Although youth have long been at the forefront of social change, the last two decades have seen an upsurge in the number of organizations, agencies, and governmental bodies dedicated to supporting the idea of youth voice in public policy. Drawing on in-depth individual interviews with 32 youth in one major urban center, this study compares how…

Critiques the ways problems confronting black males are framed and acted on, focusing on the role of race and gender in the development of interventions. Drawing on research at an urban California high school, the article presents recommendations for programs aimed at the needs of black males that avoid marginalizing those targeted. (SLD)

The three essays of this collection explore the prevention of violence in urban schools. The first, "Preventing Violence in Schools," by Mary Hatwood Futrell and Lee Etta Powell, focuses on how to prevent violence in schools and offers recommendations on what schools and communities can do. The factors contributing to school violence are…

This autobiographical narrative describes the early life of Luis J. Rodriguez, a journalist and poet who was immersed in the youth gang culture of Los Angeles (California). Framed by the story of the pull of the gang life for the poet's son, it recounts his experiences from his childhood on the United States-Mexico border through his family's…

The United States Senate's Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice heard testimony on minority overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system and the sentencing of minorities within that system. In particular, the Subcommittee heard testimony from eight witnesses who suggested short- and long-term approaches for helping to eliminate racial bias in the…

Five articles review drawbacks of traditional programs for at-risk youth, discuss alternatives based on a new definition of risk, and cite examples of helpful programs. They focus on identifying at-risk youth, providing caring and services, measuring service demand, removing obstacles to learning, and special needs of migrant youth. (SLD)

In 1997, the National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy convened nine focus groups of parents of teens and other adults who work with teens such as teachers, clergy, coaches, youth recreation specialists, youth-serving organization staff, and community outreach workers. This report publishes the results of these focus groups, which involved 57…

Describes the Project LEAD: High Expectations! (PLHE) program, a targeted, nontraditional, primary prevention demonstration project that focuses on African-American youth who are children in one of five at-risk categories. Discusses the prevention curriculum, site selection, trainers, implementation, evaluation, and continuing efforts of the PLHE.…

Sources of the crises faced by young black men lie not in the young men, but in society which portrays them as stereotypes. Social conditions are at the root of the following problems of black males: (1) lowered life expectancy; (2) risk of criminality; (3) poor economic conditions; (4) inadequate education; (5) drugs and gang violence; and (6)…