1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:11,811 --> 00:00:15,815 [melancholy violin music] 4 00:00:15,882 --> 00:00:19,252 [gunshot, siren wailing] 5 00:00:19,352 --> 00:00:23,390 [person speaking indistinctly over megaphone] 6 00:00:23,456 --> 00:00:25,358 [gun cocks] 7 00:00:25,458 --> 00:00:28,161 * 8 00:00:28,194 --> 00:00:31,197 [woman sobbing] 9 00:00:33,433 --> 00:00:38,838 * 10 00:00:38,872 --> 00:00:41,508 [gun cocks, seagulls crying] 11 00:00:41,641 --> 00:00:48,748 * * 12 00:00:51,584 --> 00:00:54,421 [hydraulics whirring] 13 00:00:54,487 --> 00:01:01,695 * 14 00:01:15,275 --> 00:01:18,111 [distant siren wailing] 15 00:01:20,580 --> 00:01:25,285 - I was born in 1945. I'm what they call a war baby. 16 00:01:25,318 --> 00:01:29,089 My mother was pregnant in Texas, in the South. 17 00:01:29,222 --> 00:01:33,059 And she decided that she did not want her baby, 18 00:01:33,093 --> 00:01:35,929 no matter what it was, born in the South. 19 00:01:35,995 --> 00:01:40,500 And she took the first train smoking and came to LA. 20 00:01:40,567 --> 00:01:42,802 - So, when we arrived here in Los Angeles, 21 00:01:42,836 --> 00:01:45,939 this particular neighborhood right here was majority white. 22 00:01:46,006 --> 00:01:48,074 The schools were majority white. 23 00:01:48,108 --> 00:01:50,777 The elementary schools and junior highs-- 24 00:01:50,844 --> 00:01:52,345 all were already white. 25 00:01:52,379 --> 00:01:54,381 Because there was so many of us, 26 00:01:54,481 --> 00:01:55,882 they started taking flight. 27 00:01:55,949 --> 00:01:58,251 [upbeat music] 28 00:01:58,385 --> 00:02:01,054 - To properly discuss guns it's essential to delve 29 00:02:01,087 --> 00:02:04,190 into their historical context. 30 00:02:04,257 --> 00:02:07,861 In 1964, during the Civil Rights Movement, 31 00:02:07,961 --> 00:02:11,364 notable figures, like Martin Luther King Jr. 32 00:02:11,464 --> 00:02:12,665 and President Kennedy, 33 00:02:12,732 --> 00:02:16,569 advocated for the Civil Rights Bill. 34 00:02:16,636 --> 00:02:20,440 This legislation ignited a significant migration 35 00:02:20,473 --> 00:02:22,075 within the Black community 36 00:02:22,142 --> 00:02:24,711 in search of improved opportunities 37 00:02:24,811 --> 00:02:26,079 and a brighter future. 38 00:02:26,112 --> 00:02:27,914 - When I grew up, the neighborhood 39 00:02:27,981 --> 00:02:30,617 was just predominantly Black. 40 00:02:30,650 --> 00:02:34,387 - Maybe 85%, 90% Black, 10% Hispanics. 41 00:02:34,454 --> 00:02:35,922 The neighborhood was... 42 00:02:35,955 --> 00:02:37,123 - A great experience. 43 00:02:37,157 --> 00:02:39,125 My childhood was filled with traveling. 44 00:02:39,159 --> 00:02:42,195 It was good to go from this park to that park. 45 00:02:42,295 --> 00:02:44,731 It was always some type of family picnic 46 00:02:44,831 --> 00:02:46,399 or something going on. 47 00:02:46,499 --> 00:02:50,437 Being able to be amongst each other was a good thing. 48 00:02:50,470 --> 00:02:53,506 - For once, minorities felt the air of freedom. 49 00:02:53,540 --> 00:02:56,209 Things were finally on the up-and-up. 50 00:02:56,309 --> 00:02:59,846 But tragically, this would come to a halting stop. 51 00:02:59,979 --> 00:03:03,316 [music distorting, fading] 52 00:03:03,350 --> 00:03:06,086 - The afternoon fires added to the chaos that is now 53 00:03:06,152 --> 00:03:07,921 Southeast Los Angeles. 54 00:03:08,021 --> 00:03:10,256 Riots, which had quieted down during the dusk, 55 00:03:10,357 --> 00:03:11,825 sprang again into full-scale violence this morning-- 56 00:03:11,925 --> 00:03:15,795 - Watts Rebellion, rather than "riot," because it had 57 00:03:15,895 --> 00:03:17,197 a political dimension to it. 58 00:03:17,297 --> 00:03:19,165 It wasn't just the Frye family 59 00:03:19,232 --> 00:03:23,203 that sparked the Rebellion of 1965. 60 00:03:23,336 --> 00:03:26,973 It was the years and years of police abuse 61 00:03:27,007 --> 00:03:28,475 that had built up. 62 00:03:28,541 --> 00:03:31,277 - The Watts Rebellion lasted for 6 days, 63 00:03:31,411 --> 00:03:36,916 resulting in 34 deaths, 132 injuries, 64 00:03:36,983 --> 00:03:38,785 and 4,000 arrests 65 00:03:38,852 --> 00:03:43,123 and ending in the destruction of 1,000 buildings, 66 00:03:43,189 --> 00:03:46,559 totaling $40 million in damages. 67 00:03:46,626 --> 00:03:49,295 - You know, you just had the assassination of Malcolm X, 68 00:03:49,329 --> 00:03:51,831 and you had a lot of movements, 69 00:03:51,898 --> 00:03:56,036 organizations began to rise up 'cause of the Watts Rebellion. 70 00:03:56,102 --> 00:03:58,738 And that was a political dimension of it. 71 00:03:58,805 --> 00:04:02,676 - Watts Riots was just a spark of a continued action 72 00:04:02,742 --> 00:04:08,148 of terrorism and militarism in our neighborhoods. 73 00:04:08,181 --> 00:04:09,716 - After the Rebellion, 74 00:04:09,783 --> 00:04:12,619 several community-improvement suggestions were made 75 00:04:12,652 --> 00:04:15,221 that would improve schools, employment, 76 00:04:15,255 --> 00:04:17,657 and relations with the police department. 77 00:04:17,724 --> 00:04:21,594 But in the end, there was little follow-up. 78 00:04:21,661 --> 00:04:24,698 A new era of do-it-yourself local activism 79 00:04:24,731 --> 00:04:28,268 blossomed in Watts, including reformed street gang members 80 00:04:28,335 --> 00:04:31,137 who joined with the Black Panther Party 81 00:04:31,204 --> 00:04:33,273 to rebuild and monitor police access. 82 00:04:33,306 --> 00:04:34,841 - Sojourner Truth! 83 00:04:34,941 --> 00:04:37,310 - Mary McLeod Bethune! 84 00:04:37,377 --> 00:04:39,546 Marcus Garvey! 85 00:04:39,646 --> 00:04:41,147 Malcolm X! 86 00:04:41,214 --> 00:04:42,716 Martin King! 87 00:04:42,782 --> 00:04:45,251 - We had to fight for our civil rights and fight 88 00:04:45,385 --> 00:04:48,388 for the Civil Rights Movement amongst ourselves, 89 00:04:48,421 --> 00:04:51,825 our leaders, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, 90 00:04:51,925 --> 00:04:53,560 Fred Hampton Sr., 91 00:04:53,593 --> 00:04:56,563 Huey Newton, Angela Davis, all the rest of them 92 00:04:56,596 --> 00:04:58,565 during this time of the Civil Rights Movement, 93 00:04:58,631 --> 00:05:00,867 pushed the line for our civil rights. 94 00:05:00,934 --> 00:05:04,471 - The Panthers grew out of a street justice, 95 00:05:04,537 --> 00:05:07,640 the pursuit of street justice for watching police 96 00:05:07,707 --> 00:05:09,376 and defending themselves. 97 00:05:09,476 --> 00:05:12,479 The Sons of Watts used to be the Orientals 98 00:05:12,545 --> 00:05:16,082 and the Royal Gents-- Willie Sampson and them. 99 00:05:16,149 --> 00:05:17,550 The El Rukns 100 00:05:17,650 --> 00:05:20,920 used to be Blackstone Rangers out of Chicago. 101 00:05:21,021 --> 00:05:23,323 They converted during the '60s 102 00:05:23,390 --> 00:05:25,592 because there was a Black movement, 103 00:05:25,725 --> 00:05:29,329 street gangs moved to those type of aspects of protect-- 104 00:05:29,396 --> 00:05:31,965 Even the Crips even said that they started 105 00:05:31,998 --> 00:05:34,100 to protect their community. 106 00:05:34,134 --> 00:05:35,368 - This was the first time 107 00:05:35,435 --> 00:05:37,604 that I seen armed Black men and women 108 00:05:37,637 --> 00:05:39,939 ready to stand up to deal with oppression, 109 00:05:40,006 --> 00:05:44,310 injustice, and the systemic issues of racial imbalance. 110 00:05:44,344 --> 00:05:47,280 And I seen a power base being developed 111 00:05:47,313 --> 00:05:50,016 that was unapologetic in standing up 112 00:05:50,150 --> 00:05:52,185 for the value and the respect 113 00:05:52,252 --> 00:05:54,587 of what Black people at that time 114 00:05:54,654 --> 00:05:57,123 had to stand on, because we did not have anything else 115 00:05:57,190 --> 00:05:58,625 to stand on. 116 00:05:58,658 --> 00:06:00,660 - It was going to be a point in time and place 117 00:06:00,727 --> 00:06:02,929 to where the conscious mind is starting to wake up. 118 00:06:02,962 --> 00:06:06,366 - The Panthers were a saving grace for the community. 119 00:06:06,433 --> 00:06:08,635 Not only did they fight for what was right, 120 00:06:08,668 --> 00:06:11,971 they also helped feed the youth, teach them, 121 00:06:12,072 --> 00:06:14,240 and celebrate the community. 122 00:06:14,307 --> 00:06:16,543 So why was this a bad thing, you ask? 123 00:06:16,576 --> 00:06:18,378 - Let me be real clear. 124 00:06:18,445 --> 00:06:20,413 The Black Panther Party was the first time 125 00:06:20,513 --> 00:06:23,683 that we said we unapologetically have the right 126 00:06:23,750 --> 00:06:26,553 to combat a system that at that time period 127 00:06:26,653 --> 00:06:30,023 was designed to totally destroy more so the individuals 128 00:06:30,056 --> 00:06:31,558 that were in the movement. 129 00:06:31,624 --> 00:06:34,461 Remember, there was a social movement going on, 130 00:06:34,527 --> 00:06:36,830 a social narrative that was going on at the time, 131 00:06:36,896 --> 00:06:39,032 which was finally bringing in self-determination, 132 00:06:39,065 --> 00:06:40,433 self-reliance, et cetera. 133 00:06:40,500 --> 00:06:42,335 So had the party not developed 134 00:06:42,369 --> 00:06:44,504 and had the nation not developed, 135 00:06:44,537 --> 00:06:47,240 had those components not been put in place, 136 00:06:47,307 --> 00:06:50,176 we probably would have been, as a people, decimated, 137 00:06:50,276 --> 00:06:53,613 because, again, the concept before, 138 00:06:53,646 --> 00:06:55,949 the generation before our mothers and fathers were 139 00:06:55,982 --> 00:06:59,552 of the mindset of integration, were of the mindset of, 140 00:06:59,619 --> 00:07:01,688 we're going to just try to get in that mix, 141 00:07:01,721 --> 00:07:04,924 and hopefully they will accept us at the time. 142 00:07:04,991 --> 00:07:05,992 And that didn't happen. 