East Harlem
The following document is an evaluation of the unemployment and drug dealing situation in East Harlem New York. It is based on five years of ethnographic data that was collected by the anthropologist, Dr. Philippe Bourgois of the University of Pennsylvania. As the social worker assigned to this evaluation, I have collaborated with Dr. Bourgois to give an anthropological explanation behind the high rates of unemployment and drug dealing in East Harlem. This report is based on the experiences of a man who worked within the crack economy of El Barrio, Primo. Having been raised by a “monolingual Spanish immigrant single mother (Bourgois 2003: 175)”, Primo was set up for difficulties growing up. This carried into his education, which he carried
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Among with many other teenagers in El Barrio, he did odd jobs such as bagging groceries or running menial errands for small compensations. As a young man, he was unable to obtain a stable job, “The problem… is that Primo’s good intentions do not lead anywhere when the only legal jobs he can compete for fail to provide him with a livable wage (Bourgois 2003: 98).” He, in addition to many other people living in the El Barrio community wanted and continue to want stable and legal jobs, however, because of the various factors that push against them, their basic motivation is not …show more content…
Bourgois and I have presented, I would like to make the following recommendation. In my assessment I think that changes can be made to benefit the community of East Harlem. Most importantly, the public school system should be re-examined in order to increase retention through to higher levels of education. The age in which people engage in crime is so young that it would be beneficial to have after school programs instituted. Along with looking closer at education of the child, because of the amount of monolingual parents in the East Harlem community, english language programs could be beneficial to families. Looking at employers in the legal sector, they should be educated on the cultural background of those from East Harlem, while also taking gaps in work history as a piece of the whole picture that makes up an individual's work ethic. These recommendations could benefit the overall employment rate of the East Harlem
Among with many other teenagers in El Barrio, he did odd jobs such as bagging groceries or running menial errands for small compensations. As a young man, he was unable to obtain a stable job, “The problem… is that Primo’s good intentions do not lead anywhere when the only legal jobs he can compete for fail to provide him with a livable wage (Bourgois 2003: 98).” He, in addition to many other people living in the El Barrio community wanted and continue to want stable and legal jobs, however, because of the various factors that push against them, their basic motivation is not …show more content…
Bourgois and I have presented, I would like to make the following recommendation. In my assessment I think that changes can be made to benefit the community of East Harlem. Most importantly, the public school system should be re-examined in order to increase retention through to higher levels of education. The age in which people engage in crime is so young that it would be beneficial to have after school programs instituted. Along with looking closer at education of the child, because of the amount of monolingual parents in the East Harlem community, english language programs could be beneficial to families. Looking at employers in the legal sector, they should be educated on the cultural background of those from East Harlem, while also taking gaps in work history as a piece of the whole picture that makes up an individual's work ethic. These recommendations could benefit the overall employment rate of the East Harlem