understanding is the beginning of dealing with what has become everyone's problem.

Code of the Street, by Elijah Anderson, was an extremely well-written book and very detailed. I often found myself saying, "yup, that's right!" I have lived and went to school in the suburbs, and now I live in the innercity. My experiences between the suburbs and in the innercity are TOTALLY different. Anderson just simply summarized everything about my innercity, even though it was focused just on Germantown. He even explained the types of people I know (even though they are found in all social and economic classes). The type that are "street" people. The "decent" people. Then there are those who are inbetween, like me, the type the "code switch," that can be either "decent" or "street" depending on the situation. He greatly explained the situations and concerns of the innercity people. I had the pleasure meeting Elijah Anderson, and he is a completely a very nice person and keeps things "real." He is not some type of "wanna be" researcher who is trying to write a book about the innercity people, and don't have a clue about how people in the innercity lives. He has experience of living in the innercity, and he wrote this book (along with others) to help explain to others how the situation is in the innercity. I totally support his work.

I came away from this book with quite a bit. One of the most important things is the difference between street and decent. It is difficult to figure out who is who. Its supposed to be that way. Its about survival. Anderson breaks stereotypes. He gives a thorough description of the oppositional culture. He discusses sex and children without full responsibility as proof of manhood. He also includes what girls are trying to gain as well. He points out that by the time that children enter fourth grade they already know that respect in the education system is very different from that on the streets. Its encredibly difficult for children and it shouldn't be this hard. I think that in order to solve a problem you need to know what the problem is. He lays this out very well. I liked it so much that I have started to read Streetwise.

Code of the Street corrects the myth, held by many, that the inner city underclass does not want to work. The book has helped me to discuss with my two foster girls, the difference between decent and street people how to recognize the game. I read passages to them and we discuss, in depth, the issue. I urge all parents, especially foster parents, to read this book. I had repeatedly observed the Code but like a jigsaw puzzle, not understanding how it all connected. Thanks to Mr. Anderson, he enabled me to see the picture entirely as it exists.