The Neighborhood Has Its Own Rules Summary

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In the South side of the city of Los Angeles, it is known to be set as an area where there are an inter-racial conflict and violence between two races, Latinos and African Americans. The neighborhood in the South of LA has mainly low-income families who happen to be Latinos and African Americans. Cid G. Martinez, assistant professor of sociology at the University of San Diego, conducted and collected an in-depth ethnographic study of these two different races regarding their families, communities, schools, churches, etc. on a day-to-day basis. In The Neighborhood Has Its Own Rules, author Cid G. Martinez, focuses the issue between violence and social disorganization among low-income communities of South LA. As well as providing some in-depth …show more content…

The first was by volunteering then eventually working as a teacher assistant at two charter schools in South LA. In this job, he took on working with assisting teachers with the assignments, worked with students individually who needed that one-on-one attention, and even sat and ate lunch with the students to create a closer bond with them. The second was at a Catholic church, St. Joseph Parish, which is a place that helps residents cope with violence. The church takes on a significant role in the community by providing Latinos residents a safe environment. The reason why Martinez volunteered and taught religious classes at the Catholic church was that setting allowed him to understand what life was like for parishioners inside and outside the church. The third was volunteering and attending meetings at the Neighborhood Councils. By doing so, this allowed him to see the actions of how the residents would use any political institutions to address local issues in relation to violence and crime. Lastly, it was living in the neighborhood which allowed him to connect with the resident and view their daily routines and experiences as it relates to issues of violence. Martinez addresses that this book is about the ways in which care institutions such as the government, law enforcement, etc. respond to violence. Thus, the social organization of violence is at …show more content…

It gave him a firsthand insight into what the neighborhood life was like in the city of South LA. He was able to see life on a daily basis and by that, it informed him about the dynamics of the neighborhood and the roles that were played interracially between residents. Living in South LA allowed him to see the interaction of street life, like gang life and its relationship with the church. By volunteering at a charter high school in South LA he was able to observe youths who were involved in gang activity. He discovered that at these schools the kids had to be screened before admission to indicate if they’re affiliated with a gang. This would diminish, the conflict between gangs and violence however, if youths did not pass the screening they had no other option but to drop out. As a result, these youths had nowhere else to go due to them either getting kicked out or getting dropped out due to their affiliation with gangs, these students had no other

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