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Nuyorican
A sociological term for the knowledge, habits, and style that are considered valuable and associated with the upper-middle and upper classes in Western societies—and therefore with people’s ability to join these classes. According to Bourgois, one of the reasons East Harlem residents have so much trouble in the formal economy is because they never learn how white people expect them to act—for instance, Primo hates his boss Gloria because she tells him what to do, and Candy shows up to court in a red bodysuit, infuriating the judge, when her attorney tells her to dress up for her appearance.
Cultural Capital Quotes in In Search of Respect
The In Search of Respect quotes below are all either spoken by Cultural Capital or refer to Cultural Capital. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Introduction
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The street culture of resistance is predicated on the destruction of its participants and the community harboring them. In other words, although street culture emerges out of a personal search for dignity and a rejection of racism and subjugation, it ultimately becomes an active agent in personal degradation and community ruin.
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Chapter 4
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The contrast between Ray’s consistent failures at establishing viable, legal business ventures—that is, his deli, his legal social club, and his Laundromat—versus his notable success at running a complex franchise of retail crack outlets, highlight the different “cultural capitals” needed to operate as a private entrepreneur in the legal economy versus the underground economy.
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It’s like they hear my voice, and they stop…There’s a silence on the other end of the line.
Everyone keeps asking me what race I am. Yeah, they say, like, ‘Where’re you from with that name?’ Because they hear that Puerto Rican accent. And I just tell them that I'm Nuyorican. I hate that.
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Chapter 6
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As the historian Michael Katz and many others have noted, U.S. policy toward the poor has always been obsessed with distinguishing the “worthy” from the “unworthy” poor, and of blaming individuals for their failings.
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Cultural Capital Term Timeline in In Search of Respect
The timeline below shows where the term Cultural Capital appears in In Search of Respect. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: Violating Apartheid In the United States
In his section “The Barriers of Cultural Capital ,” Bourgois explains that Ray is a contradictory figure: while able to run a complex...
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Chapter 4: "Goin Legit": Disrespect and Resistance at Work
...legal economy and his success in the underground economy of evidence of “the different ‘ cultural capitals ’ needed” in each context. Ray is a master of street culture but looks like...
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...from one poorly paid job to the next” because of their lack of education and cultural capital . Primo did this in the garment industry, and Caesar in metallurgy—Caesar remembers watching his...
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Chapter 5: School Days: Learning to be a Better Criminal
Bourgois starts with Primo and Caesar’s earliest memories about school in “Kindergarten Delinquencies: Confronting Cultural Capital .” As a child, Primo hates school and never does homework—not only does his mother,...
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