143 00:07:06,092 --> 00:07:07,260 That was not happening, 144 00:07:07,327 --> 00:07:09,062 especially for younger brothers, 145 00:07:09,095 --> 00:07:10,230 like myself at the time. 146 00:07:10,296 --> 00:07:12,065 I was not buying into the concept 147 00:07:12,098 --> 00:07:13,867 of turning the other cheek. 148 00:07:13,900 --> 00:07:16,636 I dang sure was buying into the concept of, give me a gun, 149 00:07:16,703 --> 00:07:18,271 let me fight this madness, 150 00:07:18,338 --> 00:07:22,075 and let me do what I got to do to get some value of respect 151 00:07:22,108 --> 00:07:23,643 for what I stand for. 152 00:07:23,710 --> 00:07:25,378 - And this is what scared the government-- 153 00:07:25,412 --> 00:07:27,681 young Blacks having a mindset 154 00:07:27,714 --> 00:07:30,050 to be able to think differently 155 00:07:30,150 --> 00:07:31,751 and stand up for what's right. 156 00:07:31,818 --> 00:07:33,520 So what did the government do? 157 00:07:33,620 --> 00:07:35,488 Interfere. 158 00:07:35,555 --> 00:07:38,692 - The counterintelligence program was developed 159 00:07:38,758 --> 00:07:42,562 by J Edgar Hoover during the Nixon Administration, 160 00:07:42,595 --> 00:07:44,998 specifically after they had identified 161 00:07:45,065 --> 00:07:47,100 that one of the most significant threats 162 00:07:47,167 --> 00:07:49,869 to the safety and security on a national level 163 00:07:49,936 --> 00:07:51,638 for the United States of America 164 00:07:51,705 --> 00:07:54,841 was the existence of a healthy Black family. 165 00:07:54,908 --> 00:07:56,643 - Shocking. 166 00:07:56,776 --> 00:07:59,479 Martin Luther King was able to touch so many people. 167 00:07:59,546 --> 00:08:01,815 They soon figured out that to his success, 168 00:08:01,881 --> 00:08:05,418 he had a healthy home and a great education. 169 00:08:05,552 --> 00:08:07,620 So, to stop this from happening again, 170 00:08:07,687 --> 00:08:10,890 they decided to fracture the Black family home. 171 00:08:10,957 --> 00:08:13,126 - And so the counterintelligence program 172 00:08:13,159 --> 00:08:15,128 specifically was designed 173 00:08:15,195 --> 00:08:18,164 to infiltrate any environment 174 00:08:18,231 --> 00:08:20,900 where Black leadership was being nurtured, 175 00:08:20,967 --> 00:08:23,603 penetrate that environment, and disrupt it. 176 00:08:23,737 --> 00:08:25,839 And so they did that to the Black Panther Party. 177 00:08:25,905 --> 00:08:29,609 - The FBI accomplished this by sending in an informant-- 178 00:08:29,676 --> 00:08:31,578 William O'Neal. 179 00:08:31,644 --> 00:08:33,646 He was sent into the Black Panther Party 180 00:08:33,713 --> 00:08:36,950 to infiltrate the members, particularly Fred Hampton. 181 00:08:36,983 --> 00:08:40,086 - And saw where what had taken place and where he died, 182 00:08:40,186 --> 00:08:42,022 and it was shocking. 183 00:08:42,155 --> 00:08:44,591 And then I was-- 184 00:08:44,657 --> 00:08:48,661 I just began to realize that the information 185 00:08:48,728 --> 00:08:52,232 that I had supplied leading up to that moment... 186 00:08:54,267 --> 00:08:56,436 Had facilitated that raid. 187 00:08:56,536 --> 00:09:01,107 I knew that indirectly, I had contributed, and I felt it, 188 00:09:01,207 --> 00:09:02,876 and I felt bad about it. 189 00:09:02,909 --> 00:09:04,811 - FBI headquarters authorized the payment 190 00:09:04,844 --> 00:09:08,748 of a $300 bonus to an informant, William O'Neal, 191 00:09:08,782 --> 00:09:11,584 for uniquely valuable services, 192 00:09:11,651 --> 00:09:14,120 which he rendered over the past several months. 193 00:09:14,187 --> 00:09:16,122 - And that was how they were able to attack 194 00:09:16,222 --> 00:09:17,524 the Black Panther Party 195 00:09:17,657 --> 00:09:19,392 and make people support their attack 196 00:09:19,526 --> 00:09:21,127 on the Black Panther Party publicly. 197 00:09:21,227 --> 00:09:22,328 They wanted to destroy that, 198 00:09:22,429 --> 00:09:24,330 and that's what they created it for, 199 00:09:24,397 --> 00:09:25,832 and it was highly successful. 200 00:09:25,899 --> 00:09:29,169 - The conspiracy of genocide came in, 201 00:09:29,269 --> 00:09:31,671 the conspiracy, meaning trick, 202 00:09:31,738 --> 00:09:33,106 and a genocide, 203 00:09:33,139 --> 00:09:36,343 meaning just do away--to do away with the leaders. 204 00:09:36,409 --> 00:09:40,246 So that left multitude of the Baby Boom generation lost 205 00:09:40,347 --> 00:09:42,782 no leadership or nothing. 206 00:09:42,882 --> 00:09:46,720 Only thing they had leadership was for violence. 207 00:09:46,753 --> 00:09:49,556 - History informs us that over 1,000 years ago, 208 00:09:49,689 --> 00:09:51,825 Chinese monks were experimenting 209 00:09:51,925 --> 00:09:53,293 in their laboratories, 210 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:57,564 seeking to develop an elixir that would grant immortality. 211 00:09:57,630 --> 00:10:00,734 Ironically, it was during these experiments 212 00:10:00,767 --> 00:10:02,702 that they stumbled upon a mixture consisting 213 00:10:02,769 --> 00:10:06,473 of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal-- 214 00:10:06,573 --> 00:10:09,709 boom, the main ingredients for gunpowder. 215 00:10:09,776 --> 00:10:11,778 What was meant to preserve life 216 00:10:11,845 --> 00:10:14,214 has become one of the most destructive weapons 217 00:10:14,247 --> 00:10:16,082 ever created. 218 00:10:16,116 --> 00:10:18,952 [dramatic music] 219 00:10:19,085 --> 00:10:21,221 * * 220 00:10:21,321 --> 00:10:23,523 I'm not a total gun reformist, 221 00:10:23,623 --> 00:10:27,260 but I think there has to be some kind of control put down. 222 00:10:27,293 --> 00:10:28,928 We are infested with guns. 223 00:10:28,995 --> 00:10:32,032 There's more guns in the United States than people. 224 00:10:32,065 --> 00:10:35,702 The number of civilian-owned guns around the world 225 00:10:35,735 --> 00:10:39,105 is estimated at 650 million, 226 00:10:39,172 --> 00:10:41,808 and 270 million of those handguns, 227 00:10:41,908 --> 00:10:44,644 rifles, shotguns, machine guns, 228 00:10:44,711 --> 00:10:46,780 and improvised craft guns 229 00:10:46,846 --> 00:10:49,816 belong to people in the United States. 230 00:10:49,916 --> 00:10:52,385 - If you add up all the Caucasians in the world, 231 00:10:52,485 --> 00:10:55,255 they make up maybe 15% of the world population, 232 00:10:55,355 --> 00:10:58,792 but they dominate the majority of the planet, 233 00:10:58,925 --> 00:11:02,662 of the people of color through their use of weaponry. 234 00:11:02,729 --> 00:11:05,965 - There are 90 guns per 100 Americans, 235 00:11:06,032 --> 00:11:07,934 giving the country the honor 236 00:11:07,967 --> 00:11:11,538 of the highest gun-ownership rate in the world. 237 00:11:11,638 --> 00:11:14,374 - In the UK, you can't have a gun, period. 238 00:11:14,474 --> 00:11:16,276 The police don't even carry guns. 239 00:11:16,343 --> 00:11:20,013 - Unlike the US, the police in England don't carry weapons. 240 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,649 Less than 5% are armed. 241 00:11:22,682 --> 00:11:25,919 * * 242 00:11:26,019 --> 00:11:28,121 - I like the lights. 243 00:11:28,154 --> 00:11:32,692 I like to know that the police are taking care of things. 244 00:11:32,792 --> 00:11:35,462 For kids to have guns, in the beginning, yeah, 245 00:11:35,528 --> 00:11:38,832 I was all for it, because we had to protect ourselves 246 00:11:38,865 --> 00:11:43,269 or so we thought, because the streets was violent. 247 00:11:43,336 --> 00:11:45,839 - And I had to make these decisions when I was a kid. 248 00:11:45,939 --> 00:11:47,774 Did I want to be a robber? Do I want to be a dope dealer? 249 00:11:47,807 --> 00:11:49,342 Do I want to be a car thief? 250 00:11:49,409 --> 00:11:51,344 And I just couldn't see myself 251 00:11:51,478 --> 00:11:56,583 sticking a gun in somebody's face, thinking that... 252 00:11:56,649 --> 00:11:58,718 I could be taking their life, 253 00:11:58,785 --> 00:12:01,054 or I might do great bodily harm to him. 254 00:12:01,121 --> 00:12:03,823 So... 255 00:12:03,890 --> 00:12:05,625 I'm going to be honest with you. 256 00:12:05,658 --> 00:12:08,094 I'm totally for those guns. 257 00:12:08,161 --> 00:12:10,964 - The US stands alone for high gun ownership 258 00:12:11,064 --> 00:12:12,465 and high gun violence, 259 00:12:12,565 --> 00:12:15,068 despite being one of the richest countries. 260 00:12:15,135 --> 00:12:17,037 What's the missing link? 261 00:12:17,070 --> 00:12:18,538 Is it a lack of gun laws? 262 00:12:18,605 --> 00:12:20,473 Or is it something else? 263 00:12:20,540 --> 00:12:22,242 - Every state is not the same. 264 00:12:22,275 --> 00:12:25,278 Texas can have-- as racist as Texas is, 265 00:12:25,378 --> 00:12:26,913 they can have open carry. 266 00:12:26,980 --> 00:12:30,283 - In September of 2021, it became legal for Texans 267 00:12:30,350 --> 00:12:33,086 to carry a handgun without a permit. 268 00:12:33,153 --> 00:12:35,355 - LA can't. 269 00:12:35,455 --> 00:12:36,856 Tennessee can have open carry. 