Dying to Fit In: Black and Latino Boys' Experiences With Gun Violence and Mass Consumption

• In Event: Black and Hispanic Students' Educational Experiences and Opportunities

Abstract

This study explores the ways that Black and Latino young men navigate two discrete yet interconnected structural elements – the confluence of mass consumption and poverty and the relationships with and police in South Mountainside. Two central questions guided the study: How do Black and Latino young men make sense of their identities in a culture of consumption? How do Black and Latino young men make meaning of their experiences in a culture of mass consumption and with police in South Mountainside? The study’s findings suggest that Black and Latino young men’s interactions with different structural elements – the creation of a superficially super fresh identity and interactions with police regarding their superficially super fresh identity – have influenced their identities and lives.

Author

• Nicole Limperopulos, Bank Street Graduate School of Education