Dr. Martinez examines the intersections between U.S. settler-colonial ideology and its influence on contemporary perceptions of race, imprisonment, and gang involvement. She examines prominent instances of gang violence, the responses of cities and law enforcement to gang presence, and the significance of tattooing practices within gangs. She aims to shed light on how the policing of body art impacts the daily experiences of Mexican/Chicano males in Santa Barbara. Dr. Martinez argues that Santa Barbara provides valuable insights into how its settler-colonial history shapes and contributes to the racialization and criminalization of Indigenous, Chicanx, and Mexican communities.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Amy Andrea is a lecturer in the Sociology Department at UCSB and an Assistant Professor in the Justice Studies Department at San Jose State University. Her research interests include Mexican/Chicano Gang Culture, Mass Incarceration, Third World & Indigenous Qualitative Research Methods, U.S. (Settler) Colonialism, Police Use of Lethal Force, and Prison/Police Abolition. As a first-generation, working-class, and system impacted Xicana from Southern California, her experiences inform her commitment to decolonial gang research on Mexican/Chicanx families and their associations and experiences with gang and street life.
