Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2020 -

Morton (Providence College) presents a unique "youth positive" approach based on years of interactions with urban youth in a weekly program called Rec Night, in Providence, Rhode Island. Rather than viewing gang violence as pathological and a social problem to be controlled through the usual mechanisms of criminal justice, he locates gang members as victims of violence, racism, sexism, and classism, whose experiences need to be heard. This shift in perspective is informed by Lonnie Athens's phenomenological work on "violentization" as well as by the multidisciplinary literature on the impact of individual and collective trauma. Through close observations and compassionate listening, Morton deduces that these young peoples' lived experiences lead them to choose violence as the most meaningful option available to them. He makes a convincing argument for adopting Martin Luther King's philosophy of nonviolence as a resource for these youths, and demonstrates how the integration of these nonviolent principles into Rec Night allowed gang members to better describe and analyze situations, consider nonviolent alternatives, and become more resilient. Morton concludes with a hopeful review of organizations currently initiating positive change for similar youths across the US. This is an excellent addition to youth crime collections.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals.