John Hagedorn

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John Hagedorn is the associate professor of criminal justice and director of the Kenneth B. Clark Center for the Study of Violence in Communities.

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[edit] History

Hagedorn was born in Milwaukee and was raised in the smaller town of Clintonville, population 4,500. He went to college in Milwaukee only to drop out to join protests and be part of the many political movements of the time. He was specifically interested in those movements related to draft resistance and civil rights. He himself was a draft dodger as were his family members. Hagedorn burned his draft card. His great-grandparents from Germany left during Bismarck’s militarization and reunification. Hagedorn also earned multiple convictions of felony because of his activism. His first arrest was during a march for open housing laws. The march lasted 120 days and was ended when a mass of 10,000 white people attacked the march. The mayor then ruled that it was illegal to march.

[edit] Current life

He has five children, sons Zach, Marty and Jess and, and daughters Katie and Tracey. His current wife is a poet and the two are happily married.

[edit] Work

Hagedorn studies gangs in major cities. He has worked for gang diversion programs in Milwaukee. He runs a website about gangs and how they work and interact. He says that drug dealing parallels free market patterns and gangs themselves are just an attempt for people to organize their lives.

Hagedorn has published a few books to try to understand gangs and to share his observations with the public. The books include FEMALE GANGS IN AMERICA: ESSAYS ON GIRLS, GANGS, AND GENDER (1999), PEOPLE AND FOLKS: GANGS, CRIME, AND THE UNDERCLASS IN A RUSTBELT CITY (1998). The earlier of the books is known for its description of gangs and their economic organization. He states that the young people have little opportunity to be involved in the legal economy because of their lack of skill. They become excited at the chance to partake in an economy. Hagedorn’s ideas of gangs and businesses and an economy are not new. In 1968, Vice Lords documented their annual budget and presented it to the public. The Rockefeller Foundation had unknowingly given $15,000 to the gang. The foundation believed it was supporting the gang’s legal business.

[edit] World of Gangs

In his most recent book, a World of Gangs (http://www.amazon.com/World-Gangs-Gangsta-Globalization-Community/dp/0816650667/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212365173&sr=8-1), He looks closely at gang formation in three world cities-Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, and Capetown-he discovers that some gangs have institutionalized as a strategy to confront a hopeless cycle of poverty, racism, and oppression. In particular, Hagedorn reveals, the nihilistic appeal of gangsta rap and its street ethic of survival “by any means necessary” provides vital insights into the ideology and persistence of gangs around the world. This groundbreaking work concludes on a hopeful note. Proposing ways in which gangs might be encouraged to overcome their violent tendencies, Hagedorn appeals to community leaders to use the urgency, outrage, and resistance common to both gang life and hip-hop in order to bring gangs into broader movements for social justice.

[edit] Resources

Gang Research John Hagedorn [1]

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