Title The neighborhood has its own rules : Latinos and African Americans in South Los Angeles / Cid Gregory Martinez

Published New York : New York University Press, [2016]

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Description 1 online resource (v, 257 pages) Contents Introduction: managed violence -- Neighborhood councils: City Hall competes with the street for legitimacy -- Alternative governance: Latino and African American interrelations outside of City Hall -- Neighborhood institutions: safety from violence, and the Catholic Church -- Faith is the opposite of fear: the Catholic Church as alternative governance -- Street justice: gangs, the informal economy, and neighborhood residents -- Responding to violence, keeping the peace: interracial relations between black and Latino youth gangs (co-authored with Dominic Rivera) -- Conclusion: revisiting alternative governance Summary South Los Angeles is often seen as ground zero for inter-racial conflict and violence in the United States. Since the 1940s, South LA has been predominantly a low-income African American neighborhood, and yet since the early 1990s Latino immigrants--mostly from Mexico and many undocumented--have moved in record numbers to the area. Given that more than a quarter million people live in South LA and that poverty rates exceed 30 percent, inter-racial conflict and violence surprises no one. The real question is: why hasn't there been more? Through vivid stories and interviews, The Neighborhood Has Its Own Rules provides an answer to this question. Based on in-depth ethnographic field work collected when the author, Cid Martinez, lived and worked in schools in South Central, this study reveals the day-to-day ways in which vibrant social institutions in South LA-- its churches, its local politicians, and even its gangs--have reduced conflict and kept violence to a level that is manageable for its residents. Martinez argues that inter-racial conflict has not been managed through any coalition between different groups, but rather that these institutions have allowed established African Americans and newcomer Latinos to co-exist through avoidance--an under-appreciated strategy for managing conflict that plays a crucial role in America's low-income communities. Ultimately, this book proposes a different understanding of how neighborhood institutions are able to mitigate conflict and violence through several community dimensions of informal social controls Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Print version record Subject Ethnic neighborhoods -- California -- Los Angeles Ethnic conflict -- California -- Los Angeles Neighborhood government -- California -- Los Angeles African Americans -- Relations with Hispanic Americans. African Americans -- California -- Los Angeles Hispanic Americans -- California -- Los Angeles SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Discrimination & Race Relations. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Minority Studies. African Americans African Americans -- Relations with Hispanic Americans Ethnic conflict Ethnic neighborhoods Hispanic Americans Neighborhood government Race relations SUBJECT Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Race relations Subject California -- Los Angeles Form Electronic book ISBN 9780814760970 081476097X

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