Why is the exploitation of undocumented immigrants tolerated? and the education of their children jeopardized? Why are young people of color disappearing from our schools before they graduate? And, what is our role and responsibility as researchers (young and old) to address the social injustices in our communities? These questions, and others, structure our inquiry. Our research focuses upon what Robin D.G. Kelley identifies as “the culture wars in urban America”: “the ongoing battle over representations that continue to rage each day in the streets of urban America” (Kelley, 1997, 8). For young people growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, issues of representation are of the upmost concern. One of the critical insights that we identified in our research is that power lies in controlling how you are defined. Stereotypes of the “other” as “illegal,” “drop out,” and “uneducated” serve to blame, exclude, exploit, and legitimate social inequalities. Young people, and in particular young people of color, are too often framed as “at risk” and in need of surveillance and control. In our research we challenge this framing and instead reveal the very real risks we, our friends/peers, and our communities, face in our everyday lives negotiating institutional racism and trying to access higher education.