Always running is the memoir of Luis Rodriguez, a Chicano who grew up in California in the 1960s and ’70s. Living in poverty, mistreated by teachers and the police, and surrounded by violence, Rodriguez quickly comes to believe that running with a gang is one of the only ways he can protect himself and have something to call his own. This coincides with the rise of Chicano gang culture in California. As young as 10, Rodriguez’s life centers on drugs, sex, fighting, and stealing, and it seems like many people in his life give up on him–in addition to him giving up on himself. Through the guidance of some educators at a community center, Rodriguez slowly begins to turn his life around and to become a youth activist in the Chicano movement.
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