Beloved Community: Intersectionality, Youth Organizing, and Latino Young Men

• In Event: 77.057 - MTCC Roundtable Session 35
  In Roundtable Session: 77.057-2 - Intersectional Identities of Latino Males: Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Youth Organizing

Abstract

Criminalization is a central and pervasive phenomenon that impacts the everyday lives of Latino young men (Lewiset al. 2015: Skiba et al. 2011; Rios 2011 and 2017). Aware of this, and despite differences in capacities and focus, youth organizations across South Los Angeles have developed an approach to support the healthy development of their Black and Latino young men while engaging them in organizing, advocacy, and other efforts to address punitive practices. Exploring youth organizing and the experiences Latino young men in South Los Angeles is particularly relevant given that the racialized, gendered, and classed ramifications of the “war on drugs” and the punitive practices that came with it continue to haunt South LA residents, including youth and children.


Guided by literature and theories of intersectionality and social justice youth development (Hill Collins 2017; Terriquez 2015; Ginwright and Cammarota 2002), this paper asks how are Latino young men coming to understand their racial identities and their role in affecting community change in community based youth organizations in South Los Angeles? To capture this, and the multiple dimensions of young people, their lives must be understood in multiple settings (Rios 2017). As such, in this paper I draw from participant observations and ethnographic field notes collected from 2016 to 2018 where the Latino young men campaign, organize, and meet (e.g. organizing meetings, school board meetings, statewide convenings). Ethnographic data is coupled with 20 in-depth interviews with Latino young men, 20 interview with staff at youth organizations, and content analysis of relevant programming material. Together, these approaches have allowed me to uncover how varying organizational and cultural practices shape the multiple identities of Latino young men and their understandings of social justice.


Preliminary findings revealed two themes that encapsulate youth organizing programming that fosters the development of positive racial identities and a commitment to community change among Latino young men. First, the programming available to the Latino men draws from and is informed by intersectionality (Hill Collins 2017). As such, through intersectional programming, the young men are learning about how their intersecting identities (e.g. sexuality, race, gender, nationality, etc.) and that of their peers, shape their experiences at an individual and structural level. Second, healing informed practices engaged the Latino young men in political education that underscores how their healing is also connected to their racial identity. Lastly, in this paper I highlight how intersectional programming and healing informed practices are made possible through culturally relevant activities and discussions that incorporate art and the lived experiences of the Latino young men.


This paper has timely significance for scholars, practitioners, and community based youth organizations invested in inclusive approaches to the healthy development of Latino young men. Lessons learned from these local youth organizers and their youth groups offer the opportunity to develop culturally and community relevant policy and practices that provide boys and young men of color spaces to heal, grow as community leaders, and move closer towards making their visions of wellness and equity a reality.

Author

• Uriel Serrano, University of California - Santa Cruz