Jacked Up and Unjust Pacific Islander Teens Confront Violent Legacies [Hardcover]

In the context of two hundred years of American colonial control in the Pacific, Katherine Irwin and Karen Umemoto shed light on the experiences of today’s inner city and rural girls and boys in Hawai‘i who face racism, sexism, poverty, and political neglect. Basing their book on nine years of ethnographic research, the authors highlight how legacies of injustice endure, prompting teens to fight for dignity and the chance to thrive in America, a nation that the youth describe as inherently “jacked up”—rigged—and “unjust.” While the story begins with the youth battling multiple contingencies, it ends on a hopeful note with many of the teens overcoming numerous hardships, often with the guidance of steadfast, caring adults.

Katherine Irwinis Professor of Sociology at the University of Hawai‘i, Manoa. She is the coauthor with Meda Chesney-Lind ofBeyond Bad Girls: Gender, Violence, and Hype.

Karen Umemotois Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawai‘i, Manoa. She is the author ofThe Truce: Lessons from an L.A. Gang War.

“This remarkable book demonstrates the incredible spirit of resilience that young people generate as they encounter poverty, racism, violence, and institutional failure and neglect. Katherine Irwin and Karen Umemoto insightfully demonstrate the processes and programs that work in changing the punitive treatment that marginalized youths receive. This riveting ethnography provides readers with a rare look at the experiences of young women and men within the juvenile justice system.”—Victor Rios, author ofPunished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys
 
“Jacked Up and Unjustsensitively captures the complex of forces that bear down on a youth population we know very little about, helping us to understand the violence enacted upon them and by them, the tlc