The Hallway Hangers vs. the Brothers

As I was reading about the Hallway Hangers in "Ain't No Makin' It", all I could really think about was how hard it would be to be hopeful when growing up in the projects mostly due to the bad reputations that are inherently put on the residents by society and the lack of opportunity available geographically and academically. MacLeod describes the Hallway Hangers as very cynical, pessimistic, and hopeless across the board while the way he describes the Brothers is almost completely on the opposite side of the spectrum. I am so curious as to what exactly makes these groups so different from one another. How can such a dichotomy develop? They were all raised in the same projects and attended the same schools which discounts most explanations of such differences. MacLeod even says that the only apparent difference between the two groups is the racial make-up. These two groups interest me so much because most of the explanations for why people develop certain perspectives of life is completely shattered with the fact that otherwise, they are very similar foundationally. I want to find out why the Hallway Hangers have accepted their lives in the projects while the Brothers believe that they can and will find a way out.