Frank Acosta - Overcoming Disparity: Latino Young Men and Boys

Latino Young Men and Boys

Edited by Frank de Jess Acosta
and Henry A. J.Ramos

Overcoming Disparity: Latino Young Men and Boys is funded in part by grants from California Community Foundation, the California Endowment, Marguerite Casey Foundation, City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, W. K. Kellogg Foundation and Sierra Health Foundation. We are grateful for their support.

Recovering the past, creating the future

Arte Pblico Press
University of Houston
4902 Gulf Fwy, Bldg 19, Rm 100
Houston, Texas 77204-2004

Cover design by Mora Desgn
Cover art, Semilla, by Alicia Maria Siu

Names: Jess Acosta, Frank de, editor. | Ramos, Henry A. J., 1959editor.
Title: Overcoming disparity : Latino young men and boys / Frank de Jess Acosta, editor; Henry A. J. Ramos, coeditor.

Description: Houston, TX: Arte Publico Press, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015050505I ISBN 9781558858305 (trade pbk.) |

ISBN 9781518500923 (Kindle) | ISBN 9781518500930 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Hispanic American young menSocial conditions. |

Hispanic American young menServices for. | Poor youthUnited StatesServices for. | Juvenile delinquencyUnited StatesPrevention. | EqualityUnited States.

Classification: LCC HV3187.A2 O94 2016 | DDC 362.84/68073dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015050505

The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.

2016 by Arte Pblico Press
Printed in the United States of America

16 17 18 19 20 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Daniel Nane Alejandrez

Henry A. J. Ramos

Ricardo Huerta Nio, PhD

Frank de Jess Acosta

Interview by Frank de Jess Acosta

Frank de Jess Acosta

Interview by Frank de Jess Acosta

Frank de Jess Acosta

All honor to our ancestors. We thank our philanthropic partners, the California Endowment, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Sierra Health Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation and California Community Foundation, without whose support we could not have completed this project.

Tlazocamati (thank you in the Nahuatl language of our forebears) to all of the Latino men and boys (and women) who contributed art, poetry and writings or otherwise supported the hard work that it took to complete this ambitious endeavor.

Our organizational partners (particularly the leadership, staff, volunteers and participants of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Barrios Unidos, Homies Unidos, Homeboy Industries, La Plazita and In-and-Out Writers) graciously took time from their vital daily work and responsibilities to help make this works completion a community-wide effort. We are forever indebted to these leaders for their inspiration and their valued collaboration, both of which speak volumes about their undying commitment to and love of humanity.

We are also fundamentally grateful to the youth, men, advocates and leaders (especially our incarcerated brothers) who gave of their hearts, considerable gifts, wisdom and time in support of our efforts throughout the completion of this volume and the larger series of examinations of which it is a part.

Last but not least, we are eternally beholden to our illustrious Project Advisory Group, whose dedication and support in connection with this work was essential to its completion. Following are the members of this impressive collection of leading national experts and practitioners on the issues:

Luis Rodrguez

Ta Chuchas Centro Cultural

Sylmar, CA

Albino Garca, Jr.

La Plazita Institute

Albuquerque, NM

Daniel Nane Alejandrez

Barrios Unidos

Santa Cruz, CA

Jerry Tello

National Compadres Network

Whittier, CA

George Galvis

Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice

Oakland, CA

Rubn Lizardo

University of California

Berkeley, CA

Alex Snchez

Homies Unidos

Los Angeles, CA

Javier Stauring

Healing Justice Coalition

Los Angeles, CA

Father Greg Boyle, SJ

Homeboy Industries

Los Angeles, CA

Richard Montoya

Culture Clash

Los Angeles, CA

Carmen Prez

The Gathering for Justice

New York, NY

Toms Alejo

Washington, DC

Luis Cardona

Baltimore, MD

Patrick Mulcahey

Whittier, CA

In Lakech Hala Ken (Mayan saying: I am the other you, and you are the other me).

Frank de Jess Acosta and Henry A. J. Ramos

Overcoming Disparity: Latino Young Men and Boys provides surveys about the leading programs and strategies that effectively engage young Latino men and boys in ways that expand their prospects for crafting healthy, productive, prosperous and socially contributing lives. It builds on two prior publications that we have produced on the issues in recent years: The History of Barrios Unidos: Healing Community Violence (Arte Pblico Press, 2007), by Frank de Jess Acosta, which features the work of Barrios Unidos (one of the nations most evolved networks working with at-risk Latino men and boys through cultural awareness, community service and healing interventions); and Latino Young Men and Boys in Search of Justice: Testimonies (Arte Pblico Press, 2016), edited by Frank de Jess Acosta and Henry A. J. Ramos, highlighting the creative voice of California Latino men and boys (many of whom are currently or were formerly incarcerated) in the form of original poetry, essays, drawings, paintings, tattoo art and murals.

In publicizing the experiences and perspectives of young Latino males and those who work most effectively on their behalf relative to community organizing and the economy, violence prevention and justice, health and education, and culture and art, our goal is, in large part, to humanize these young men on the public stage. Too frequently, mainstream media and leaders have demonized Latino men and boys along with African American and other minority males, generally perceiving and representing them as criminals, predators, drug traffickers or general drags on our economy and civic culture.

In fact, there are many data and much evidence to explain the perception of Latino men and boys by outside observers as a troublesome population subgroup. Recent government and scholarly data reveal that Latino men and boys are among the nations most at-risk populations in relation to crime and public safety, education, employment, health and early mortality. In many communities, these young men are more likely to be killed in gang- or family-related violence than they are to graduate from college.

According to social scientists such as New York University Professor Pedro Noguera and his colleagues, who recently co-edited Invisible No More: Understanding the Disenfranchisement of Latino Men and Boys (Routledge, 2012), Latino males in the United States are confronted with a wide variety of hardships. They are populating prisons, dropping out of school and becoming overrepresented in low-paying service jobs at alarming rates. Young Latino men, especially, earn among the lowest wages in the country; they also experience a rapidly growing rate of HIV/AIDS and one of the highest mortality rates due to homicide. Nevertheless, our experiences over the years working with and around these young men, as well as their families and their communities, inform an enduring sense of untapped potential, a longing for something better and real possibilities for redemption. What is needed and missing is a more serious societal investment in these young men, enlightened and culturally rooted interventions to help them chart a more constructive course and accessible opportunities to work, earn a living and contribute to the larger society.