270 00:12:36,923 --> 00:12:39,392 Cali can't. New York can't. 271 00:12:39,492 --> 00:12:42,696 See, in states where it's heavy, heavy, blatant racism, 272 00:12:42,762 --> 00:12:45,398 they let you carry motherfucking guns 273 00:12:45,465 --> 00:12:46,866 out in the open-- Florida. 274 00:12:46,933 --> 00:12:49,769 We don't have it. 275 00:12:49,836 --> 00:12:53,039 Why aren't those laws changing? 276 00:12:53,106 --> 00:12:54,841 - The issue of gun ownership 277 00:12:54,974 --> 00:12:56,943 and gun violence in the United States-- 278 00:12:57,010 --> 00:13:00,413 it's a complex and contentious topic. 279 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:02,982 It's influenced by a combination of factors, 280 00:13:03,049 --> 00:13:06,086 including cultural, historical, 281 00:13:06,186 --> 00:13:09,556 social, economic, and legal aspects. 282 00:13:09,622 --> 00:13:11,691 - With the Kyle Rittenhouse, 283 00:13:11,791 --> 00:13:15,795 it was a very tragic, tragic event. 284 00:13:15,862 --> 00:13:19,432 And the reality is, he got off scot-free 285 00:13:19,466 --> 00:13:23,703 because the Constitution protected his rights. 286 00:13:23,737 --> 00:13:26,139 But the reality is, 287 00:13:26,172 --> 00:13:28,975 his defense put up a damn good defense. 288 00:13:29,042 --> 00:13:31,878 - We, the jury, find the defendant, Kyle H Rittenhouse, 289 00:13:31,978 --> 00:13:34,848 not guilty. 290 00:13:34,914 --> 00:13:37,017 - Personally... 291 00:13:37,083 --> 00:13:40,487 I hate that it was going to come down like that. 292 00:13:40,553 --> 00:13:42,722 But watching it from a professional eye, 293 00:13:42,822 --> 00:13:45,792 I knew that he would be found innocent. 294 00:13:45,825 --> 00:13:47,560 - Nearly half of guns in this country 295 00:13:47,627 --> 00:13:49,162 are not locked away properly, 296 00:13:49,195 --> 00:13:52,332 and guns accidentally kill kids in the US 297 00:13:52,399 --> 00:13:53,533 10 times more often 298 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,603 than any other developed country in the world. 299 00:13:56,636 --> 00:13:58,672 - First time I seen a gun? 300 00:13:58,738 --> 00:14:01,007 I'm going to say seventh grade. 301 00:14:01,141 --> 00:14:05,612 Took it out to the field, started playing around with it. 302 00:14:05,645 --> 00:14:08,882 It was one of my dad's guns. 303 00:14:08,948 --> 00:14:10,684 - Many parents of young children 304 00:14:10,750 --> 00:14:12,552 want to keep them away from guns, 305 00:14:12,619 --> 00:14:15,021 but a growing number are now actually putting guns 306 00:14:15,088 --> 00:14:16,656 into their kids' hands. 307 00:14:16,690 --> 00:14:19,025 - I remember one day, Mom telling us 308 00:14:19,092 --> 00:14:21,361 to come inside before the street lights came on 309 00:14:21,428 --> 00:14:22,896 and get ready for bed. 310 00:14:22,962 --> 00:14:24,564 You got to take a bath, shower. 311 00:14:24,631 --> 00:14:27,801 She went out to a club, and I woke up and went 312 00:14:27,867 --> 00:14:30,003 to go look for my pop gun. 313 00:14:30,070 --> 00:14:31,237 I looked for the gun and couldn't find it, 314 00:14:31,271 --> 00:14:33,973 but I found a gun in the back of the TV, which I thought 315 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:35,608 was my pop gun. 316 00:14:35,709 --> 00:14:37,944 But it was my mama's real gun. 317 00:14:38,044 --> 00:14:40,246 And I was chasing my little brother around the house, 318 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,183 and I slipped and fell and the gun went off. 319 00:14:43,316 --> 00:14:44,451 Pow! 320 00:14:46,386 --> 00:14:50,156 The story went, as she thought my brother was bleeding, 321 00:14:50,190 --> 00:14:52,392 because he had a bad nosebleed when he was a kid. 322 00:14:52,425 --> 00:14:53,893 But then she pulled the cover back, 323 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:55,595 she didn't see no blood on him. 324 00:14:55,662 --> 00:14:58,732 She pulled the cover back and blood was all over me. 325 00:14:58,865 --> 00:15:03,236 And so I almost bled out, you know? 326 00:15:03,303 --> 00:15:06,473 I think it was about eight years old, nine years old. 327 00:15:18,351 --> 00:15:20,553 - In 2 1/2 weeks, getting ammunition is going to get 328 00:15:20,587 --> 00:15:22,489 a little more complicated. 329 00:15:22,555 --> 00:15:24,457 - Starting July 1st, the change in the law 330 00:15:24,524 --> 00:15:28,028 requires any individual buying ammunition 331 00:15:28,061 --> 00:15:30,897 to go through an instant background check. 332 00:15:30,930 --> 00:15:32,699 - This bill will go one step further, 333 00:15:32,766 --> 00:15:37,871 by requiring that persons wishing to purchase ammunition 334 00:15:37,937 --> 00:15:40,206 first acquire a permit, 335 00:15:40,273 --> 00:15:43,677 then pass an extensive background check. 336 00:15:43,743 --> 00:15:45,879 It is tough for me to fathom 337 00:15:45,912 --> 00:15:48,281 that we can ask people to obtain 338 00:15:48,348 --> 00:15:51,217 a license to hunt in the state of California, 339 00:15:51,251 --> 00:15:54,721 but we cannot ask them to pass a background check 340 00:15:54,754 --> 00:15:56,389 to purchase ammunition, 341 00:15:56,423 --> 00:16:00,760 much of which is principally designed to kill people. 342 00:16:00,794 --> 00:16:02,729 - They have more than enough laws 343 00:16:02,762 --> 00:16:04,330 in the state of California, 344 00:16:04,364 --> 00:16:07,133 and we deal with only the state of California 345 00:16:07,233 --> 00:16:09,369 that we can make a difference in. 346 00:16:09,402 --> 00:16:12,272 The gun laws that they are implementing here 347 00:16:12,339 --> 00:16:16,309 on these young men are laws that are basically being 348 00:16:16,376 --> 00:16:20,613 set up to help perpetuate this new industry called prison. 349 00:16:20,647 --> 00:16:22,982 [indistinct chatter] 350 00:16:23,049 --> 00:16:25,085 - My baby brother was in transition 351 00:16:25,218 --> 00:16:27,220 of leaving the streets and trying to do better 352 00:16:27,287 --> 00:16:30,890 with himself, and he got in a situation 353 00:16:30,957 --> 00:16:33,960 where he let his anger get the best of him. 354 00:16:33,993 --> 00:16:36,629 And now the first offer that the white man 355 00:16:36,663 --> 00:16:38,098 gave him was 8 years. 356 00:16:38,131 --> 00:16:40,667 A month later, they just offered him 60 years. 357 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:42,435 [cell door clinking, closes] 358 00:16:42,502 --> 00:16:45,605 - Nowadays, if you have any type of possession 359 00:16:45,705 --> 00:16:47,674 of a firearm, right, 360 00:16:47,741 --> 00:16:50,744 and meaning that you don't have any type of license 361 00:16:50,777 --> 00:16:52,245 for this firearm, 362 00:16:52,345 --> 00:16:54,614 you don't have a serial code or a number that's attached 363 00:16:54,714 --> 00:16:58,218 to your name for distribution of this firearm, 364 00:16:58,251 --> 00:17:00,353 you're already getting 10 to 20 years of your life 365 00:17:00,387 --> 00:17:02,789 taken away just off the jump. 366 00:17:02,822 --> 00:17:04,057 - Lieutenant Holloway, 367 00:17:04,157 --> 00:17:06,292 you were outside when the group came up. 368 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:07,660 What did you see out there? 369 00:17:07,761 --> 00:17:10,196 - I was called down from the upper floors of the Capitol 370 00:17:10,263 --> 00:17:14,167 and went to the west entrance of the Capitol. 371 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:15,835 And I saw a group 372 00:17:15,969 --> 00:17:20,407 of approximately four male Negroes, 373 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,842 all carrying weapons of one sort or another 374 00:17:22,909 --> 00:17:25,578 with a smaller group behind them. 375 00:17:25,612 --> 00:17:27,480 I stopped them 376 00:17:27,547 --> 00:17:31,918 as they came up the front steps of the Capitol, 377 00:17:31,985 --> 00:17:34,087 and I was handed a pamphlet 378 00:17:34,154 --> 00:17:37,090 by one of the members of the group. 379 00:17:37,157 --> 00:17:39,192 - This is a pamphlet that the man presented me with. 380 00:17:39,259 --> 00:17:41,895 It's called "A Statement of the Black Panther Party 381 00:17:42,028 --> 00:17:43,463 for Self-Defense" on the Mulford Act, 382 00:17:43,496 --> 00:17:46,066 now pending before the California legislature. 383 00:17:46,166 --> 00:17:49,235 - So the Mulford Act just was overt action 384 00:17:49,302 --> 00:17:52,138 in the state of California because 385 00:17:52,205 --> 00:17:55,408 of activity of the Panther Parties at that time 386 00:17:55,475 --> 00:17:59,079 to go to Sacramento with unloaded rifles 387 00:17:59,145 --> 00:18:02,082 just for demonstration and for attention. 388 00:18:02,148 --> 00:18:05,085 But at the same time, it's always been 389 00:18:05,151 --> 00:18:07,887 a part of a white codes to punish Black people 390 00:18:07,921 --> 00:18:09,889 if they thought they had a weapon. 391 00:18:09,956 --> 00:18:11,758 Look at how many Black people were killed 392 00:18:11,825 --> 00:18:14,227 prior to the Panthers and the Mulford Act 393 00:18:14,260 --> 00:18:17,797 for white folks saying, oh, I thought they had a gun, 394 00:18:17,897 --> 00:18:19,899 or, I thought they had a weapon. 395 00:18:19,933 --> 00:18:22,802 [helicopter blades thrumming] 396 00:18:28,174 --> 00:18:30,043 d Growing up in an urban neighborhood, 397 00:18:30,110 --> 00:18:32,178 you're taught to hate the police. 