Progressive Paths to Masculinity for Young Black and Latino Men in an Urban Alternatives-To-Incarceration Program (Report‪)‬

Introduction--Rethinking Masculinity Black and Latino men in the United States face the triple burden of racism, gender discrimination--and many, such as the men in this study, disproportionately experience incarceration. Throughout this text, I will use the term Black to refer to people of African Diaspora, and to such populations that reside within the United States. To some, African Americans are a subgroup within the larger Black community. Since our discussion purposely includes those who may be first-generation immigrants or who, for whatever reason, do not identify as African American, we employ the term "Black." Furthermore, we capitalize it to distinguish the racial category and related identity from the color. Similarly, we capitalize the word White when referring to race. "Latino" refers to the ethnicity for men of Central American, South American, or Caribbean descent. We use this term because it is considered by some as more of a self-descriptor, compared to "Hispanic," which is widely regarded as a US government imposed identity. "Latino" refers to a region and a particular history of Latin-American and US relations, potentially giving more meaning as an ethnic category to the people it describes. Given the intersection of race, gender, and criminal justice involvement, this study explores whether young Black and Latino men with criminal histories can break away from pop culture and media stereotypes to have a more progressive experience of masculinity. A theory of "progressive Black masculinities" (Mutua, 2006) offers such a framework for rethinking masculinity among men of color in the United States.