How Can You Call Us Losers If You Didnt Give Us a Fair Chance?: Understanding How Inner City Youth Identify with Their Neighborhoods Through Photography

Perry, Danielle M.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/75848 Copy

Description

Title

How Can You Call Us Losers If You Didnt Give Us a Fair Chance?: Understanding How Inner City Youth Identify with Their Neighborhoods Through Photography

Author(s)

Perry, Danielle M.

Contributor(s)

• CYP (Partnering Nonprofit Organization)
• Ostler, Teresa
• Jarrett, Robin

Issue Date

2015

Keyword(s)

Social Work

Abstract

In a neighborhood plagued by urban decay, 10 teenage youth still find a reason to believe that they have a bright future. Surrounded by extreme poverty, these youth use photography, journaling, and interviews to capture the beauty in their environments. Even though there may be negative structures in place hindering their healthy development, they present their counter-narratives by discussing how the presence of negative characteristics, such as violence, crime, and poor quality schools do not limit their aspirations for successful life outcomes. Instead of failing victim to their environments, these youth have discovered ways to navigate these negative structures, including aligning themselves with peers who have similar goals, participating in community programs, and carefully selecting schools in order to ensure their academic, social, and psychological wellness. The phrase Open-Your-Eyes is representative of the experiences of many Black youth living in low SES environments. Previous research has shown that neighborhoods that lack the infrastructure to provide essential resources jeopardize the wellbeing of the children growing up in such environments. The message Open-Your-Eyes symbolizes that people in these environments are suffering, and that continuing to ignore the conditions in which they are subjected to can potentially damage the future of these youth.

Type of Resource

• text
• image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/75848

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2015 Danielle Perry

Owning Collections