From Nowhere: Space, Race, and Time in How Young Minority Men Understand Encounters with Gangs

Abstract

Research on gangs within minority communities often focuses on gang crime and violence, and gang organization. Few studies examine the non-gang member side of the equation, especially in how potential victims make sense of gang encounters. This paper reveals how young Black and Latino men interpret gang encounters, interpretations that differ because of the following: one’s ethnicity, a gang’s ethnicity, the state of interethnic gang conflict, and a space’s ethnic makeup. It will also examine the intersection of time, specifically as to how shifting neighborhood demographics change the perceptions of these young minority men. This research is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in both Compton and South Central.