Rudy Sosa and Tim White are high school educators with a unique curriculum-gang etiquette. Once a week, Sosa and White meet with members of the Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, Black P Stones and 2-6s gangs, who also happen to be students at Little Village
The school is 70 percent Hispanic but draws a quarter of its students from neighboring North Lawndale, which is predominantly Black. The gangsû which Sosa estimates make up 7 percent of the student populationû reflect that racial and geographical split. Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords and Black P Stones come from North Lawndale.
And 2-6s have been in Little Village for years. On the streets, their gangs clash in brawls and drive-bys. But at LVLHS, the 15, 16 and 17-year-old students are friends. They hang out and play sports together and consider Sosa, a Mexican American exfelon, and White, a Gangster Disciple turned pastor, their mentors.
Sosa said it started with a peace treaty between the Gangster Disciples and 2-6s that he facilitated last October, when he started teaching with White. “It’s like Dorothy not being in Kansas anymore. It’s a whole different world between Little Village and Lawndaleà I wanted to show these kids how to give each other a chance and learn about each other,” Sosa said.
The students learned that most Black gangs wear black and red, while Latino 2-6s opt for black and beige, Gangster Disciples favor black and blue, and that a hat cocked to the left means affiliation with the People’s Nation, one of two warring gang conglomerates in the city. It seems basic, but on the streets it’s a matter of life and death, especially in Latino neighborhoods.
“Latino gangs still deal with colors. So they believe if you wear a certain color, you’re in a certain gang. African American gangs used to be like that 10 years ago. But because of the cultural change, a lot of the African American gangs believe that you can wear anything now,” said White.
“A lot of the young kids will go back to our neighborhoods and say, ‘They beat me up because I was Black.’ And then, every time they see a Latino come in their neighborhood, they’ll just whoop them. But the root of the problem is that the Black kid had his hat (a certain way). So it’s not because he was Black, it’s because he was disrespecting them,” White added. RaShawn Johnson and Eduardo Sanchez (not their real names) have both signed the peace treaty. “I learned not to diss the [People] nation, when I’m in their hood.
If I say ‘Vice Lord Killa’ or something like that, it’s disrespecting their nation,” Johnson said. “When you know this stuff, you can try to avoid conflict,” Sanchez added. Sosa said that many administrators overlook students like Johnson and Sanchez, who are entrenched in gang life, some starting as young as nine years old. But many of these students are the source of violence in and outside of school.
“You got to isolate the incidents as soon as it jumps, and try to get people like ourselves to get to the root of it,” White said. Chad Weiden, assistant principal at Social Justice High School, one of LVLS’ four campuses, said that the “historical struggle and tension” between Mexican Americans and Blacks at LVLHS makes White and Sosa’s work critical.
“(They’ve) had a tremendous impact. Really seeking peaceful agreements between students on campus, finding commonalities, common struggles, and also modeling for our young men and women positive decision making and peaceful negotiation. Rudy is a product of the community in Little Village, so he has specific expertise,” Weiden said. Sosa agreed.
“You can have someone with a Ph. D. (to address violence), but when you’re working with kids involved in the streets, you need someone who’s been there on the streets. This is where (White and I) got our Ph. D.’ s fromûthe streets,” he said.
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