The Projects: Gang and Non-Gang Families in East Los Angeles

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Chapter One Introduction The strains and stresses of poverty in a public housing complex adversely affect family life, and those families that experience the greatest stress often lose control of their children to gangs. Losing children to gangs occurs in a social ecological arrangement, where there is already a generalized breakdown of major social control institutions. In this situation, street socialization of youths by one another and by slightly older youths becomes common . When street socialization takes over, a street gang with strong roots becomes a fixture. In the community this book focuses on, Cuatro Flats is this gang. Many youths in the Pico Gardens housing development in East Los Angeles have joined Cuatro Flats, but others have avoided doing so. Why are some families vulnerable to having their children join gangs, and conversely, how have some families succeeded in having their children avoid gangs? How and why are there variances among poor families in a public housing project? If we know the answer to these questions, can we develop better prevention and intervention strategies that fit poverty-stricken populations? I first learned of gangs as a young boy in this same Pico Gardens housing project. Pico Gardens became known to me when I was a thirteen-year-old selling newspapers on the street corner back in the early 1950s. Some of the other boys I worked with were from what we called “the projects.” My official introduction to the neighborhood came during a visit with one of its boy denizens. I remember the visit very well because it was that day that he related to me, in a low, awestruck voice, the adventures of “Geronimo,” one of the infamous tough guys from the neighborhood. Geronimo, of African American and Latino parentage, was the leader of the Apaches, a gang from the projects.  The Projects According to the story, Geronimo was so tough and fearless that even the distant Los Angeles County forest fire authorities knew of him. According to the Paul Bunyan–esque tale, when there was a major forest fire, the forest ranger would pick up Geronimo and parachute him directly into the fire zone to combat the threatening blaze. Of such incredulous substance are myths born. Yet this myth captured at least some of the essence of Geronimo, as he eventually grew up to become Don Jordan, boxing’s welterweight champion of the world. The friend who told me the story was white—and probably “Okie.” The projects in those days were populated by whites like my friend’s family, along with African Americans and Mexicans. Over the decades there were many more tough guys and gangs in these same projects. By the time I returned to Pico Gardens again in the 1960s, twenty years after my first visit, that section of the projects was dominated by only one street gang—Cuatro Flats. It was friendship that once again facilitated my 1960s visit to the projects. My associates, the Rodriguez brothers, were active members of the Chicano movement. Founders of a community center, they sought to steer youths in the right direction and away from drugs and gangs. “Casa de Carnalismo ” (House of Brotherhood) was the center’s name, and it was located on Fourth Street. The center achieved some success, yet struggled to stay afloat. Like many similar urban programs born of the War on Poverty, the center faced decreased funding over time. Its value was discounted, along with the population it was designed to help. In the end, Casa de Carnalismo was dismantled. I reconnected again with Pico Gardens in the early 1990s, when I was asked to evaluate a drug intervention program. As I reacquainted myself with the area, I soon became aware of a government research grant that focused on family dynamics and street gangs. I wrote a proposal, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (90-CL-1105), and soon was able to launch an in-depth community study of Pico Gardens, designed to expand understanding of family life in general. The focus of the investigation was to identify and explore the key forces that distinguish gang families from nongang families. Urban Poverty Research Numerous ethnographic and survey investigations of low-income communities have addressed the many social, cultural, and emotional problems experienced by the impoverished (Anderson 1990; Hannerz 1969; Liebow Introduction  1967; Rainwater 1970; Suttles 1968). Utilizing a community study strategy, this book delves deep into the...