The Dr. Homeboy Podcast
Marco Antonio Romero, the creator of this podcast, is a doctoral candidate at Simmons University. He was born in the city of Tulare, California, which is in the northern region of California, to two Mexican immigrants, “braceros” (agricultural laborers), who migrated from Mexico to the United States in search of a better life and future for the family they were forming. His parents had two sons, and Marco Antonio is the youngest. Marco Antonio was born into poverty. His parents were uneducated, as his father was illiterate, and his mother only attained a third-grade level of education. The Romero family later moved to La Puente, California, when Marco Antonio was the age of two. La Puente, California, is in the San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County, and Southern California. His father decided to stop working when Marco Antonio was three years of age, leaving his mother as the sole provider, and his mother was a day laborer at an apparel store. Marco Antonio was raised in the “barrio” (a lower socio-economic environment). Lastly, he was raised in the Chicano (Mexican American) gang culture.
Marco Antonio identifies as a Chicano, cis-gendered, and straight (heterosexual) male. His pronouns are he, him, and his. Marco Antonio is married and a “girl dad” to three beautiful and amazing daughters. He practices Christianity; he is Roman Catholic but describes himself as more spiritual than religious. He is considered middle class. Marco Antonio is a first-generation college graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business Organizational Management from the University of La Verne and a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Southern California (USC). He is currently a doctoral candidate for the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) degree at Simmons University. He is a disabled United States Army veteran who served under the 101st Airborne Division, 3rd Brigade, 1st Battalion of the 187th Infantry Regiment, and Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC). Lastly, Marco Antonio served in two foreign wars: Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003 and Iraq from 2003 through 2004.
Intersecting identities such as the ones described above are visible and invisible. However, Marco Antonio believes that most are invisible. The most visible to the naked eye could be gender assignment and skin color. Still, even then, one cannot just assume, as such visibility of intersecting identities can be rather complex, leading to believe that most are invisible.
Marco Antonio believes that he has both privileged and unprivileged identities. However, the unprivileged identities surfaced first in his life, and they have had a tremendous negative impact throughout his life. Additionally, they have kept him marginally oppressed. These identities are being a person of color, a minority, one who comes from Mexican heritage, as he is a first-generation Mexican American and is from a lower-class status. Thus, he was raised in a lower socio-economic environment (the barrio).
However, Marco Antonio's privileged identity, which he is aware of, has benefited him in his career and educational attainments. This specific identity is that he was born in the United States; his immigration status reflects that of a naturalized United States citizen. As such, being born in the United States allowed Marco Antonio to join the United States Army, which led him to be considered for federal employment in the federal government, where he would serve in management for the United States Postal Service. Marco Antonio’s military service also benefited him by fully funding all his undergraduate and graduate degrees, including this current degree (the Doctor of Social Work degree), which will give him an advantage over others as he will not have student debt that others will have acquired. As such, the power of education that he has been able to obtain will further add to a privileged identity, not only in academia but in society as well, as his academic achievements will place him in advantageous career opportunities that will then lead to a higher salary and thus it will place him in a higher socio-economic status in society.
Additionally, Marco Antonio has two other privileged identities, ones that he was unaware of before attending Simmons University for his studies of Social Work in the Doctor of Social Work program. Unconsciously, he failed to see them. These identities are being male and being a Christian. Through the DSW program, Marco Antonio learned that being a male has provided him with unconscious privilege, as he resides in a country (the United States) that fosters a patriarchal society (Caffrey, 2023), which gives males an advantage in the workforce and society. Furthermore, being a Roman Catholic, which leads to his affiliation with Christianity, has also provided him with unconscious privilege, given that the United States, where he resides, is a Christian worldview country that historically has ties to Europe and Europe’s Eurocentric ideologies, as such it has provided Marco Antonio with a privileged way of life.
Marco Antonio’s journey into the profession of social work was unplanned. He never thought he would be in it. However, life happens and does not always happen according to plans. The disabilities Marco Antonio accrued during his military service took a toll on his overall health, leading him to take medical leave from his employment, which in turn led him to have to switch careers. Academia made it possible. The Department of Veterans Affairs awarded Marco Antonio the opportunity to partake in their Vocational Rehabilitation program, and they provided him with the opportunity to change professions through academia. He still did not know much about social work other than the misconception that social workers only remove children from troubled homes. It was another veteran attending USC’s MSW program who convinced Marco Antonio to apply to the program. Marco Antonio grew up thinking that his trajectory of life was normal. He had never really placed much thought into his oppression and marginalization, and it was not until he began to write the personal statement needed for admittance into the program that his oppression and marginalization became evident to him. At that point in his life, his interest in social justice began.
Marco Antonio was eager to leave the “barrio.” That is why he enlisted in the United States Army—to get out. He did make it out, but not everyone is fortunate enough to do so. Many do not make it out alive; as Cruz (2016, p.12) states, “Death is right around the corner.” He swore never to look back, but social work changed this for him, and he saw the need to give back and help those who are in the shoes he once found himself in.
