The Chicano Brotherhood: An Example of How Discriminated Afro Latinos Find Acceptance

In 1994, friends Gilberto Villarreal and J.D. Urbina formed the Texas Chicano Brotherhood in Hidalgo County after splitting from their former gang, the Tri-City Bombers. Although the reason for the fissure between the two gangs remains unclear, it is believed that there was racial tension between Villarreal and other members of the Tri-City Bombers. Villarreal’s stepmother, Penny Villarreal, was African American. Despite himself being of full Cuban descent, Villarreal felt led to claim that he himself was “half black”, because of his interest in black culture. This led to a falling out between Villarreal and other members of his former gang due to the carrying belief that Villarreal was denying his Hispanic heritage. After leaving the gang and creating the TCB, Villarreal and Urbina went through the process of adding new members to their growing “brotherhood”. Though the majority of these members were, and are still today, of Hispanic origin, there is a significant number of multi-racial members that are taking part in the gang. Many of them are Afro-Latinos.

The majority of young people who have joined the TCB, and other gangs in general, join because they have specific needs that are going unmet. Social acceptance is one of the factors for why many young men and women throw themselves into a life of crime and violence. "The gang is an important social institution [...] because it often serves social, cultural, and economic functions no longer adequately performed by family, school, and the local market." (Spergel 1991, preface) Gangs are an adaptive social mechanism for satisfying the needs of some youth which are not, or cannot be, met through traditional and socially acceptable avenues. As a result, gangs such as the Texas Chicano Brotherhood are, unfortunately, the only outlet many Afro-Latinos have for them to face a world that treats them unequally due to their mixed background.

Works Cited:

Carlie, Michael. "Into the Abyss: Why Gangs Form.". Web. 21 Apr. 2012. <http://people.missouristate.edu/michaelcarlie/what_i_learned_about/gangs/whyform/why_gangs_form.htm>.