Hearts and Hands: Creating Community in Violent TimesSeven Stories Press, 2003 M04 1 - 368 pages Hearts and Hands deals with many of the difficult issues addressed in Luis Rodríguez’s memoir of gang life, Always Running, but with a focus on healing through community building. Empowered by his experiences as a peacemaker with gangs in Los Angeles and Chicago, Rodríguez offers a unique book of change. He makes concrete suggestions, shows how we can create nonviolent opportunities for youth today, and redirects kids into productive and satisfying lives. And he warns that we sacrifice community values for material gain when we incarcerate or marginalize people already on the edge of society. His interest in dissolving gang influence on black and latino kids is personal as well as societal; his son, to whom he dedicates Hearts and Hands, is currently serving a prison sentence for gang-related activity. With anecdotes, interviews, and time-tested guidelines, Hearts and Hands makes a powerful argument for building and supporting community life. |
Contents
What the Craziness Is | 11 |
THE VIOLENCE OF YOUTHTHE ABSENCE OF ELDERS | 21 |
Throwaway Kids | 23 |
Modern Street Gangs A History | 30 |
To See Again | 47 |
Being Solid in the World | 54 |
Warning Dont Get Involved | 64 |
The Power of Hanging in There | 72 |
STRETCHING OUT YOUR LIFE | 181 |
Abundance of Scarcity | 183 |
Dying for Something to Live | 193 |
Premises and Principles | 199 |
What You Be About? | 206 |
The Power of Now | 215 |
The Way of Discipline | 219 |
Looking for the Milky Way | 238 |
Hungers and Angers | 83 |
Fear and Fury | 95 |
Dont Give Up on Us | 104 |
THRESHOLDS AND TRAJECTORIES | 111 |
Doors Story Purpose | 113 |
Human to Human | 127 |
The Truth of Consequences | 136 |
A Handmade Life | 156 |
Governance and Gangs | 163 |
Be Your Word | 257 |
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? | 269 |
Children Whispering | 271 |
New Economy New Outlooks | 287 |
Safe and Sacred Spaces | 294 |
Between Two Worlds | 303 |
Nurturing the Genius | 315 |
Notes | 323 |
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18th Street gang abuse active adults African-American American Angeles barrio Barrios Unidos become California called Center Chicago Tribune child Coleman convicted court crime criminal Crips culture death drug East L.A. economic El Salvador elders face feel gang members gang youth gathering healing high school homies housing human involved jail James Hillman Joseph Campbell justice juvenile kids killed Latino leaders learned lives Los Angeles Malidoma Somé Manazar Mara Salvatrucha mentors Mexican Michael Meade mother munity murder National neighborhood parents participants peace percent person poems poet poetry police officers political poor prison programs Ramiro relationships rituals Robert Bly Rodríguez Salvador Salvadoran sentence shootings shot social society spiritual stories street gangs street organizations talk teacher things tion told violence workshops writing wrote York young