Uncategorized

Panel discusses reasoning behind gang violence

It doesn’t take heart to join a gang. It takes heart to go to school, to get up every day and go to class, to study, to get tutoring.

That was the sentiment of panel member Alvin Bernstein, superintendent of Parks, Recreation & Marine for the city of Long Beach, during the Black/Brown Dialogue, a discussion on Latino and African-American gang violence. The discussion took place Friday afternoon on campus.

“The needs of these young men are not being met and many of them choose to take the easy way out by joining a gang,” Bernstein said.

Bernstein, a former gang intervention specialist with the Long Beach probation office, said one strange phenomenon of the gangs today is that many kids aren’t being forced into them; it’s a choice they make.

“They feel it makes them look cool or to be a part of something that gets respect in the neighborhood,” Bernstein said. “Strange thing – I did that by going to college.”

CSULB Professor Emeritus Jose Lopez said many gangs are formed as a coping mechanism.

“For many of the youngsters, it’s a chance to do something dangerous and live to tell about, that’s their way of empowering themselves,” Lopez said.

Breaking the audience into laughter, Lopez said, “They can afford $50 for a 38 special but not $38,000 for a BMW.”

Economic disparity was also a highlight of the discussion, documented by Rene Castro, vice president of National Conference for Community and Justice of Southern California (NCCJ).

Castro said part of the problem is neighborhood segregation and economic disparity. His PowerPoint presentation highlighted how the affluent east side of the city was populated by whites, while central, west and north sections of the city were populated mostly by people of color.

“We always talk about how diverse our city is, but nobody talks to each other,” he said. “You go through the neighborhoods and there are apartment buildings with all Cambodians, all Latino, or all African-American.”

He said we need to overcome personal bias, and that begins with conversation.

Diane Medoza, a graduate student studying social and multicultural foundations, said these types of panels are very necessary but should be in high schools and even taught on a regular basis.

“Latino and African-American history should be taught and talked about in the high school classroom so young people can get a better understanding of each other,” Medoza said.

She said as it stands now, teachers only need one multicultural class when getting their credentials. “That’s an outrage considering how diverse this city and our country have become.”

Many in the audience of about 55 said they were frustrated the panel did not spend enough time focusing on gang violence and what to do about it now.

The conversation drifted toward education for young people at risk to gang activity.

The only problem was, those people weren’t in the audience.

Nonye Nzenwa, a junior kinesiology major and president of CSULB chapter of the NAACP that sponsored the event, said she was encouraged by the fact that both Latino and African-American communities showed up.

“There was some very good dialogue, but I really wanted the focus to be on the high school students – I wish more of them were here,” she said.

Rosa Carrillo, a staff member for Outreach Services, said she has difficulty finding African-American and Latino males when she visits community college campuses.

“Unfortunately, we now live in a quick-fix society, but there is no quick fix to gang violence,” she said.

You may also like

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *