How ethnic identity and gender figure in building the embedded identities of youth in different contexts is examined, focusing on the self-concepts of inner-city youth. The voices of urban youth argue that their embedded identities, or multilayered self-conceptions, represent far more than simple labels of ethnic or racial membership. After an introduction "Identity and Inner-City Youth" by the editors, the following chapters are provided: (1) "Ethnicity and Gender in Theory and Practice: The Youth Perspective" (S. B. Heath and M. W. McLaughlin); (2) "Embedded Identities: Enabling Balance in Urban Contexts" (M. W. McLaughlin); (3) "Dances of Identity: Finding an Ethnic Self in the Arts" (A. Ball and S. B. Heath); (4) "Gangs, Social Control, and Ethnicity: Ways To Redirect" (J. D. Vigil); (5) "Child Saving and Children's Cultures at Century's End" (G. A. Fine and J. Mechling); (6) "Collaborate or Go It Alone? Tough Decisions for Youth Policy" (J. Langman and M. W. McLaughlin); (7) "The Winnowing of Organizations" (T. James); (8) "Misperceptions of Gender and Youth: Learning Together, Learning Apart" (E. Hansot); and (9) "Casting the Self: Frames for Identity and Dilemmas for Policy" (M. W. McLaughlin and S. B. Heath). (SLD)