398 00:18:32,245 --> 00:18:34,080 * Last thing I sweat's a sucker punk cop * 399 00:18:34,214 --> 00:18:35,882 * Move like a king when I roll * 400 00:18:35,949 --> 00:18:37,217 I mean, can you blame them? 401 00:18:37,350 --> 00:18:40,420 From unarmed killings to unlawful beatings 402 00:18:40,487 --> 00:18:42,088 and just hands down, treating 403 00:18:42,222 --> 00:18:44,257 the urban community as unhuman. 404 00:18:44,324 --> 00:18:46,826 But as history shows, this was the definition 405 00:18:46,926 --> 00:18:49,262 of being a police officer. 406 00:18:49,295 --> 00:18:52,332 - The purpose of slave patrols was to bring terror 407 00:18:52,399 --> 00:18:56,936 in the minds and the hearts of those Black people traveling, 408 00:18:56,970 --> 00:19:00,240 either with or without a pass. 409 00:19:00,306 --> 00:19:02,175 - Slave patrols, 410 00:19:02,242 --> 00:19:06,846 but also known as patrollers or paddy rollers-- 411 00:19:06,946 --> 00:19:08,415 these were white men. 412 00:19:08,448 --> 00:19:11,718 Their function was to police people of color, 413 00:19:11,785 --> 00:19:16,623 especially those who escaped or were viewed as defiant. 414 00:19:16,756 --> 00:19:19,259 - Whites could do anything they wanted to 415 00:19:19,292 --> 00:19:22,429 to those people that were moving about 416 00:19:22,495 --> 00:19:27,167 or those that were actually going to be apprehended. 417 00:19:27,233 --> 00:19:30,236 And it is important that the message be sent 418 00:19:30,303 --> 00:19:33,206 to the other African people, other Black people 419 00:19:33,273 --> 00:19:35,275 in those situations of enslavement, 420 00:19:35,408 --> 00:19:38,678 that they found out what happened to those people, 421 00:19:38,745 --> 00:19:40,313 because that's what it's about. 422 00:19:40,380 --> 00:19:44,284 It was a psychopathic racial terrorism act 423 00:19:44,351 --> 00:19:45,618 on Black people. 424 00:19:45,652 --> 00:19:48,254 * * 425 00:19:48,321 --> 00:19:51,825 - Slave patrols were first formed in 1704 426 00:19:51,858 --> 00:19:54,227 and lasted over 150 years. 427 00:19:54,327 --> 00:19:57,831 This was followed by the vigilante group, 428 00:19:57,864 --> 00:20:00,200 the Ku Klux Klan. 429 00:20:00,266 --> 00:20:02,635 Though there are similarities between the two, 430 00:20:02,702 --> 00:20:06,172 you can't put all police officers in that group. 431 00:20:06,206 --> 00:20:09,476 Many police officers today try their best 432 00:20:09,542 --> 00:20:11,678 on making their community a better one. 433 00:20:11,711 --> 00:20:13,246 - I had a dream, 434 00:20:13,313 --> 00:20:15,882 and that was to become a law enforcement officer. 435 00:20:15,949 --> 00:20:17,450 I have no regrets. It changed my life. 436 00:20:17,484 --> 00:20:19,552 It helped me to mature as a young man, 437 00:20:19,652 --> 00:20:22,422 gave me a different optic, not only the city of Los Angeles, 438 00:20:22,489 --> 00:20:25,058 but for a variety of different communities, 439 00:20:25,125 --> 00:20:26,760 particularly marginalized communities-- 440 00:20:26,826 --> 00:20:28,528 what they lacked in terms of resources. 441 00:20:28,595 --> 00:20:31,698 - Living in South Central California in the '80s 442 00:20:31,798 --> 00:20:35,402 was an experience defined by contrasting elements. 443 00:20:35,468 --> 00:20:38,338 On one hand, there was the allure of sun-soaked beaches, 444 00:20:38,405 --> 00:20:42,242 vibrant culture, and a growing music scene. 445 00:20:42,375 --> 00:20:44,678 On the other hand, the region was grappling 446 00:20:44,744 --> 00:20:48,281 with the devastating effects of a drug epidemic. 447 00:20:48,348 --> 00:20:50,917 The presence of drugs such as cocaine and crack 448 00:20:50,950 --> 00:20:52,686 was pervasive, 449 00:20:52,719 --> 00:20:56,456 and their impact was felt in both urban and suburban areas, 450 00:20:56,489 --> 00:20:59,192 leading to a surge of crime rates 451 00:20:59,325 --> 00:21:02,362 and a destabilization of communities. 452 00:21:02,395 --> 00:21:04,831 - When the pandemic was real strong 453 00:21:04,931 --> 00:21:06,399 with this crack pandemic, 454 00:21:06,433 --> 00:21:09,536 it was almost like no way of getting around it. 455 00:21:09,602 --> 00:21:12,339 If you was from the community or if you from the hood 456 00:21:12,405 --> 00:21:15,041 or the neighborhood, some way, this pandemic 457 00:21:15,108 --> 00:21:16,576 was going to catch up to you. 458 00:21:16,609 --> 00:21:20,914 If you was selling, smoking, 459 00:21:20,980 --> 00:21:24,551 buying, using at some capacity, 460 00:21:24,617 --> 00:21:26,586 it's going to catch up to you. 461 00:21:26,619 --> 00:21:29,255 - So when I joined the police department in the 1980s, 462 00:21:29,389 --> 00:21:31,491 Darryl Francis Gates was the police chief. 463 00:21:31,558 --> 00:21:33,560 So I really didn't know what to expect. 464 00:21:33,593 --> 00:21:36,296 I knew that I had friends and family growing up 465 00:21:36,363 --> 00:21:38,431 who had angst with the police department, 466 00:21:38,465 --> 00:21:41,701 that I was going to treat people who look like me fairly 467 00:21:41,801 --> 00:21:43,069 and appropriately. 468 00:21:43,203 --> 00:21:45,438 And so that was my only mindset. 469 00:21:45,472 --> 00:21:48,308 When I became a police officer, I treated people the way 470 00:21:48,375 --> 00:21:50,310 I would want someone to treat my son. 471 00:21:50,410 --> 00:21:52,946 And that was what I did for 20 years. 472 00:21:53,013 --> 00:21:54,447 - In every good thing, 473 00:21:54,514 --> 00:21:56,716 bad seems to linger right behind it. 474 00:21:56,750 --> 00:22:00,286 But what happened next, no one could have predicted. 475 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:07,260 * * 476 00:22:07,293 --> 00:22:10,563 [helicopter blades thrumming] 477 00:22:25,845 --> 00:22:28,014 [indistinct chatter] 478 00:22:28,081 --> 00:22:30,684 - Videotape obtained by Channel 5 News 479 00:22:30,750 --> 00:22:32,318 shows what appears to be 480 00:22:32,385 --> 00:22:35,288 a group of LAPD officers beating a suspect. 481 00:22:35,388 --> 00:22:37,424 - As soon as it hit the airwaves, 482 00:22:37,524 --> 00:22:39,025 it created a firestorm-- 483 00:22:39,092 --> 00:22:41,628 video recorded by a man named George Holliday 484 00:22:41,661 --> 00:22:44,731 from the balcony of his apartment in Lakeview Terrace. 485 00:22:44,798 --> 00:22:45,732 - The verdicts 486 00:22:45,765 --> 00:22:47,367 in the Rodney King civil rights trial are in. 487 00:22:47,434 --> 00:22:49,469 - Lawrence Powell, not guilty of assault, 488 00:22:49,502 --> 00:22:51,237 not guilty of filing a false report. 489 00:22:51,304 --> 00:22:52,572 Timothy Wind, not guilty, not guilty 490 00:22:52,605 --> 00:22:54,207 on the two charges against him. 491 00:22:54,274 --> 00:22:56,009 Ted Briseno, not guilty, not guilty. 492 00:22:56,076 --> 00:22:57,711 14 1/2-year veteran, 493 00:22:57,777 --> 00:23:01,381 not guilty, not guilty, not guilty, not guilty. 494 00:23:01,448 --> 00:23:03,016 And that's the way things stand right now. 495 00:23:03,083 --> 00:23:04,651 If we go over some of... 496 00:23:04,718 --> 00:23:07,253 - When the police beat up on somebody and you can see it, 497 00:23:07,354 --> 00:23:08,788 it's like-- and they say he's not guilty. 498 00:23:08,855 --> 00:23:10,123 - This is what y'all going to do. 499 00:23:10,223 --> 00:23:11,591 Okay, well, it's more of us than it is of y'all. 500 00:23:11,658 --> 00:23:13,893 Y'all going to have to call for backup while we already here. 501 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:16,496 [sirens wailing] 502 00:23:16,529 --> 00:23:19,799 [person speaking indistinctly over megaphone] 503 00:23:19,866 --> 00:23:22,268 * * 504 00:23:22,335 --> 00:23:24,404 People were like, y'all going to cheat. 505 00:23:24,471 --> 00:23:26,239 Y'all supposed to be law, protect and serve, huh? 506 00:23:26,272 --> 00:23:27,974 Y'all don't got to serve us. We going to help ourselves. 507 00:23:28,008 --> 00:23:34,514 * * 508 00:23:36,182 --> 00:23:37,751 - Ceasefire amongst each other-- 509 00:23:37,817 --> 00:23:40,653 the Blacks, the gangs, and everybody went to go loot. 510 00:23:40,754 --> 00:23:47,460 * * 511 00:23:59,339 --> 00:24:00,874 - We didn't understand 512 00:24:00,907 --> 00:24:04,477 destroying our own neighborhood is gonna be our shortcomings. 513 00:24:04,544 --> 00:24:07,947 - In LA '92, it was families, 514 00:24:08,081 --> 00:24:09,315 whites, Blacks, 515 00:24:09,416 --> 00:24:11,451 because of the injustice that happened 516 00:24:11,551 --> 00:24:15,755 to Rodney King and the fact that you had 517 00:24:15,822 --> 00:24:17,691 various forms of street gangs. 518 00:24:17,791 --> 00:24:22,629 Korean gangs were in Koreatown moving on Korean businesses. 519 00:24:22,696 --> 00:24:27,233 It was just an onslaught of a multicultural rebellion 520 00:24:27,334 --> 00:24:30,236 of people of color and poor whites 521 00:24:30,270 --> 00:24:32,639 at that time of LA '92. 522 00:24:32,706 --> 00:24:36,543 - Today's time hasn't changed from yesterday's time. 523 00:24:36,609 --> 00:24:39,979 It's only getting--it's actually more freer now 524 00:24:40,113 --> 00:24:41,481 to do as they will. 525 00:24:41,548 --> 00:24:45,618 I have a son that's locked up for a longer time 526 00:24:45,652 --> 00:24:48,788 than this man who just recently been found guilty, 527 00:24:48,822 --> 00:24:51,091 gets found guilty for some part of murder or something. 528 00:24:51,157 --> 00:24:52,459 He gets 23 years. 529 00:24:52,525 --> 00:24:54,561 My son got 24 years with no victim. 530 00:24:54,661 --> 00:24:56,663 He's been saying, you got him on camera. 