Code of the Street

Published in 1999, Code of the Street is both a definite reflection of the time in which it was released and a comprehensive, thematic analysis of urban dynamics that remains relevant in contemporary society. Written in the pre-“Y2K” era, Anderson does not bring technology—whether its scarcity or abundance—into his arguments throughout the book. This is where the book most notably shows its age since a similar exploration of inner-city life today would analyze the impacts of social media and the Internet. So much of contemporary urban life, particularly in terms of identity formation and “campaigning for respect,” is now associated with social media personas. However, even as technologies have revolutionized societies on a global scale, systemic poverty in urban areas that is exacerbated by racial inequality remains just as evident today.

The social context of 1999 should be considered in the context of policies passed in the 1970s and 80s, including the rise of the prison-industrial complex, the War on Drugs, and cuts to social welfare programs. While US incarceration rates were declining before the 1970s, President Richard Nixon launched the War on Drugs in 1971, which instituted mandatory minimum sentencing for drug possession. This resulted in skyrocketing arrests and convictions for drugs; the US prison population increased from 196,441 in 1970 to nearly 1.