gANg vIOLENcE & R AcIALIz Ed POLIcINg

Gangs are defined as an organized group of criminals with leadership and territory who exert control over the community collectively and individually. While our traditional concept of gangs originates from the white-ethnic minorities of the early 20th century, modern gangs based on ethnic minorities are much more popular stereotypes in media. Black and Latino gangs have become the new targets of the LAPD, as fears of intimidation, drug distribution, webs of murder, and violence become detrimental to the communities they reside in. But how did we get here? Weren’t gangs for white people? According to The National Gang Center, characteristics that exacerbate gang involvement include: concentrated and isolated poverty, underresourced schools, few employment opportunities, high rates of policing and crime, as well as the incarceration of young men in the community. Communities respond to the resources they are limited to, and gangs in Black communities formed as resources for other young Black men to seek guidance, earn money to support their families, and protect their communities. Unfortunately, some gangs have devolved into mass webs of organized crime that continue to release drugs into their communities and operate on fear and intimidation. Still we learn that the communities with characteristics that would exacerbate gang involvement are Black and Brown communities that are historically underserved and violently misrepresented in media. These communities are predisposed to these conditions because they are affected by the prevalence of white supremacy in the United States. These communities are overpoliced because of the preconceived notions that Black people are in need of policing, incapable of operating functionally without surveillance of white eyes. These communities are undereducated because of the preconceived notions that Black people are ineducable (McAdoo) and our resources would be better pooled elsewhere. These communities are impoverished because lack of education and employment resources, combined with society’s overt and covert racism, making their access to taxable income insufficient and high wage jobs unattainable. While gangs are obviously not the preferred answer to all of Black Americans struggles, they are results of the conditions were subject to after acquiring our freedom.