Abstract
Dereca, Rudy, Victor, and Jack are determined to work with the marginalized
students who are disregarded by schools and society. Amidst gunshots and
dysfunctional family situations, these four community-based educators demonstrate that personal agency and collective action are always within reach.
Scid, a student in Leadership Excellence (LE), had dropped out of high school
and seemed content to spend his time selling dope, doing time, and dodging
bullets. Thanks to LE, Scid discovered he was not a thug, but a king, not a
drug dealer, but an academic. Other students I introduced throughout the portraits also changed their lives. Evangela was the first in her family to graduate
from high school. Cloteal went from dropping out of school to dropping back
in with intensity-becoming valedictorian despite (and she would say because
of) the tragedies in her life. Kareem went from being in special education and
prison, to being a college graduate. These first-hand testimonies of success are
meant to stop you in your tracks, as each of these students defies the stereotype. Fortunately, their stories are not unique. Within Leadership Excellence
(LE), United Playaz (UP), the Youth Task Force (YTF), and the Omega Boys
Club, countless young people find a home: a place of solace at the intersection
of the streets and school.