African-American Organized Crime: A Social History.

Abstract

Comprehensive and objective, this study argues that organized crime in the United States results from the struggle to attain the elusive American Dream to achieve success at any cost by any means. The authors examine the social, economic, political, and cultural conditions that fostered growth of criminal groups and organizations in African American communities from the post--Civil War era to the ghettoes of today.--BCALA Newsletter [Kelly and Schatzberg] are obviously two knowledgeable individuals. Their book is both perceptive and compelling. Anyone interested in this subject, whether scholar or layperson, should find this social history most useful. Highly recommended.--Reference Book Review While stories of organized crime most often dwell on groups like the Mafia and Chinese Triad or Tongs, African Americans also have a long history of organized crime. Schatzberg and Kelly trace nearly a century of African American organized crime, from numbers gambling in New York City in the 1920s to criminal groups in the ghettoes from the 1940s to the 1970s to gang activities of the present day. The authors also challenge existing stereotypes of African Americans and demostrate the importance of studying any criminal activity within its historical and social context. Rufus Schatzberg, Ph.D., a retired New York City detective first grade, is the author of Black Organized Crime in Harlem: 1920--1930. Robert J. Kelly is Broeklundian Professor of Social Science at Brooklyn College and professor of criminal justice at the Graduate School, City University of New York. He is author of Deviance, Dominance and Denigration and Organized Crime: A Global Perspective. Together, Schatzberg and Kelly edited Handbook on Organized Crime in the United States.