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April 2018

By Veronica Terriquez PhD and Uriel Serrano
University of California Santa Cruz

Please note: reports dated earlier than June 2020 were published under our previous names: the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) or the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII).

In this report, Professor Veronica Terriquez and Uriel Serrano highlight how community-based youth organizations, along with statewide and regional youth development opportunities, expand the civic capacities and well-being of boys and young men of color in California. This multi-method study draws on data gathered through the Building Healthy Communities and Sons and Brothers Initiatives funded by The California Endowment.

Findings evidence the various ways participation in civic organizations develop boys and young men’s basic civic skills, increase their capacity for civic action, offer them a critical civics education, and support their well-being and personal growth. Additionally, this study suggests that statewide and regional programmings—such as the Sons and Brothers Summer Camp and Free Our Dreams gatherings—further enhances the healing, well-being, and leadership development of boys and young men.

Download report

A Beloved Community: Promoting the Healing, Well-being, and Leadership Capacities of Boys and Young Men of Color

Read our other publications by research area

    Immigrant Integration & Racial Justice

    Our work on immigrant integration and racial justice brings together three emphases: scholarship that draws on academic theory and rigorous research, data that provides information structured to highlight the process of immigrant integration over time, and engagement that seeks to create new dialogues with government, community organizers, business and civic leaders, immigrants and the voting public to advance immigrant integration and racial equity.

    Economic Inclusion & Climate Equity

    In the area of economic inclusion, we at ERI advance academic theory and practical applications linking economic growth, environmental quality, and civic health with bridging of racial and other gaps; produce accessible and actionable data and analysis through the data tools; and establish research partnerships to deepen and advance the dialogue, planning, and actions around racial equity, environmental justice, and the built environment.

    Social Movements & Governing Power

    ERI’s work in the area of governing power includes: conducting cross-disciplinary studies of today’s social movements, supporting learning and strategizing efforts to advance dialogues among organizers, funders, intermediaries, evaluators, and academics, and developing research-based social change frameworks and tools to inform—and be informed by—real-world, real-time efforts towards a vision of deep change.

    Publications Directory

    In 2020, the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII) merged to form the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI).

    The full list of publications published under our previous and current names can be found in our publications directory.

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