Mia Taylor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mirna Munive’s brown eyes dominate her soft features, glowing warmly as she remembers friends who succumbed to the lure of Cobb County’s Hispanic gangs, then glinting as she talks about the bright future she’s determined to achieve.
Munive, a 20-year-old Mexican American, represents what a new Cobb County police program called LACOBI is striving to accomplish with other youngsters.
Well-spoken and driven, the serious young woman graduated from high school, is in her second year at Georgia Perimeter College, where she is studying adolescent psychology, and fully intends to get her doctorate from Cornell.
To get this far, however, Munive had to avoid temptations that too often permanently sidetrack many Hispanic youth. “There’s a lot of peer pressure on young Hispanic kids who don’t know the language well,” says Munive, a Marietta resident. “They want to fit in, and they think fitting in is going into a gang.”
Gang participation, Munive says from personal knowledge, leads to one of two places: prison or death.
Her voice softened to a near whisper as she talked about a close friend. The former gang member is five years through a 10-year jail sentence for armed robbery. He has been in jail since he was 16.
Cobb County police say that as Cobb’s Hispanic population has grown --- it increased 399 percent since 1990, according to the 2000 census --- so has gang activity.
Specific statistics on gang membership are hard to come by, but in recent years Latino gangs have been linked to several high-profile crimes, including the May 5 death of a 17-year-old Latina from Austell in a drive-by shooting in Norcross. Police said she was an innocent bystander. Her death, according to authorities, capped a clash between rival gang members they believe started in DeKalb County.
Cobb County Police Maj. Robert Sampson said he started LACOBI, the acronym for Latino Community Building Initiative, eight months ago to help educate and support Latino families, prevent juvenile delinquency and reduce gang violence.
Several gangs have been identified by police. They have names like 18th Street, KES (Killing Every Spot), PVL (Puro Vatos Locos), BSL (Brownside Locos), Northside and Latin Kings.
“If we save one kid, then we’ve accomplished something,” says Sampson, who calls gang violence a countywide problem.
During its brief existence, LACOBI, which is funded by the Police Department and a United Way grant, has grown to include a coalition of community members passionate about helping Latino youth. Police officers, business owners, leaders of local nonprofits and university professors have all come forward to help.
The heart of the group, many members say, are young adults like Munive. They know the realities and temptations of gang life and what it will take to create a brighter future for Latino youth.
“Gangs have progressed into so much trouble,” says Munive. “Before, it was just hanging out. Now, if you wear the wrong color, you get beat up.”
The daughter of a taxi driver and a jewelry store owner who graduated from Smyrna’s Campbell High School, Munive says helping these kids requires a personal commitment.
“There’s all these kids out there, they need someone to care about them. They need to feel loved,” she said.
Munive, Ernesto Cuevas and Liany Arrayo, both 26, form the tight knit core of LACOBI’s youth leadership. All three say the attractions of gangs are complex and different for every kid.
Those Hispanic youth newest to this country often are isolated by a language barrier. Some don’t have a great deal of parental supervision because parents are working long hours to make ends meet. There’s also the lure of quick money from selling drugs.
Cuevas, the son of former migrant workers, could have been tempted by the financial gain that comes with gang membership. Several of his cousins did join gangs. But two factors helped Cuevas.
“My parents had a very strict opinion when it came to education. There was a lot of pressure on me to move forward, and my mother made it a point to teach me where positive roads would lead me,” he said.
“So part of it was parenting, and part of it was my parents got me involved with the Boys & Girls Club. They were able to take my spare time and focus it on activities.” Now he hopes to use his childhood experience to help others.
That’s where LACOBI comes in.
Cuevas, a graphic designer, wants to lead an art program through LACOBI to provide troubled or at risk Latino youth with a positive outlet for their energy.
“A lot of these kids, that’s what they need --- someone to show them other avenues,” he said. “A lot of what they get in gangs is reinforcement. I think we can provide reinforcement in other areas.”
Munive and Arrayo will focus on education with LACOBI, running workshops that teach Latino youth about scholarships and applying for college.
Police Cpl. Eddy Campuzano and Officers Chris Twiggs, George Poole and Brent Daniels, participate in another major part of LACOBI’S core membership.
The four, who volunteer their time, speak Spanish and spend a great deal of time in the Latino community, hoping to earn the trust of people who are often suspicious of police officers.
“Right now, we’re trying to inject our objectives into the community and trying to establish that trust that ‘I’m a police officer, and I care more about your well-being than immigration status,’ ” Daniels said. “We’ve gotten to a point where (Latino community members) are beginning to recognize officers. They say ‘Hello,’ and we’ve gone from crimes being unreported to officers assigned to that area being sought out.”
All of those involved say not only youth who are affected by gang violence.
Gus Montoya, owner of Marietta’s Mini Mall de las Americas and a LACOBI board member, has been shot at by gang members. Still, it hasn’t stopped him from trying to help young people.
“We need more solutions, more activities for youth, and we need to educate parents,” he says, “because there’s a lot of things we can do in this country. There’s a lot of opportunity.”
“That’s what they need --- someone to show them other avenues. A lot of what they get in gangs is reinforcement. I think we can provide (it) in other areas.”