Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-197) and indexes.
Contents:
1. Introducing the characters : Lil Boy Blue, Smurf, Juice, Lil Garfield, and Debbie -- Lil Boy Blue : "my teenage life is quiet, average. I'm a Crip" -- Smurf : "I'm ... from dat insane wicced ass westside Manzanita Lynch Mob Crip" -- Juice : "if you're a gangster they really don't want you for school" -- Lil Garfield : "I would love to be a rapper" -- The family community -- The gang community -- The school community -- The juvenile court community -- We became co-researchers : "we've got your back, Miss" -- The characters -- 2. Family community : mi familia -- Generations of the family community -- Lil Boy Blue and Smurf's parents and grandparents -- Juice and Lil Garfield's mom and grandparents -- The boys' own families -- The family community -- 3. Gang community : "west up cuzz" -- A glimpse into the gang community -- Heartaches -- Brothers to brothers -- The gang community collides with the family community -- Literacy in the gang community -- The gang community -- 4. School community, part one (I) : "they don't want us here" -- The early school years -- High school experience : the trouble begins -- Literacy in the school community (I) -- The school community (I) -- 5. School community, part two (II) : "this is our school" -- Joining Nuestra Casa -- The boys' views of school -- LIteracy in the school community (II) -- The school community (II) -- 6. Juvenile court community : "in and out of juvie" -- Entering the juvenile court community -- Literacy in the juvenile court community -- The juvenile court community -- 7. Images of gangs in the media and research literature -- Deficit images in the research literature -- Complex images in the research literature -- Images from research on gang literacy -- Images from gang members -- Images of gangs -- 8. Living on the boundaries of school : advocacy and research -- What is advocacy? -- Advocacy and research -- Advocating in the school community (I) : the impossible dream -- Graduation promises in the school community -- Advocating in the juvenile court community -- LIving on the boundaries of school -- Advocacy as a form of critical ethnography -- 9. Literacy in communities of success and failure -- Clubs, communities, and identities -- School failure : constructed identity -- Literacy : identities built, destroyed, fabricated -- Gang members' perceptions of their own literacies -- Literacy : membership denied -- The "caring" teacher versus teacher as advocate -- Appendix A. Timeline -- Appendix B. Family trees -- Appendix C. Glossary of gang terminology as used b Lil Boy Blue, Smurf, Juice, and Lil Garfield -- Appendix D. Smurf and Sad Boy's story.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.