West African and Chinese Entrepreneurship

West African and Chinese Entrepreneurship in Russell Leigh Sharman's Tenants Of East Harlem

Much of Sharman's Tenants of East Harlem depicts the strife and poverty that the largely-immigrant population in this neighborhood of New York City face on a daily basis. The predominantly Latino area has more than its share of economic struggles, and this has had a definite effect on the community as a whole. Certain ethnicities within the community, however, appear to be better at taking advantage of economic opportunities in the neighborhood.

The first of these groups that Sharman identifies are the West Africans. He introduces the reader to Mohammed, who runs a ninety-nine cent store with some significant regrets but no small amount of success (Sharman 2006, pp. 137). He is not the only example form West Africa to have made a success in business in the neighborhood, and Sharman seems to ascribe much of this success to the cultural fluidity that West Africans have experienced in the past generations, which has suited them to the diversity and, in a strange way, the opportunism available in East Harlem (Sharman 2006, pp. 143-54).

The Chinese are also more successful than many other groups in the city, though perhaps for different reasons. According to one Chinese immigrant who had found success in East Harlem that Sharman interviewed "We don't talk about politics or freedom. We don't care. Only one thing, America gave me an opportunity'" (Sharman 2006, pp. 188). This single-mindedness and the cultural willingness to engage in long hours of labor, sacrificing short-term enjoyment for long-term success, appears to be the major reason for their success.

Fears and Moral Minimalism in Setha M. Low's Behind the Gates

One of the major fears that Low identifies in people that choose to live in gated communities, the subject of her book Behind the Gates, is the fear of crime. Many of the people Low interviews cite security as the primary concern for moving to such communities (Low 2003, pp. 111-31). Theft is the most commonly cited specific worry, but general misgivings concerning the perceived higher rates of criminality in the world today (regardless of their basis in actual social facts) are also contributing factors to the growing numbers of people flocking into these communities that are seen as being more protected (Low 2003).