Eleanor Fapohunda Colloquium Series

Dr. Sean Wilson, "More Than a Label: Reimagining Gang Identity, Survival, and Redemption Through Lived Experience".

This research explores the realities of gang involved individuals through firsthand narratives revealing social, emotional, and systemic layers shaping their experiences. Far from the one dimensional portrayals seen in media or policy discourse, these stories uncover a spectrum of human depth: regret, resilience, and rebirth. Participants challenge the stigma of gang membership, exposing the intersections between systemic injustice, poverty, and personal agency. Understanding gang life requires listening to the people behind them, revealing  transformation and humanity persist even within the most marginalized spaces.