531 00:24:56,763 --> 00:24:58,631 You got people talking to him, telling you the man's 532 00:24:58,665 --> 00:25:00,967 not breathing and he's sitting staring at you like this, 533 00:25:01,034 --> 00:25:02,635 and he got his boys looking at you. 534 00:25:02,702 --> 00:25:04,070 It's the same thing. 535 00:25:04,137 --> 00:25:05,672 It's just more--they feel more freer to do it now. 536 00:25:05,739 --> 00:25:08,675 They have more liberty to kill now. 537 00:25:08,742 --> 00:25:11,745 - Making things better in the community between police, 538 00:25:11,778 --> 00:25:15,115 if you want to change, particularly the LAPD, 539 00:25:15,215 --> 00:25:16,583 you need to get on the job. 540 00:25:16,649 --> 00:25:18,351 You need to get on any police department, 541 00:25:18,418 --> 00:25:20,286 because, listen, DOJ has already told us in a report 542 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:21,654 that they're recruiting KKK. 543 00:25:21,721 --> 00:25:23,857 They're getting those people on the department. 544 00:25:23,923 --> 00:25:25,992 So why wouldn't you want to be on a department 545 00:25:26,026 --> 00:25:27,394 so that you can make a difference? 546 00:25:27,460 --> 00:25:29,562 Change is going to come from the inside. 547 00:25:29,629 --> 00:25:30,830 - We figured it would get better. 548 00:25:30,864 --> 00:25:33,066 It has only gotten worse, 549 00:25:33,133 --> 00:25:35,235 from the killings of Trayvon Martin, 550 00:25:35,268 --> 00:25:39,139 Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, with many more on the list. 551 00:25:39,205 --> 00:25:43,209 Reckless cops are set free and are given a slap on the wrist. 552 00:25:43,276 --> 00:25:46,112 When will things change? 553 00:25:47,647 --> 00:25:49,716 - [sighs] What it was like growing up in Compton 554 00:25:49,783 --> 00:25:53,453 was fun, hanging with your brothers, your friends 555 00:25:53,553 --> 00:25:55,355 that become teammates playing Pop Warner. 556 00:25:55,388 --> 00:25:59,192 And then there was also a side where you were paranoid 557 00:25:59,259 --> 00:26:00,660 because of your surroundings. 558 00:26:00,694 --> 00:26:02,228 What were the police going to do? 559 00:26:02,295 --> 00:26:04,431 Constantly looking over your shoulder, 560 00:26:04,497 --> 00:26:07,067 difficult stress for a Black man or Latino. 561 00:26:07,133 --> 00:26:09,536 - Los Angeles was chaotic for me, 562 00:26:09,569 --> 00:26:12,339 just living in a gang-infested community. 563 00:26:12,405 --> 00:26:14,007 I guess the good part, though, 564 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,844 was that I was born and raised there, so I knew everyone. 565 00:26:17,911 --> 00:26:21,514 So my kids didn't have to grow up as strangers, 566 00:26:21,548 --> 00:26:23,149 like, moving into a community. 567 00:26:23,216 --> 00:26:25,585 - At this time, the minority communities 568 00:26:25,652 --> 00:26:26,986 were spinning out of control. 569 00:26:27,053 --> 00:26:29,756 Without the safety of police, the communities 570 00:26:29,789 --> 00:26:31,758 had to turn to something that would. 571 00:26:31,825 --> 00:26:34,227 They just didn't know that it would turn into this. 572 00:26:34,327 --> 00:26:37,564 - * I'm a soldier at war, and I dip through these alleys * 573 00:26:37,597 --> 00:26:38,698 * It's that mack, blue and black * 574 00:26:38,732 --> 00:26:40,233 * Got them sights fully stacked * 575 00:26:40,333 --> 00:26:43,370 * These codes gots my back, that's where it's at * 576 00:26:43,470 --> 00:26:45,005 * South Central to my heart... * 577 00:26:45,105 --> 00:26:46,506 - At that time, 578 00:26:46,606 --> 00:26:49,642 gang banging was at explosive Hiroshima time. 579 00:26:49,709 --> 00:26:51,111 You know what I mean? 580 00:26:51,177 --> 00:26:53,546 It was the drive-by shooting. It was the crack epidemic. 581 00:26:53,613 --> 00:26:55,248 It was a lot of people offer Sherm 582 00:26:55,281 --> 00:26:56,416 and young girls pregnant. 583 00:26:56,483 --> 00:26:58,752 - Back in the days when I grew up, 584 00:26:58,818 --> 00:27:00,787 you had to really watch your step. 585 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:04,257 You really did, because if you wasn't from the red side, 586 00:27:04,324 --> 00:27:05,492 you couldn't wear red. 587 00:27:05,592 --> 00:27:07,260 If you wasn't from the blue side, 588 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:11,064 you couldn't wear blue, because it was real colorful back then. 589 00:27:11,131 --> 00:27:14,934 [laughs] If you got caught with either one of those colors, 590 00:27:15,001 --> 00:27:16,736 you had to be from somewhere. 591 00:27:16,803 --> 00:27:18,038 - It was brutal, 592 00:27:18,104 --> 00:27:20,440 especially during the late '70s, early '80s. 593 00:27:20,473 --> 00:27:24,377 That was a game changer for me in my community itself. 594 00:27:24,477 --> 00:27:25,845 - But it wasn't always like this. 595 00:27:25,879 --> 00:27:28,715 Gangs were referred to as clubs, 596 00:27:28,815 --> 00:27:31,985 similar to the Boy Scouts or an Elks Lodge. 597 00:27:32,052 --> 00:27:34,654 These different clubs offered an opportunity 598 00:27:34,721 --> 00:27:38,425 to meet and cultivate lifelong friendships 599 00:27:38,525 --> 00:27:40,727 and network with the community. 600 00:27:40,794 --> 00:27:43,363 - Now, Slauson gets the name Slauson in 1952. 601 00:27:43,396 --> 00:27:47,634 The ones in the 40s east of Central were called Crown 40s. 602 00:27:47,667 --> 00:27:49,169 The ones that lived across Central, 603 00:27:49,235 --> 00:27:50,737 on the west side of Central, 604 00:27:50,837 --> 00:27:53,273 mainly in the 50s, were called Roman Pearls. 605 00:27:53,340 --> 00:27:58,011 Roman Pearls and Crown 40s got together, became businessmen. 606 00:27:58,044 --> 00:27:59,579 Then they had Ross Snyders. 607 00:27:59,646 --> 00:28:02,916 You had 20s, Outlaws, and Pueblos. 608 00:28:02,982 --> 00:28:04,751 They were social clubs. 609 00:28:04,851 --> 00:28:06,319 They had club meetings and all that kind of stuff. 610 00:28:06,353 --> 00:28:08,054 Where the turf comes in at 611 00:28:08,121 --> 00:28:10,156 all got to do with going to a party 612 00:28:10,190 --> 00:28:11,925 or you came to visit your cousin, 613 00:28:12,025 --> 00:28:15,028 and you bebopping down the street, somebody looking at-- 614 00:28:15,095 --> 00:28:15,929 who are you? 615 00:28:16,029 --> 00:28:17,330 Where did you come from? 616 00:28:17,364 --> 00:28:19,366 And blah, blah, blah, and you get to talking. 617 00:28:19,432 --> 00:28:21,468 Now you could get a pass. 618 00:28:21,568 --> 00:28:23,136 Or if you thought you was somewhere 619 00:28:23,169 --> 00:28:25,705 you was out of line, you're going to get an ass whuppin'. 620 00:28:25,772 --> 00:28:27,674 - If you got my back, I got your back. 621 00:28:27,807 --> 00:28:29,442 And I wasn't going to let nobody happen 622 00:28:29,509 --> 00:28:31,544 to nobody that we were friends, 623 00:28:31,678 --> 00:28:33,380 because nobody mess with my friends. 624 00:28:33,513 --> 00:28:34,714 And that's just the way it was. 625 00:28:34,848 --> 00:28:37,217 - Now, back in the day, we had reputations 626 00:28:37,283 --> 00:28:38,718 for the best fighters. 627 00:28:38,785 --> 00:28:41,721 If you want to gain respect and become known 628 00:28:41,788 --> 00:28:43,957 and have people give you your props, 629 00:28:43,990 --> 00:28:45,959 you had to fight, and fight you must. 630 00:28:46,059 --> 00:28:47,894 It was no way around it. 631 00:28:47,961 --> 00:28:52,632 - That whole aspect of violence and gang culture 632 00:28:52,665 --> 00:28:55,101 is America's culture. 633 00:28:55,201 --> 00:28:59,506 Gates said he had the biggest gang in LA--8,000 members. 634 00:28:59,606 --> 00:29:01,541 Most minorities who are oppressed, 635 00:29:01,675 --> 00:29:03,777 they imitate their oppressor. 636 00:29:03,843 --> 00:29:07,347 Envy, greed... 637 00:29:07,380 --> 00:29:10,550 drives violence. 638 00:29:12,652 --> 00:29:15,321 - Well, the '70s in South Central LA, 639 00:29:15,388 --> 00:29:18,391 we saw the birth of the Crips and the Bloods. 640 00:29:18,458 --> 00:29:19,959 - Crips stands 641 00:29:20,060 --> 00:29:22,028 for Community Revolution in Progress Service. 642 00:29:22,062 --> 00:29:24,664 We stick together with morals and principles. 643 00:29:24,764 --> 00:29:26,833 - It was only supposed to be protect 644 00:29:26,866 --> 00:29:28,902 what's in your neighborhood, 645 00:29:29,035 --> 00:29:31,404 not going out to kill anybody or nothing like that. 646 00:29:31,438 --> 00:29:32,672 - Raymond Washington-- 647 00:29:32,739 --> 00:29:34,607 he constituted the Crips protocol, 648 00:29:34,674 --> 00:29:37,010 which one of the main things were, 649 00:29:37,077 --> 00:29:38,478 Crips don't kill Crips. 650 00:29:38,511 --> 00:29:41,114 As we've grown big, as we expanded from the West Side 651 00:29:41,214 --> 00:29:44,551 to the North Side and all the way to Long Beach, 652 00:29:44,617 --> 00:29:47,220 we had everything with that but the Crip Constitution 653 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:49,189 of morals and principles and structure. 654 00:29:49,255 --> 00:29:52,692 - What changed from then to now 655 00:29:52,759 --> 00:29:55,295 and how they do it, 656 00:29:55,362 --> 00:29:59,265 one, the guys who were actual leaders in the beginning, 657 00:29:59,299 --> 00:30:01,234 in the time that Munson and Raymond 658 00:30:01,267 --> 00:30:05,372 and all them other guys from other neighborhoods came in, 659 00:30:05,438 --> 00:30:08,608 they started off fairly well, but they never really had 660 00:30:08,641 --> 00:30:12,445 full control over their neighborhood. 