East Side Stories: Gang Life in East L.A. - Softcover

Joseph Rodriguez; Ruben Martinez; Luis J. Rodriguez

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1576870723 ISBN 13: 9781576870723

Publisher: powerHouse Books, 2000

Synopsis

In his interview, Luis Rodríguez explains that the demonization and false glorification of gang life has done much disservice to the termination of gang activity, activity which he defines as "90% boredom." What's the key to reducing gang violence and improving inner-city lives? To the dissolution of jail time as a right of passage? Part of the solution lies in providing better education, in teachers able to tap into and help direct the overlooked creativity of inner-city communities. A great responsibility lies, as well, in a national understanding and support for communities bound by poverty, and in encouraging people to work together to help people work for themselves.

About this title

Review:

We've heard about drive-by shootings and territorial battles in the news. "East Side Stories" brings the code, the lives, the words, and the hope of actual gang members to light in this stunning collection of essays, photographs, and an interview of ex-gang member Luis Rodriguez, now the author of five books and the recipient of several major awards. The labyrinthine rules and codes of gang life are examined and explained, while intimate photographs of "gang bangers" in their homes and with their families put a human face on what is, for many of us, just another story in the afternoon newspaper.

Luis Rodriguez explains in his interview that the demonization and false glorification of gang life has done much disservice to the termination of gang activity, activity which he defines as "90% boredom." What's the key to reduction of gang violence and improvement of inner-city lives, to the dissolution of prisons as a right of passage? Part of the solution lies in providing better education by informed and supportive teachers who are able to tap into the overlooked creativity in inner-city communities. And a great part lies in nationally understanding and supporting communities bound by poverty, and encouraging people to work together to help people work for themselves.

From Library Journal:

Rodriguez, a freelance photographer whose work has appeared in Life, among other publications, traveled to Los Angeles in 1992 to try to understand?and convey to the public?the complexities behind the screaming headlines of gangland killings. His photographs of life in East-Side barrios as well as South Central neighborhoods often feature the expected guns and small groups of young men posing for the camera. But just as often the reader sees fathers with their children and other family groups, illuminating the innumerable lives that surround the gang experience. Excerpts from Rodriguez's journal bring the people to life, and Martinez's fluid, anecdotal essay on the trials of average people's lives in recent years in especially clear and moving. Only the photographer's interview with Luis Rodriguez (Always Running: La Vida Loca, Curbstone, 1993) disappoints with its impersonal rambling. A fine addition to the growing literature on gang life that belongs in photojournalism as well as subject collections; for larger public libraries.?Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: powerHouse Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1576870723
• ISBN 13: 9781576870723
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192