antly about whether something might happen to her children (Kotlowitz p. 17). LaJoe had reason to worry: local gangs were recruiting young children and a 14-year-old friend of Lafayette's had recently shot and killed an older man in an alley: "Residents and police said the killing was drug-related" (Kotlowitz p. 31).
Author Kotlowitz has thoroughly researched the presence of gangs in Lafayette and Pharoah's neighborhood. Kotlowitz explains that a local gang called Conservative Vice Lords runs the drug traffic in the neighborhood, and no one can sell drugs there without the approval of the Lords' leader, Jimmie Lee. Some members of the Lords have been trained in torture techniques (like threatening to drive a hot nail through an opposing gang member's penis) (Kotlowitz p. 34). Kotlowitz illustrates that gangs are a leading cause of violence in the Chicago area, especially when he cites specific instances of teenage casualties, such as Bird Leg. One day, as Bird Leg watched two friends play basketball, Bird Leg was shot and killed by a member of the young Disciples, a rival gang. Bird Leg was only 15 (Kotlowitz pp. 43-47). After the funeral, Lafayette begins to contemplate how he wants to die and decides he would like to die "plain out," just as Bird Leg had died: instantly, from one bullet (Kotlowitz p. 51). The death of Lafayette's friend causes Lafayette to begin to worry about the safety of his family, and, later, Lafayette asks his mother about what he can do to keep his younger brother Pharoah away from Ricky, whom Lafayette was sure would lead Pharoah into trouble (Kotlowitz p. 76).
Meanwhile, LaJoe has her own problems, but confides only in Lafayette, whom she views as the most mature. Kotlowitz postulates that, since LaJoe's husband is rarely home, Lafayette has ta
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