This author is now aware of and fully acknowledges being oppressed and marginalized throughout his life. He still experiences this to some extent today, as academic achievements are not a visible identity. However, learning about positionality, how the intersecting identities that compose oneself play a role in one’s life trajectory and society, and how understanding these intersecting identities can be pivotal in creating change is powerful (Coaston, 2019). Through positionality, one as a researcher is influenced as it shapes our research and its outcomes (Sikes, 2004; Wellington et al., 2005; Marsh et al., 2018, as cited in Holmes, 2020, p.1).
Marco Antonio wanted to earn his doctoral degree to obtain power, the power of academia, and a position of power (Dyer & Gushwa, 2023) in society. By this author achieving this position of power, it will, in turn, allow him to pass on and share the power with those he seeks to serve, and thus give a voice to the underserved and unheard so that they can be seen and heard. The DSW degree will allow this author to have a seat at the table and eat at the table. This means being comfortable in the uncomfortable (Morrobel, 2024) and having difficult conversations (SNS, 2023) with like-minded professionals and those who may oppose Marco Antonio’s perspective and work.
However, all stakeholders are critical and integral to the community. Marco Antonio is aware that his position of power (Dyer & Gushwa, 2023) will allow him to navigate and collaborate with not only those who are accepting of his perspective and work but also with those who may oppose, provide resistance, and or lack education in areas in which Marco Antonio can educate them on by inviting them in or “calling them in” (DiAngelo & Sensoy, 2014) if you will, as collaborations amongst all community stakeholders are critical to achieving successful and thriving communities (Andress et al., 2020). This author understands that community stakeholders will have different opinions and perspectives. Everyone’s participation, opinions, ideas, and questions matter.
Marco Antonio understands that his positionality will be perceived differently by those with similar and diverse positionalities within his service population. Those with similar positionalities will more than likely be eager to understand how they can collaborate with Marco Antonio and how their collaboration will impact Marco Antonio’s work. Marco Antonio is prepared to share the vision and mission with those collaborators so that they understand their roles and can successfully collaborate with each other.
Those with diverse positionalities will likely have reservations, questions, and doubts. Marco Antonio is prepared to treat those with different positionalities the same as those with similar positionalities. He will also provide them with the vision and mission. This author is prepared to counteract and address any negative responses. He will address their reservations, questions, and doubts by calling them in (DiAngelo, 2014) so that he can provide them with the education they need and ensure that they are on board. Lastly, Marco Antonio understands that race is a controversial topic and that many fear engaging in discussions of race. As such, Marco Antonio is prepared to utilize anti-racist practices to promote these uncomfortable discussions and make them easier to have so that they can be productive by utilizing analogies, silence breakers, and vignettes (DiAngelo, 2014).
This author looks forward to serving his community by working with everyone in the community and thus being successful as one unit. Marco Antonio will be able to do so through this podcast, as this podcast’s priority is to provide history, facts, personal stories, and other resources to male Mexican American teenagers to disengage from gang activity and properly reintegrate into society confidentially and without retribution. Additionally, it could potentially serve to help others avoid engaging in gang activity. Furthermore, the resources are also available to their families, their support systems (i.e., friends, mentors, etc.), teachers (educators), mental health professionals, law enforcement, researchers, and anyone in their community seeking to work with, help, and understand their struggles and intersecting identities.
References
Andress, L., Hall, T., Davis, S., et al. (2020). Addressing power dynamics in community-engaged research partnerships. J Patient Rep Outcomes 4(24). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-020-00191-z
Caffrey, C. (2023). Male privilege. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Coaston, J. (2019). The intersectionality wars. Vox.
Cruz, C. A. (2016). Letting go of clecha, while holding corazón; Developing a new approach to empowering youth in gangs the homeboy industries way (Order No. 28478184). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (2512268550). https://ezproxy.simmons.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/letting-go-clecha-while-holding-corazón/docview/2512268550/se-2
DiAngelo, R., & Sensoy, Ö. (2014). Calling in: Strategies for cultivating humility and critical thinking in antiracism education. Understanding and Dismantling Privilege, 4(2), 190-203.
Dyer, J. & Gushwa, M. (2023). Going DEIPAR Deeper: Developing and incorporating a social justice curricular framework. [Manuscript submitted for publication]. DSW Program, Simmons University.
Holmes, A. G. D. (2020). Researcher positionality: A consideration of its influence and place in qualitative research: A new research guide. International Journal of Education, 8(4), p1-10. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1268044.pdf
Morrobel, E. (2024). An uncomfortable life: Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Exceptional Parent, 54(4), 38–43.
Romero, M.A. (2024). Unpacking Positionality [Unpublished manuscript]. Simmons University.
SNS. (2023, December 1). Having difficult conversations on campus. States News Service, NA. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.simmons.edu/apps/doc/A775167023/AONE?u=mlin_b_simmcol&sid=ebsco&xid=b4e572bd
Version: 20240731