661 00:30:12,545 --> 00:30:15,448 - And this is where things started to turn for the worse. 662 00:30:15,482 --> 00:30:17,517 Certain Crip members began to branch off 663 00:30:17,617 --> 00:30:19,986 and start their own gangs. 664 00:30:20,053 --> 00:30:22,789 This led to rivals and conflicts among one another. 665 00:30:22,856 --> 00:30:25,925 - Unfortunately, things got so bad, 666 00:30:25,992 --> 00:30:28,828 in the late 1970s, 667 00:30:28,962 --> 00:30:30,830 it was that dangerous just walking to school. 668 00:30:30,897 --> 00:30:33,099 And where I lived at in South Central LA, 669 00:30:33,233 --> 00:30:37,404 we had the Crips in one part of my neighborhood. 670 00:30:37,504 --> 00:30:39,806 But as I walked to school down Avalon, 671 00:30:39,839 --> 00:30:43,476 we started making our way into the Blood part 672 00:30:43,543 --> 00:30:44,844 of South Central LA. 673 00:30:44,911 --> 00:30:47,280 - When somebody asks you those deadly words, 674 00:30:47,313 --> 00:30:50,884 where you from, and you say you from a certain neighborhood, 675 00:30:50,984 --> 00:30:53,086 that just automatically would affiliate. 676 00:30:53,119 --> 00:30:55,989 - It was an incident that occurred in '79-- 677 00:30:56,022 --> 00:30:59,626 some 16-year-olds out doing mischievous things. 678 00:30:59,693 --> 00:31:01,895 One of them end up dead. 679 00:31:01,961 --> 00:31:04,164 And he was so loved throughout the community 680 00:31:04,230 --> 00:31:09,069 that it just created a war that haven't ended yet. 681 00:31:09,102 --> 00:31:10,837 - The fights amongst each other 682 00:31:10,970 --> 00:31:12,605 aren't the worst part about it. 683 00:31:12,672 --> 00:31:15,675 It's when the infamous boxcar conspiracy comes into play. 684 00:31:15,742 --> 00:31:18,044 This changes everything forever. 685 00:31:24,551 --> 00:31:25,819 - I've heard about it. 686 00:31:25,885 --> 00:31:28,688 Now, is it true? I don't know. 687 00:31:28,722 --> 00:31:32,425 - Well, Dr. Ernie Smith talked about how they had 688 00:31:32,459 --> 00:31:37,197 a train or something in the Watts area of Los Angeles, 689 00:31:37,263 --> 00:31:41,368 and they let the people know there were guns on that train. 690 00:31:41,468 --> 00:31:44,037 And people from the projects and through the Watts area 691 00:31:44,104 --> 00:31:46,072 went and got a bunch of weapons. 692 00:31:46,139 --> 00:31:49,476 - Well, it's been documented that the cocaine and the guns 693 00:31:49,509 --> 00:31:53,480 and all of the vices that were put into our community 694 00:31:53,580 --> 00:31:55,882 and thrust on our youth 695 00:31:55,949 --> 00:32:00,053 caused much of the uproar in our communities. 696 00:32:00,086 --> 00:32:03,323 - Everybody's world was changing because crack was in, 697 00:32:03,356 --> 00:32:07,060 and the community as a whole was changing. 698 00:32:07,093 --> 00:32:09,662 The love of life, I'm saying, the love of family 699 00:32:09,729 --> 00:32:12,265 was decreasing tremendously. 700 00:32:12,365 --> 00:32:16,736 - And I would agree, because prior to the dope 701 00:32:16,770 --> 00:32:18,138 that came into our community 702 00:32:18,204 --> 00:32:21,574 and the money that could be made from selling that dope, 703 00:32:21,708 --> 00:32:25,578 it was just football teams 704 00:32:25,612 --> 00:32:28,615 fighting against each other. 705 00:32:28,682 --> 00:32:30,183 - * The life of a G hustling * 706 00:32:30,216 --> 00:32:31,985 * Trying to get my play in this game * 707 00:32:32,052 --> 00:32:33,887 * Trying to survive every day on the grind * 708 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:35,422 * See my pockets to show... * 709 00:32:35,455 --> 00:32:37,290 - There was more street-gang violence 710 00:32:37,357 --> 00:32:39,025 in Los Angeles overnight. 711 00:32:39,125 --> 00:32:41,895 At least five people were killed and six others wounded. 712 00:32:41,961 --> 00:32:44,230 - The '80s was violence. 713 00:32:44,297 --> 00:32:47,534 It's not like they dropped crack cocaine 714 00:32:47,634 --> 00:32:49,669 in the jungles only. 715 00:32:49,736 --> 00:32:51,371 No, crack cocaine, 716 00:32:51,404 --> 00:32:54,074 as you see on these other shows, was all over. 717 00:32:54,107 --> 00:32:58,044 Every hood was being empowered with guns, 718 00:32:58,078 --> 00:33:01,081 and violence was on the uproar. 719 00:33:01,214 --> 00:33:03,016 - This dude pulled out a gun and put it to my head. 720 00:33:03,116 --> 00:33:04,984 - How many times you get shot? - Five. 721 00:33:05,051 --> 00:33:07,153 - It was about territory now. 722 00:33:07,253 --> 00:33:10,156 - It's about getting some money and getting out. 723 00:33:10,290 --> 00:33:13,360 It just happens to be, when you start making the money, 724 00:33:13,426 --> 00:33:14,828 you want more. 725 00:33:14,961 --> 00:33:15,995 And that's when the greed come in. 726 00:33:16,062 --> 00:33:18,865 Your being of wanting to turn whatever 727 00:33:18,932 --> 00:33:20,900 went bad into something good, 728 00:33:20,967 --> 00:33:22,535 and it just didn't end up that way. 729 00:33:22,602 --> 00:33:24,304 The dope game killed everything we loved. 730 00:33:24,404 --> 00:33:26,306 - * I know it's all like a prayer * 731 00:33:26,339 --> 00:33:27,974 * You barely surviving * 732 00:33:28,008 --> 00:33:30,010 * But your players conquer the game * 733 00:33:30,076 --> 00:33:32,045 * And never stop rising * 734 00:33:34,814 --> 00:33:36,683 - Good morning again. 735 00:33:36,750 --> 00:33:38,284 Thank you for coming out. 736 00:33:38,318 --> 00:33:40,487 Our purpose for being here today is very simple. 737 00:33:40,553 --> 00:33:42,789 We are here to, first of all, allow 738 00:33:42,822 --> 00:33:44,290 some young men and women 739 00:33:44,391 --> 00:33:47,794 from this community, who we sincerely feel 740 00:33:47,894 --> 00:33:51,031 has made a concerted effort for peace, 741 00:33:51,164 --> 00:33:53,867 that they are coming together, bonding together 742 00:33:53,933 --> 00:33:56,936 so that we can live peacefully in this community together. 743 00:33:57,003 --> 00:33:58,838 - Now, when the peace treaty came about, 744 00:33:58,872 --> 00:34:00,907 it was about us really realizing 745 00:34:00,974 --> 00:34:02,008 that we have a common enemy. 746 00:34:02,075 --> 00:34:04,411 Our common enemy is not each other. 747 00:34:04,477 --> 00:34:06,446 Our common enemy was the police. 748 00:34:06,479 --> 00:34:09,282 - But blue means Crips, and red means Bloods, 749 00:34:09,315 --> 00:34:11,317 two vintage gangs that have grown 750 00:34:11,351 --> 00:34:13,787 into enormous and loose criminal federations. 751 00:34:13,887 --> 00:34:16,690 - To me, the same formula is, 752 00:34:16,723 --> 00:34:18,158 we're dealing with gangs 753 00:34:18,191 --> 00:34:21,194 and just dealing with our culture, our people. 754 00:34:21,261 --> 00:34:24,664 You don't have to join a gang. You could be your own man. 755 00:34:24,764 --> 00:34:28,134 It's up to you where you stand 756 00:34:28,168 --> 00:34:30,503 and how you choose to move around 757 00:34:30,603 --> 00:34:32,038 - Be your own man. 758 00:34:32,072 --> 00:34:34,207 Don't let some gang or a group of people 759 00:34:34,274 --> 00:34:36,543 kind of mold you and shape you to who they want you to be 760 00:34:36,609 --> 00:34:38,378 because you're going to wake up one day 761 00:34:38,445 --> 00:34:40,480 and say, man, this is not who I really am. 762 00:34:40,547 --> 00:34:43,283 I've become what they wanted me to become. 763 00:34:43,383 --> 00:34:46,586 - But the thing is that there's so many blessings 764 00:34:46,619 --> 00:34:48,855 that, you know what, that we can have, 765 00:34:48,888 --> 00:34:50,490 but it's all about choices. 766 00:34:50,523 --> 00:34:52,359 - You want young men that's going to come out 767 00:34:52,492 --> 00:34:54,728 of this community that's going to come back and better it, 768 00:34:54,861 --> 00:34:56,463 not to keep destroying it. 769 00:34:56,563 --> 00:34:59,766 And I think we done let this self-hatred towards ourselves 770 00:34:59,866 --> 00:35:01,101 go too far, 771 00:35:01,167 --> 00:35:03,003 instead of holding each other accountable 772 00:35:03,103 --> 00:35:05,305 for the hatred we hold to one another. 773 00:35:05,372 --> 00:35:07,340 Because there's no reason why we should walk down the street 774 00:35:07,474 --> 00:35:11,177 and have to fear another man that look like me. 775 00:35:11,277 --> 00:35:14,314 - ...survive attacks, though, shot five times 776 00:35:14,381 --> 00:35:15,915 and paralyzed for life. 777 00:35:15,982 --> 00:35:18,118 - I joined a gang at a very young age, 778 00:35:18,184 --> 00:35:22,155 and I feel a sense of obligation 779 00:35:22,222 --> 00:35:24,357 and atonement, 780 00:35:24,424 --> 00:35:28,228 that it's my responsibility to teach others different 781 00:35:28,294 --> 00:35:30,330 in my community, that there's a better way. 782 00:35:30,397 --> 00:35:35,168 The violence, the prisoners-- it wasn't worth it. 783 00:35:35,235 --> 00:35:39,439 - Look at every nationality that has gangs in it. 784 00:35:39,572 --> 00:35:42,308 The Hell's Angels, and they're into the drug trade-- 785 00:35:42,442 --> 00:35:45,145 the heroin and the glass and the speed and all that. 786 00:35:45,211 --> 00:35:47,213 The Japanese have the Triads. 787 00:35:47,247 --> 00:35:48,682 They're into the real estate. 788 00:35:48,715 --> 00:35:51,718 The Hispanics--their gangs are into the drug trade. 789 00:35:51,818 --> 00:35:54,187 They're evolving. 