“I’m Not Just Runnin’ the Streets”: Exposure to Neighborhood Violence and Violence Management Strategies Among Urban Youth of Color

This article examines the experiences of 25 youth of color living in East Oakland, California. Building on empirical studies examining violence prevention efforts on the behalf of and among youth and using an ethnographic approach, this study samples young people, with varying levels of education, income, and motivation for involvement, attending the same youth-serving organization in East Oakland. The findings offer a frame of “violence management strategies” for the active ways in which youth strategically avoid unsafe spaces and people and seek out safe spaces and people on a daily basis within their neighborhoods marked by high rates of crime, violence, and physical disorder. These findings lift up youth as experts of their own neighborhoods. The implications of these findings for adolescent research, practice, and policy are discussed.