Alegria 1

Jossue Alegria

Mrs. Brower

Adv. Comp

9 Mar. 2022

Vida en el barrio

You see it all the time, “Hispanic youth shot and killed at party due to gang violence,” but

what led up to that point? We can start with the start of hispanic gangs which originated off the

bond made by Mexican Americans trying to escape from the racism in this country or we can

talk about the disadvantage Latinos are put in when living in a barrio (Lara). When speaking

about gangs, Latino gangs in particular, many people bring up the crimes they cause and their

effect on the community, but what about their effect on Latino teens? How are they affected by

their own people?

Let us start at the beginning, when Mexican Americans were treated poorly due to the

racism going on during the 1940’s; many Latinos found peace in groups of people that looked

like them (Lara 1). So, what happens when people who are repeatedly told they do not belong

here and are treated unfairly join together and can only find comfort in these groups? Gangs

originated in Latino neighborhoods as a way to make themselves feel like they belonged (Lara

1). Though gangs started back then they did not start off being as violent as they are now. The

gangs of the past followed a code and would try their best to help their barrio and the people of

their barrio, but over the years many things changed and the code started to become more and

more lenient (Lara 2). As younger and crazier members joined the more violent these gangs

would get (Lara 2). Gangs went from protecting their barrio to destroying it. Many of the
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younger members would do crazier and more violent things in order to gain respect in the gang

which led to a rise in homicides and other crimes (Lara 2).

One thing many people like to talk about when talking about the Latino community is

immigration and its effects on crime in the U.S., so what is their effect? Many Latino people

immigrate to this country looking for a better life or for refuge from their war torn country, but

many see them as criminals and try to remove them from this country. When we look at their

effect on gang violence you can actually see a decrease in gang violence in neighborhoods with a

majority of Latino immigrants (Valdez). In these neighborhoods many of the crimes committed

are by second or third generation Latinos who are younger and much more naive to the dangers

of gangs (Valdez). When looking at the gangs of the barrios and the differences in age you can

see that gangs with older members are less likely to vandalize or create much of a mess in their

barrio since they still follow many rules to not hurt the barrio (Valdez). Even though age is a very

important factor on how violent gangs are, there weren’t many reports of immigrant youth

getting involved in gang activities (Valdez).

We have been talking about barrios a lot, but what is life like for these teens living there?

Many Latino teens are pressured into gang life at a very young age, or else they could be putting

themselves in danger (Lara 2). Maybe gang leaders like to recruit at a very young age, 12-13

years old, so they can mold them into their ideals (Lara 2). Many of these young kids also get

drawn to gang life as a way to find somewhere to belong or for protection from rival gangs (Lara

1). When looking at all the factors that lead to these young Latinos joining the gangs we go back

to the racism that affects these teens on a daily basis (Valdez). For many Latino teens they may

feel like they don’t fit in anywhere due to their differences in culture wherever they go (Lara 2).

For these teens it is as if wherever they go the gang life follows them. In their daily lives they
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will mostly run into many buildings covered in gang graffiti marking their territory; reminding

them of their reality (Valdez). What about if they move out? Gangs are a national problem with

over 10,000 gangs being established in over 800 cities in the U.S. alone (Lara 1).

So when we talk about these teen’s daily lives what does it look like? Many teens use

parks as a way to escape from their reality, but sometimes not even that can help them; gangs are

known for using parks as a way to mark their territory (Stodolska). When a community tried to

host an event for the youth of the neighborhood at the park, gang members in cars drove by and

ended up shooting into the crowd (Stodolska). When these kids head to the parks they are met by

many do nots. Since multiple gangs claim different parts of the park, many teens find it hard to

have fun when they could be putting their lives in danger just for using a slide on the wrong side

of the park (Stodolska). When looking at Chicago, with a high population of Latino teens, it is

hard to find somewhere these teens can escape. We can find over 40 gangs with over 38,000

members in Chicago alone (Stodolska).

What factors lead to these teens joining these gangs? We look at risk factors that can help

determine the probability of a teen joining a gang, and when looking at these risks we can see

that teens with risks above seven are 13 times more likely to join a gang (Gilman 2). We can also

see that teens who attend schools with high suspensions, high student to teacher ratios, and low

funding have a much higher risk of joining or forming a gang (Gilman 2). When looking at

factors inside the home we find that teens who grew up in a higher income household are less

likely to join a gang at a later age, but have a higher risk of joining one early on in their teens.

(Gilman 3). Low parental supervision increased risk of joining a gang at an early age, but

actually decreased the risk later in life (Gilman 3). When looking at the family life of these teens
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we can find more risks for gang involvement. If the teen has family history in a gang, older

siblings, parents, even aunts and uncles, they run a higher risk of joining a gang (Gilman 2).

The prominence of gangs in the U.S. is alarming. With more than 10,000 gangs active in

over 800 cities across the country it is easy to see why it is hard for these teens to find a way out

(Lara 1). When looking at these gangs we see a high percentage of Latino members (46%),

which continues to hurt the Latino community and makes it harder for these teens to find more

opportunities (Macfarlane 2). When in one city alone there are over 40 gangs with nearly 40,000

members you can understand why these teens have a hard time getting out (Stodolska). What

damage do these gangs cause? A government report showed that 50% of shootings were caused

by gangs with 22% of acts of violence also being attributed to these gangs as well (Macfarlane

2). In a neighborhood in California there were 28 homicidal events; 19 of those events were

caused by rival gangs (Valdez). When looking at national statistics we can see that gangs caused

11% of gun crime in the nation alone (Macfarlane 1).

So, now we have seen all the factors, all the statistics that lead to this point, but what

about those teens? Is that all they are? A statistic? When looking at these statistics and risk

factors we can conclude that gangs truly hurt the community and these teens, but we can’t place

all the blame on them. We have to truly look at ourselves and our country to finally find the

solution to these issues.

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Works Cited

Gilman, Amanda B., et al. “The Developmental Dynamics of Joining a Gang in Adolescence:

Patterns and Predictors of Gang Membership.” Journal of Research on Adolescence

(Wiley-Blackwell), vol. 24, no. 2, June 2014, pp. 204–19. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12121.

Lara, Maria. “Gang Violence and Latino Youth in Chicano ... - Scholarworks.” Gang Violence

and Latino Youth in Chicano Literature: The Loss of Potential, 2005,

https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=mcnair_jo

urnal.

Macfarlane, Alastair. “Gangs and Adolescent Mental Health: A Narrative Review.” Journal of

Child & Adolescent Trauma, vol. 12, no. 3, Sept. 2019, pp. 411–20. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-018-0231-y.

Miller, Elizabeth, et al. “Exposure to Partner, Family, and Community Violence: Gang-Affiliated

Latina Women and Risk of Unintended Pregnancy - Journal of Urban Health.”

SpringerLink, Springer US, 13 Dec. 2011,

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11524-011-9631-0.

Stodolska, Monika. “Gangs of Chicago: Perceptions of Crime and Its Effect on the Recreation

Behavior of Latino Residents in Urban Communities.” Taylor & Francis, 9 Feb. 2009,

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01490400903199773.
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Valdez, Avelardo, et al. “Homicidal Events among Mexican American Street Gangs: A

Situational Analysis.” Homicide Studies, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Sept.

2009, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3016850/.