Growing up in Dorchester, the son of a single mother from Cape Verde, Casimiro Cabral says he could have wound up in all kinds of trouble.

Cabral endured experiences common to city youths. He grew up poor. He was bullied. He saw his older brother arrested for stealing a car and a friend’s brother shot dead on the street. He dropped out of high school with no job, only the ambition to be a dancer.