790 00:35:54,254 --> 00:35:57,123 What have Black gangs evolved into? 791 00:35:57,157 --> 00:35:59,192 Nothing. 792 00:35:59,259 --> 00:36:02,062 Well, because we're not putting Black first. 793 00:36:02,162 --> 00:36:04,431 We're putting our bandannas first. 794 00:36:04,464 --> 00:36:07,467 - You see Republicans calling themselves red coats 795 00:36:07,534 --> 00:36:10,103 and the Democrats calling themselves blue coats. 796 00:36:10,203 --> 00:36:12,272 You see the Crips calling themselves blue 797 00:36:12,305 --> 00:36:15,108 and the Bloods calling themselves red. 798 00:36:15,141 --> 00:36:17,143 They get all that from America. 799 00:36:17,177 --> 00:36:20,613 America have a flag. The Crips have a flag. 800 00:36:20,647 --> 00:36:24,517 America have a Constitution. The Crips have a Constitution. 801 00:36:24,551 --> 00:36:27,220 They're just mimicking society. 802 00:36:27,287 --> 00:36:30,957 You cannot take the land from the Native American, 803 00:36:30,990 --> 00:36:35,128 impose slavery on Africans, 804 00:36:35,195 --> 00:36:38,264 exploit Asians and Latinos 805 00:36:38,298 --> 00:36:40,800 without violence, without guns, 806 00:36:40,900 --> 00:36:42,002 and without a culture. 807 00:36:42,135 --> 00:36:43,703 This is America's culture. 808 00:36:43,770 --> 00:36:45,438 - The treaty is still being pushed. 809 00:36:45,505 --> 00:36:47,340 They're trying to push it. 810 00:36:47,474 --> 00:36:50,944 They're trying--all the OGs are trying to push peace 811 00:36:50,977 --> 00:36:52,545 because we've seen 812 00:36:52,645 --> 00:36:56,349 what has happened as a result of the gang wars. 813 00:36:56,416 --> 00:36:58,718 - The streets could either make you or break you 814 00:36:58,785 --> 00:37:00,186 or swallow you alive. 815 00:37:00,286 --> 00:37:02,455 And you could either learn from it or get caught up 816 00:37:02,555 --> 00:37:03,857 and be corrupted by it. 817 00:37:03,957 --> 00:37:07,861 - All gang banging has to stop, even religious gang banging, 818 00:37:07,894 --> 00:37:10,363 even political gang banging. 819 00:37:10,430 --> 00:37:14,234 And when we realize that what we need is unity, 820 00:37:14,300 --> 00:37:17,037 not uniformity, meaning, Nation of Islam, 821 00:37:17,103 --> 00:37:18,605 bring what you do best. 822 00:37:18,672 --> 00:37:21,207 Christian Church, bring what you do best. 823 00:37:21,241 --> 00:37:24,110 Black Panthers, bring what you do best. 824 00:37:24,177 --> 00:37:27,881 NAACP, SCLC--but let's unite 825 00:37:27,914 --> 00:37:30,283 and fight together 826 00:37:30,350 --> 00:37:32,018 to uplift our community. 827 00:37:32,085 --> 00:37:36,222 And we need to stop begging white people to do for us 828 00:37:36,356 --> 00:37:40,226 what our unity can do for ourselves. 829 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:42,829 And this is what the youth is waiting for. 830 00:37:45,231 --> 00:37:48,034 - Don't try to scare me, Count Dracula. 831 00:37:48,068 --> 00:37:50,970 [suspenseful music] 832 00:37:51,004 --> 00:37:55,709 * * 833 00:37:55,742 --> 00:37:59,979 Here, the secrets of life and death by Dr. Frankenstein. 834 00:38:02,449 --> 00:38:06,953 Memorize them, operate yourself if you're in such a hurry. 835 00:38:06,986 --> 00:38:11,458 - I have other ways of securing your cooperation. 836 00:38:11,524 --> 00:38:14,794 - You're wasting your time. My will is as strong as yours. 837 00:38:14,861 --> 00:38:15,995 - Are you sure? 838 00:38:16,029 --> 00:38:19,399 * * 839 00:38:19,466 --> 00:38:21,534 Look into my eyes. 840 00:38:23,636 --> 00:38:24,871 Look. 841 00:38:24,904 --> 00:38:27,941 - Extensive research shows the power of manipulation 842 00:38:28,008 --> 00:38:29,442 in influencing people. 843 00:38:29,509 --> 00:38:32,379 Over the years, manipulation and propaganda 844 00:38:32,479 --> 00:38:36,149 have been used through media to control individuals. 845 00:38:36,282 --> 00:38:38,485 Media remains the favorite tool, 846 00:38:38,585 --> 00:38:40,553 shaping beliefs through reading 847 00:38:40,653 --> 00:38:41,921 and visual perception. 848 00:38:41,955 --> 00:38:45,291 [hip-hop music] 849 00:38:45,325 --> 00:38:50,363 * * 850 00:38:50,463 --> 00:38:54,134 - These games are so realistic in these days. 851 00:38:54,167 --> 00:38:56,036 It's more like a simulator. 852 00:38:56,102 --> 00:39:01,074 They training them to be killers with a simulator, 853 00:39:01,141 --> 00:39:02,642 I mean, through video game. 854 00:39:02,709 --> 00:39:06,046 I mean, dang, that's how real 855 00:39:06,112 --> 00:39:09,215 these video games can get. 856 00:39:09,282 --> 00:39:11,351 - Right now the video games 857 00:39:11,418 --> 00:39:13,586 have a real tough impact on our kids. 858 00:39:13,620 --> 00:39:16,656 One is because, in their memory bank, 859 00:39:16,723 --> 00:39:19,993 that's all they think about-- is that video game. 860 00:39:20,060 --> 00:39:22,028 Like I said, I have a grandson. 861 00:39:22,062 --> 00:39:24,497 That's all he do-- is play that video game. 862 00:39:24,564 --> 00:39:27,600 And, I mean, now, I perpetrated, too, 863 00:39:27,667 --> 00:39:31,504 because I bought him the video game. 864 00:39:31,638 --> 00:39:33,807 - There's a growing concern that violent movies 865 00:39:33,873 --> 00:39:37,243 and video games have contributed to the emergence 866 00:39:37,310 --> 00:39:39,446 of young male perpetrators of murder, 867 00:39:39,546 --> 00:39:42,349 both in the United States and other countries. 868 00:39:42,382 --> 00:39:44,784 - When children are watching video games 869 00:39:44,818 --> 00:39:48,021 or watching movies that contain a lot of violence 870 00:39:48,054 --> 00:39:51,324 or are listening to music 871 00:39:51,358 --> 00:39:54,127 that pertains a theme of violence, 872 00:39:54,227 --> 00:39:57,230 then they're more than likely 873 00:39:57,297 --> 00:39:59,866 to display some behavior related to it. 874 00:39:59,933 --> 00:40:02,902 It may not be the exact act, right? 875 00:40:02,969 --> 00:40:04,938 But it's the power of suggestion 876 00:40:05,038 --> 00:40:07,040 that comes into the mind. 877 00:40:07,107 --> 00:40:08,708 - The focus of debate 878 00:40:08,808 --> 00:40:10,377 surrounding violent entertainment 879 00:40:10,410 --> 00:40:12,746 with our politicians and other stakeholders 880 00:40:12,779 --> 00:40:15,815 primarily revolves around its production, 881 00:40:15,882 --> 00:40:18,218 disregarding its reception by the public. 882 00:40:18,251 --> 00:40:22,622 - I believe that the gaming industry 883 00:40:22,689 --> 00:40:27,193 has played a part in hardwiring our young people 884 00:40:27,227 --> 00:40:30,263 to want to be excited 885 00:40:30,397 --> 00:40:33,533 about engaging in using deadly force. 886 00:40:33,566 --> 00:40:37,437 A gamer believes that, I can press a button 887 00:40:37,470 --> 00:40:39,439 and start over. 888 00:40:39,472 --> 00:40:42,409 [dramatic music] 889 00:40:42,442 --> 00:40:44,377 * * 890 00:40:44,444 --> 00:40:47,213 [gunshots] 891 00:40:47,247 --> 00:40:50,150 [goofy cartoon music] 892 00:40:50,183 --> 00:40:52,619 * * 893 00:40:52,686 --> 00:40:55,221 - Consequently, the level of violence to which children 894 00:40:55,321 --> 00:40:57,290 are exposed to in their daily lives 895 00:40:57,357 --> 00:40:59,259 and the responsibility of toy makers 896 00:40:59,392 --> 00:41:02,462 in perpetuating this exposure 897 00:41:02,529 --> 00:41:05,932 have become a pressing issue in the industry. 898 00:41:05,999 --> 00:41:08,368 - You've just seen a demonstration 899 00:41:08,468 --> 00:41:10,603 of the most authentic Western toy cap guns in the world. 900 00:41:10,737 --> 00:41:14,174 You can tell they're Mattel. They're swell. 901 00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:16,176 [dramatic music] 902 00:41:16,276 --> 00:41:17,877 - When we were coming up, 903 00:41:17,944 --> 00:41:21,514 the only way that we were exposed 904 00:41:21,581 --> 00:41:23,016 to violent acts 905 00:41:23,049 --> 00:41:26,786 was basically going to movie theaters and TV. 906 00:41:26,820 --> 00:41:33,727 * * 907 00:41:36,129 --> 00:41:39,032 [indistinct chatter] 908 00:41:39,132 --> 00:41:42,068 [people screaming] 909 00:41:43,937 --> 00:41:47,974 But now violence is almost promoted 910 00:41:48,008 --> 00:41:50,543 on a daily basis. 911 00:41:50,643 --> 00:41:53,179 - I watched "Colors" when I was younger. 912 00:41:53,313 --> 00:41:54,514 I'm fascinated by that movie. 913 00:41:54,581 --> 00:41:56,850 I think I saw that when I was in Texas. 914 00:41:56,983 --> 00:42:02,655 * * 915 00:42:02,689 --> 00:42:05,091 I was like, I'll never be in California, you know? 916 00:42:05,125 --> 00:42:09,529 But it was fascinating to me to see these guys run around 917 00:42:09,662 --> 00:42:12,399 the streets and just do all this craziness 918 00:42:12,499 --> 00:42:14,668 and feel like they're on top of the world. 919 00:42:14,701 --> 00:42:18,538 And then, boom, you know, we went to California. 920 00:42:18,605 --> 00:42:20,206 [chuckles] And I started studying, you know? 921 00:42:20,273 --> 00:42:22,275 Not books, I started studying the streets. 922 00:42:22,342 --> 00:42:23,843 I knew where everything was. 923 00:42:23,910 --> 00:42:26,513 I knew who everything was and what street was what. 924 00:42:26,579 --> 00:42:29,015 And it just was like-- it consumed me. 925 00:42:29,149 --> 00:42:33,787 It was my profession to know about that. 926 00:42:33,887 --> 00:42:36,723 - It's a very thin line when you talk about entertainment. 927 00:42:36,790 --> 00:42:40,060 You have to ask yourself, what is exploitation? 