Summary

Ms. Bailey saw and knew a lot about what was going on at Robert Taylor. Sometimes she made the rounds with J.T. but also met with cops and housing authority officials. He sensed that the residents both respected and feared her. Sudhir’s professors were trying to steer him away from J.T. and toward people like Ms. Bailey in his research work. Even scholars on race and poverty knew little of the female’s role in the community.

Ms. Bailey was building president of the Local Advisory Council. She wanted Sudhir to include people outside Robert Taylor particularly white people and others who determined how they lived. But she did not want her people to be seen as victims. She stressed the choices that face the poor people in Robert Taylor. Ms. Bailey organized a winter wear and...