The Minority Perspective on Violence

Minority violence has long been a critical issue in American justice with members of the ‘visible’ minorities (Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans) being overrepresented as both offenders and victims of serious personal altercations. Moreover, these same groups are underrepresented as members of the formal, legal control process (law enforcement, judiciary, corrections, and legislative bodies). In spite of this situation few attempts have been made to examine this phenomenon from the minority perspective. Indeed white/majority interpretations of minority violence often reflect ethnocentrism. Here violence within United States ‘visible’ minority subcultures is examined from the cultural perspective. And within this perspective majority/minority relations are assessed according to structural and behavioral factors.