Essay on L.A. Gang Members

The neighborhood Westmont located in South L.A. the area holds a population of 81,467 with an ethnicity of “Blacks at 57.7% and Latino at 39.9%” (Westmont). The median age is 25 in average for South L.A. but young for the county. As a matter of fact the percentage of residents ages ten or younger are among the county’s highest. In addition the ancestry and immigration of “Mexican 24.5% and Unspecified African 2.5% are among the most common” (Westmont). Westmont’s households median average is $31

Bastard of the Party Patarasorn Boonyaprakob The issue with the youth gangs in South Central L.A. has long roots back into the history of American community, attracting attention of the people who have interest and study the history of L.A. neighborhoods. The gangs are also known as the “Bastard of the Party”. The reason it was called with this name has traces back into the history of the former political party the 1960s known as the Black Panther party, Black self-organized party who fought against

that Los Angeles has made to secure the gang nature and keep the city safe. He states, “Overall, violent crime fell by 8.3 percent, with the number of murders remaining low. Just 20 years ago there were 1,092 murders in Los Angeles. In 2012, the city recorded just 298” (Par 5). The statistics do show that less people are being killed, and the police are implementing gangs more. Knowles says that it is a “big achievement”. Not just murders have fallen, the gang activity in LA today has fallen drastically

of gangs and gang violence. There are a total of 1,150,000 gang members in the United States and 40% of them are under the age of 18 years old. There has been much research done on gang members, but the theory that stands out most is Social Identity Theory. When considering that almost half of gang members are under the age of 18, it is not shocking that Social Identity Theory applies to the lives of these gang members. In the video “A homeboy’s guide to healing by former L.A. gang members”, we

kids want to be apart of a gang because it seems cool, or maybe they just had nothing else better to do. The whole gang theme seems to be catching on through out all aspects of life. There are even reports of a homosexual gang that wears the rainbow as their calling card. There will never be a slow down in gang violence once there are members of the hip-hop community that glorify the gang lifestyle. Rappers such as Snoop

Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. Analysis By Gillian Husack Introduction Always Running is, essentially, a detailed memoir by Luis Rodriguez. Moreover, the author describes his sordid past as a gang member in Los Angeles during the 1960 's. As a consequence of residing in a gang, Rodriguez became involved in spontaneous acts of violence; for instance, accounts included rape, drug peddling, shootings, and multiple other reasons for arrests. But, the deciding factor that had made him

most commonly known gang in the area are the Bloods. According to many of the detectives in the office, they are the most vicious and most violent gangs they have ever encountered. State versus Gillens and Mercer are one of those encounters. The Bloods, or the United Blood Nation, was developed around 1972. The Crips were dominating the streets of L.A. and were battling with multiple street gangs. After a rumble with the street gang Pirus and murdering an L.A. Brim, the street gangs had enough of the

punk. While punk and hip-hop music are stylistically different, the fundamental tone of the two genres is the same. Even throughout the decades, hip-hop has sang the same issues as punk, including the plight of the lower class, police brutality, and gang violence. No matter how the economy changes, for better or worse, there will always be a lower class that is struggling, and an upper class that doesn’t realize the troubles of the lower classes. In an aggressive attack at the upper class and even

Social movements emerge for a number of different reasons, specifically for gangs it is injustice and inequality: police brutality, racial discrimination, colorism, and poverty, due to a lack of education and school funding because of corrupt politicians. Gangs of America were born out of police brutality and low income areas, which tend to be segregated from other communities of wealth. Not only are their interactions with law enforcement negative, but they have a “dog eat dog” mentality with each

Straight Outta South Central Why is gang affiliation such an alluring, appealing lifestyle? Admittedly, the appeal is conceivable. Watching Boyz in the Hood or listening to hip-hip may cause some to think, “I can live that life,” but thought does not turn into action while others never formulate such a thought. This raises the question, why does Monster Kody Scott, consider devout gang membership as a sole objective despite constant contingencies of incarceration and demise? To answer this question