AP+2016+Gregory+Boyle

1. Aim 2. Gabriela Berigan 3. Boyle grew up in Los Angeles during a time of many different world events. For example, at the time of his birth, the Cold War was just beginning. This period in America caused many behavioral changes in the people. Specifically, in Los Angeles there were many gang related incidents. Thus, in order to try and stop gang members, Boyle created the Homeboy Industries in 1988 which sought to reach out towards gang members and allow them opportunities to change their ways. However, despite his program having gone on for 4 years, in 1992 there was a peak and Boyle recalls that “Things have calmed down considerably since the horror of that decade of death. But it was so common in those days. Helicopters every night; shootings morning, noon and night; and mothers putting their babies in the bathtubs at night in the housing projects, anticipating what everybody knew would happen, which is shooting all night long” (Fresh Air Interview: The…) Moreover, Boyle was also ordained as a priest in 1984, where he preached at one of the poorest churches in Los Angeles. Boyle’s aim was not only to better the community, but instill the values that everyone has potential, even those who seem to be in the worst of circumstances.

1. Audience 2. Gabriela Berigan 3. When Gregory Boyle initially received his MA from the Jesuit School of Theology. He entered the Jesuit religion and was ordained as a priest in 1984. Thus, after having gone to school for many years, he was able to practice what he wanted to do. His main focus as a priest was preaching to those in one of the poorest communities in Los Angeles. He dedicated his time in showing his fellow parishioners that all people have a place in society. Four years later, he then opened the Homeboy Industries. The purpose in the Homeboy Industries was to decrease the amount of gangs that had started to increase over the years. Here, his audience was mainly directed towards gang members in Los Angeles. Through the Homeboy Industries there was “an effort to address the escalating problems and unmet needs of gang-involved youth” (“About Our Founder and…), thus focusing attention on the youth in Los Angeles involved in gangs. Later, Boyle became a Chaplain at a prison, once again, trying to teach prisoners that a person can always turn his or her life around. Finally, in the present, Boyle is a renowned speaker and speaks in warning of the damage that joining a gang can cause. Boyle shows that through love and guidance, a person can avoid joining a gang. Overall, Boyle’s message is to advocate to anyone who might be in a gang or know someone in a gang.

1. Historical 2. Gabriela Berigan 3. Gregory Boyle was born on May 19, 1954 in Los Angeles. Boyle was one of eight children. He attended Loyola Marymount University where he studied English, then proceeded to Jesuit School of Theology for his MA. After receiving his education, he was a high school teacher for some time, but then became a pastor at his local church. In 1988, Boyle founded the Homeboy Industries, set in one of the poorest communities of Los Angeles. Gregory Boyle was was inspired on minimizing the poverty in LA through his work in Bolivia and Mexico; in fact, “His dedication to finding a place for all in our society brought him to the Boyle Heights community of East Los Angeles, where he served as pastor of Dolores Mission Church, then the poorest parish in the city, from 1986 through 1992” (1). Homeboy Industries is a gang intervention and rehabilitation center. As of now, Boyle continues speaking across the country, advocating that while the power is in the hands of God, he can still invest time in people who need it.

1. Cultural 2. Gabriela Berigan 3. Gregory Boyle grew up in a household including seven other siblings and his parents. Boyle was born in Los Angeles in 1951. As he grew up, he attended a Christian school and had a large religious impact throughout his childhood. When he was a well-established adult, he found that his passion was influencing those around him through the teachings he had learn from his religion. In Los Angeles, at the time, gangs were making a rise to the scene. During the 1980s there was one of the largest increases in gang activity that had been seen before, “The gangs were exclusively focused on territory and crime. The beginning of the Crack Epidemic only worsened the effect, as the number of gang sets increased into the hundreds and spread out throughout the country… In many areas, each block had a different gang, and some blocks had more than one gang on them” (“Gang History”). From this increase, Boyle was influenced to make the Homeboy Industries. However, in the culture of Los Angeles, as drugs began to worsen, gang activity increased, which put a halt to the progress from the initial intent of the Homeboy Industries. Overall, Boyle had a large influence from the Los Angeles Culture in order to try and reverse the patterns that were becoming more and more usual.

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5. Works Cited “Gang History.” //South Central History.// Yola. Web. 5 Jan. 2016. “Gregory Boyle: Founder and Executive Director of Homeboy Industries.” //APB Speakers.// American Program Bureau, Inc. Web. 5 Jan. 2016. “Priest Fights Gangs With ‘Boundless Compassion.’” //NPR//. NPR, 15 Jul. 2011. Web. 5 Jan. 2016.