Code of the Street

In this chapter, Anderson focuses on the role of fathers who are trying to lead their families in the context and influence of the code of the street, a role which he considers an important element of understanding life in the inner city. He refers to this figure as the “decent daddy,” who according to him, “tends to carry the weight of the race on his shoulders and represents his community to outsiders” (180). The “decent daddy” is a historically significant role in the Black community, a role that has survived various generations and iterations of racial discrimination and systemic inequalities. Even beyond his immediate responsibility to his own family and children, the “decent daddy” also serves as a significant mentor figure to other children in the neighborhood. However, with competing influences and role models, the “decent daddy” often becomes overshadowed by media portrayals of what it means to be a leader in inner-city communities, which often carry an association with the underground economy. Nevertheless, Anderson maintains that “decent daddies are important for the moral integrity of the community” (187).

The most pressing theme throughout this chapter is The Hopelessness of Poverty. Within the crushing pressure of cyclical poverty, even the most well-intentioned community leaders, represented here through the figure of the “decent daddy,” can see their influence diminish and even disappear. Anderson’s argument for the importance of the “decent daddy,” however, seems to be less rooted in sociological analysis in this chapter. Instead, the role of “decent daddies” is based more on anecdotal evidence, which in turn is based on a relatively narrow definition of families, at once heteronormative and generally Christian. Thinking about families in this way also calls to mind the aforementioned Moynihan Report’s assertions that the cycle of poverty is perpetuated due to the lack of nuclear families in Black communities, less due to the economic strain of single parenthood but more due to assumptions about a matriarch’s inability to raise secure and moral children. In theory, a chapter on male father figures in the inner city might explore a range of complex family dynamics. However, the most evident idea here is that systemic poverty and its far-reaching implications severely limit the influence of traditional figures such as the “decent daddy.”