Jacked Up and Unjust: Pacific Islander Teens Confront Violent Legacies

Based on a nine years of ethnographic research, the authors examine multiple inequalities that underscore youth violence. They feature the experiences of inner-city as well as rural girls and boys in Hawai'i who face racism, sexism, poverty, and political neglect in the context of two hundred years of American colonial control in the Pacific. Irwin and Umemoto highlight how past injustices endure as challenging legacies in the present, prompting teens to fight for dignity and the chance to thrive in America - a country that the youth described as inherently"jacked up" and "unjust." While the story begins with the youth battling multiple contingencies, it ends on a hopeful note, as we see the teens overcome numerous hardships, often with the help of steadfast, caring adults.

History

Umemoto, Karen

Irwin, Katherine

Americas

University of California Press

In the context of two hundred years of American colonial control in the Pacific, Irwin and Umemoto shed light on the experiences of inner-city as well as rural girls and boys in Hawai'i. During their nine-year ethnographic study, teens openly discussed facing off against racism, sexism, poverty, and political neglect on a daily basis. The authors highlight how past injustices endure as challenging legacies in the present, prompting teens to fight for dignity and the chance to thrive in America - a country that the youth described as inherently "jacked up,""unjust," and "rigged" against them. While the story begins with the youth battling multiple contingencies, it ends on a hopeful note, as we see the teens overcome numerous hardships, often with the help of steadfast, caring adults.

This ethnography of a gang war in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Oakwood, just blocks from the famed Venice Beach boardwalk, provides a rare eyewitness account of the urban violence pervasive in the recent history of the United States. With seventeen people killed and more than fifty injured, the hostilities over ten months in 1993 and 1994 marked the peak of gang violence in the history of Los Angeles, a city once labeled the "gang capital of the nation." The conflict began as a quarrel among individuals, some of whom had gang affiliations. Over time, the feud engulfed families and soon grew into a sustained clash between African American and Latino gangs. Eventually, victims fell who were not members of opposing gangs, but who fit certain racial and gender profiles. The conflict began to take on the attributes of what one local newspaper sensationalized as a "race war."Karen Umemoto lived nearby during this conflict and undertook two years of ethnographic research during and immediately following the spate of killings. She now offers a nuanced analysis of the trajectory and eventual end of this acute crisis. Her interviews with gang members, neighborhood residents, business leaders, police officers, and gang-intervention workers reveal the complexity of contemporary American urban conflict. The Truce highlights the differences in interpretations among combatants, witnesses, and law enforcement agents and others whose actions often had unintended consequences. Drawing on her experience living in multicultural Los Angeles and on the latest scholarship in a wide variety of disciplines, Umemoto provides much-needed guidance for policymakers and concerned members of the public faced with violence in an ever-changing urban landscape.

The Truce: Lessons from an L.A. Gang War

Cornell University Press

This ethnography of a gang war in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Oakwood, just blocks from the famed Venice Beach boardwalk, provides a rare eyewitness account of the urban violence pervasive in the recent history of the United States. With seventeen people killed and more than fifty injured, the hostilities over ten months in 1993 and 1994 marked the peak of gang violence in the history of Los Angeles, a city once labeled the "gang capital of the nation." The conflict began as a quarrel among individuals, some of whom had gang affiliations. Over time, the feud engulfed families and soon grew into a sustained clash between African American and Latino gangs. Eventually, victims fell who were not members of opposing gangs, but who fit certain racial and gender profiles. The conflict began to take on the attributes of what one local newspaper sensationalized as a "race war."
Karen Umemoto lived nearby during this conflict and undertook two years of ethnographic research during and immediately following the spate of killings. She now offers a nuanced analysis of the trajectory and eventual end of this acute crisis. Her interviews with gang members, neighborhood residents, business leaders, police officers, and gang-intervention workers reveal the complexity of contemporary American urban conflict. The Truce highlights the differences in interpretations among combatants, witnesses, and law enforcement agents and others whose actions often had unintended consequences. Drawing on her experience living in multicultural Los Angeles and on the latest scholarship in a wide variety of disciplines, Umemoto provides much-needed guidance for policymakers and concerned members of the public faced with violence in an ever-changing urban landscape.

Literary Nonfiction. Asian & Asian American Studies. California Interest. With accounts from San Francisco State University, UC Berkeley, and UCLA, MOUNTAIN ROVERS highlights how students changed the course of history through the origin stories of Asian American studies at those campuses and the narratives of nine remarkable students. For each of these Asian Americans, their ethnic heritages and racialized experiences, their family backgrounds, their education, and the social movements of their day intersected so that they became agents of change. Specifically, they organized and mobilized fellow students and community members to establish and further Asian American Studies (AAS) on their campuses. AAS has since grown not only to offer a relevant curriculum for and about these students, but also to help develop and empower their communities.

Mountain Movers: Student Activism & the Emergence of Asian American Studies

Literature & Fiction

Jeung, Russell

Dong, Harvey

Mar, Eric

Tsuchitani, Lisa Hirai

Pan, Arnold

History & Criticism

UCLA Asian American Studies Center

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Umemoto, Karen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Umemoto, Karen

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Umemoto, Karen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Jacked Up and Unjust: Pacific Islander Teens Confront Violent Legacies

Jacked Up and Unjust: Pacific Islander Teens Confront Violent Legacies

The Truce: Lessons from an L.A. Gang War

The Truce: Lessons from an L.A. Gang War

Mountain Movers: Student Activism & the Emergence of Asian American Studies