by John Brown Childs

About the author: John Brown Childs, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is the author of Transcommunality: Roots of Social Justice in an Age of Crisis. He has been involved in organizing youth peace summits as a member of the board of directors of Barrios Unidos, a group of activists working for youth peace.

America is at war. It is a bloody war. It is not overseas, but right here at home on our streets. The casualties are youth who are dying and being injured by the hundreds of thousands, and their families, loved ones, and friends who face constant waves of pain and loss. In Los Angeles County alone, 7,388 young people were killed in street violence between 1979 and 1994. Since 1988 the leading cause of death for...