‘Always Running – La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.’
(Luis J. Rodríguez)
9/10 (A-)
An award-winning memoir from a former Los Angeles gang member turned Chicano activist, recounting his experience with gang culture and drug use, before finding a way out through education and his passion for writing. Insightful and full of hard-earned lessons, Rodríguez wrote ‘Always Running’ to illustrate some of the motivating factors that draw our youth to gang life and as a cautionary tale for his eldest son, who joined a Chicago street gang at the age of fifteen.
A captivating story that is both vivid and raw, the author doesn’t shy away from telling his truth; skillfully adding historical context with his own desperate struggles to strengthen the impact of his message.
*’Always Running’ has been banned from many schools and libraries for making connections between low-income minority communities and systemic factors driving outcomes in U.S. society; including: the implication of police brutality in perpetuating gang culture; illustrating how structural racism is built into our public system; and highlighting some of the revolutionary ideas that came out of the Chicano Movement.
An award-winning memoir from a former Los Angeles gang member turned Chicano activist, recounting his experience with gang culture and drug use, before finding a way out through education and his passion for writing. Insightful and full of hard-earned lessons, Rodríguez wrote ‘Always Running’ to illustrate some of the motivating factors that draw our youth to gang life and as a cautionary tale for his eldest son, who joined a Chicago street gang at the age of fifteen.
A captivating story that is both vivid and raw, the author doesn’t shy away from telling his truth; skillfully adding historical context with his own desperate struggles to strengthen the impact of his message.
*’Always Running’ has been banned from many schools and libraries for making connections between low-income minority communities and systemic factors driving outcomes in U.S. society; including: the implication of police brutality in perpetuating gang culture; illustrating how structural racism is built into our public system; and highlighting some of the revolutionary ideas that came out of the Chicano Movement.