Barrio Gangs: street life and identity in Southern California

Publisher description: James D. Vigil asserts that only by understanding the complex factors that give birth and persistence to gangs can gang violence be ended. Drawing on many years of experience in the barrios as a youth worker, high school teacher, and researcher, Vigil identifies the elements f...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Vigil, James Diego (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Austin Univ. of Texas Pr. 1988
Edition:1. ed.
Series:Mexican American monograph 12
Subjects:
Summary:Publisher description: James D. Vigil asserts that only by understanding the complex factors that give birth and persistence to gangs can gang violence be ended. Drawing on many years of experience in the barrios as a youth worker, high school teacher, and researcher, Vigil identifies the elements from which gangs spring: isolation from the dominant culture, poverty, family stress and crowded households, peer pressure, and the adolescent struggle for self-identity. Using interviews with actual gang members, he reveals how the gang often functions as parent, school, and law enforcement in the absence of other role models in the gang members' lives. And he accounts for the longevity of gangs, sometimes over decades, by showing how they offer barrio youth a sense of identity and belonging nowhere else available.
Physical Description:XV, 202 S.
ISBN:0292776136

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