928 00:42:40,126 --> 00:42:42,862 What is pushing the negative agenda? 929 00:42:42,896 --> 00:42:45,065 When you watch "Goodfellas" or something like that, 930 00:42:45,131 --> 00:42:48,468 it's a gangster movie, but is it just entertainment? 931 00:42:48,501 --> 00:42:51,471 Now, does that make people 932 00:42:51,538 --> 00:42:53,340 want to become those characters? 933 00:42:53,373 --> 00:42:55,275 That's up for debate. 934 00:42:55,308 --> 00:43:02,282 * * 935 00:43:18,031 --> 00:43:21,901 Psychologists have predominantly concentrated 936 00:43:22,035 --> 00:43:24,871 on studying the effects of violent entertainment, 937 00:43:24,938 --> 00:43:27,774 while neglecting to explore its root, 938 00:43:27,841 --> 00:43:30,844 that is, the landscape of the suppressed environments 939 00:43:30,877 --> 00:43:34,948 we call ghettos, projects, and the hood. 940 00:43:34,981 --> 00:43:36,616 - The media don't give a damn. 941 00:43:36,683 --> 00:43:38,385 They don't care because there's brothers 942 00:43:38,418 --> 00:43:39,819 going to school or something 943 00:43:39,919 --> 00:43:41,721 or there's brothers finna be a doctor later on in life. 944 00:43:41,788 --> 00:43:43,790 - Yeah. - They don't give a fuck. 945 00:43:43,857 --> 00:43:47,460 - If you look at something as simple as Spider-Man... 946 00:43:47,594 --> 00:43:49,329 Peter Parker, you know what I mean? 947 00:43:49,396 --> 00:43:52,098 He had to get the top story. You know what I mean? 948 00:43:52,132 --> 00:43:55,268 He had to be this exciting writer. 949 00:43:55,301 --> 00:43:56,736 You know what I mean? 950 00:43:56,803 --> 00:43:58,905 Their news station has to be better 951 00:43:58,972 --> 00:44:00,674 than the other news station. 952 00:44:00,774 --> 00:44:04,244 - And these inner-city things that's going down-- 953 00:44:04,344 --> 00:44:05,745 is the media supposed to care? 954 00:44:05,779 --> 00:44:07,514 The media ain't the ones going through it. 955 00:44:07,580 --> 00:44:09,749 Are they supposed to care what's going on 956 00:44:09,816 --> 00:44:11,284 when we not caring? 957 00:44:11,317 --> 00:44:13,286 - Really, nobody cares 958 00:44:13,353 --> 00:44:16,289 because it happens so...often. 959 00:44:16,322 --> 00:44:18,992 - I'm going to put it to you like this... 960 00:44:19,125 --> 00:44:21,461 * * 961 00:44:21,528 --> 00:44:25,231 What other genre of music does the government manipulate? 962 00:44:27,367 --> 00:44:29,235 I'm going to wait. 963 00:44:30,870 --> 00:44:33,039 Time up. [chuckles] None. 964 00:44:33,106 --> 00:44:35,041 So if no other-- 965 00:44:35,108 --> 00:44:38,044 if there's no other genre that the government manipulate, 966 00:44:38,144 --> 00:44:41,648 who's getting paid off this gun violence and these crimes? 967 00:44:41,781 --> 00:44:44,451 - It was reported by some top artists 968 00:44:44,517 --> 00:44:46,586 that they was pulled together 969 00:44:46,653 --> 00:44:48,822 at a special home in California. 970 00:44:48,855 --> 00:44:52,258 And they were surprised when they got to this home 971 00:44:52,359 --> 00:44:54,961 when they saw that the CIA, 972 00:44:55,061 --> 00:44:58,298 national security was involved 973 00:44:58,398 --> 00:44:59,933 in the music industry. 974 00:45:00,066 --> 00:45:03,169 - In today's world, the police have discovered 975 00:45:03,236 --> 00:45:07,640 a powerful weapon in the fight against crime--social media. 976 00:45:07,774 --> 00:45:09,976 It's become the information highway 977 00:45:10,076 --> 00:45:12,879 that leads straight to jail. 978 00:45:12,946 --> 00:45:15,382 - Why are you here, 979 00:45:15,448 --> 00:45:18,485 if not to solve a problem 980 00:45:18,518 --> 00:45:22,155 as existential as this? 981 00:45:22,255 --> 00:45:24,024 - Oh, my goodness. 982 00:45:24,090 --> 00:45:26,126 We have just gotten devastating news. 983 00:45:26,192 --> 00:45:28,862 - Investigators are now saying the accused gunman 984 00:45:28,928 --> 00:45:32,232 barricaded himself inside a classroom, 985 00:45:32,298 --> 00:45:33,967 killing 19 children 986 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:36,670 and 2 teachers inside that classroom. 987 00:45:36,703 --> 00:45:37,971 - No school shootings in England. 988 00:45:38,071 --> 00:45:41,041 This year there have been no school shootings in Japan. 989 00:45:41,074 --> 00:45:44,878 This year there have been 27 school shootings in America. 990 00:45:44,944 --> 00:45:47,013 - Nowhere else do little kids go to school 991 00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:48,848 thinking that they might be shot that day. 992 00:45:48,882 --> 00:45:51,918 - 17 people killed in a mass shooting 993 00:45:52,018 --> 00:45:53,687 at a Florida high school. 994 00:45:53,720 --> 00:45:55,088 We're learning more tonight 995 00:45:55,121 --> 00:45:57,724 about the 19-year-old suspect's weapons 996 00:45:57,791 --> 00:45:59,726 and about clues from his social media. 997 00:45:59,793 --> 00:46:02,262 - Gun violence is still evident 998 00:46:02,328 --> 00:46:04,264 mainly because of social media. 999 00:46:04,297 --> 00:46:09,035 I think that keeps it cool. That keeps it sexy. 1000 00:46:09,069 --> 00:46:12,405 There's no consequences when I'm on camera 1001 00:46:12,439 --> 00:46:15,442 or on my phone with a gun, 1002 00:46:15,508 --> 00:46:17,577 no consequences at all. 1003 00:46:17,644 --> 00:46:20,213 As soon as I hit stop on your phone 1004 00:46:20,246 --> 00:46:24,351 or the camera stops rolling, the consequences become real, 1005 00:46:24,451 --> 00:46:27,587 because now I have a gun on me, right? 1006 00:46:27,654 --> 00:46:30,890 And I'm thinking I can... 1007 00:46:30,957 --> 00:46:33,693 at any time, anywhere, any place, 1008 00:46:33,727 --> 00:46:35,428 and have anybody around me. 1009 00:46:35,462 --> 00:46:38,365 But as we know, that's not the reality of it. 1010 00:46:38,431 --> 00:46:40,700 The reality of it is, you pull that trigger one time, 1011 00:46:40,734 --> 00:46:42,235 your life is changing. 1012 00:46:42,302 --> 00:46:45,472 - Sometimes a potential threat is right there, 1013 00:46:45,605 --> 00:46:46,973 posted on someone's page. 1014 00:46:47,040 --> 00:46:48,875 It begs the question-- 1015 00:46:48,942 --> 00:46:51,678 where are the whistleblowers when you need them? 1016 00:46:51,745 --> 00:46:53,913 Where is the power of cancel culture 1017 00:46:54,014 --> 00:46:57,384 to swiftly remove a dangerous individual from society? 1018 00:46:57,484 --> 00:47:01,788 [upbeat jazzy music] 1019 00:47:01,821 --> 00:47:04,057 - When Alonzo was a kid, Alonzo grew up 1020 00:47:04,124 --> 00:47:07,327 on Curtis Mayfield and all that Black revolutionary music. 1021 00:47:07,394 --> 00:47:09,095 I wanted to be a Black Panther. 1022 00:47:09,129 --> 00:47:11,164 I saw Black Panthers walking down the street. 1023 00:47:11,264 --> 00:47:16,836 * 1024 00:47:16,903 --> 00:47:21,808 Music is the most powerful art form known to man. 1025 00:47:21,841 --> 00:47:23,777 - Howard should not be put to death 1026 00:47:23,910 --> 00:47:26,079 because of a mitigating circumstance. 1027 00:47:26,146 --> 00:47:29,082 But he had been incited to kill Trooper Bill Davidson 1028 00:47:29,182 --> 00:47:32,552 by listening to a particularly violent form of rap music. 1029 00:47:32,619 --> 00:47:35,021 - Because when you keep hearing something repetitively 1030 00:47:35,121 --> 00:47:37,791 in your head, you going to start catching on to that. 1031 00:47:37,824 --> 00:47:39,292 And I talk to my boys about this. 1032 00:47:39,325 --> 00:47:41,494 The music that you listen to, that's the type of lifestyle 1033 00:47:41,561 --> 00:47:43,229 that you either want to live, 1034 00:47:43,296 --> 00:47:44,931 or that's the lifestyle you have. 1035 00:47:45,031 --> 00:47:47,834 - Hip-hop has done more damage to Black and Brown people 1036 00:47:47,967 --> 00:47:52,806 than racism in the last ten years. 1037 00:47:52,839 --> 00:47:54,140 - Most rappers are artists. 1038 00:47:54,174 --> 00:47:57,277 So, therefore, they rap about what they see, 1039 00:47:57,344 --> 00:48:00,146 what they experience through their homeys. 1040 00:48:00,213 --> 00:48:01,848 So you put that out on wax, 1041 00:48:01,981 --> 00:48:04,184 that was your expression to do that. 1042 00:48:04,250 --> 00:48:07,053 So, basically, you were the voice for your community, 1043 00:48:07,120 --> 00:48:09,356 for your neighborhood, for your era. 1044 00:48:09,389 --> 00:48:12,325 [hip-hop music] 1045 00:48:12,359 --> 00:48:13,693 * * 1046 00:48:13,727 --> 00:48:17,163 - Back when we were growing up in the '70s and '80s, 1047 00:48:17,197 --> 00:48:20,667 we had a balance of music, you know what I mean? 1048 00:48:20,767 --> 00:48:23,003 You can listen to a "Sexual Healing," 1049 00:48:23,036 --> 00:48:25,005 and then you can listen to a Marvin Gaye. 1050 00:48:25,071 --> 00:48:26,339 "What's Going On." 1051 00:48:26,406 --> 00:48:27,574 You can listen to a Gil Scott-Heron. 1052 00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:31,911 * * 1053 00:48:31,978 --> 00:48:34,581 - We had Michael Jackson. [laughing] You know? 1054 00:48:34,647 --> 00:48:36,549 We had some old school-- 1055 00:48:36,583 --> 00:48:41,321 The Whispers and those type of folks that... 1056 00:48:41,354 --> 00:48:44,657 they played theirs in the way that they saw it. 1057 00:48:44,724 --> 00:48:48,661 But it wasn't to bring us down or to put a curse on us. 1058 00:48:48,728 --> 00:48:53,266 I think it was uplifting versus what it is today. 1059 00:48:53,400 --> 00:48:57,804 * * 1060 00:48:57,904 --> 00:49:00,740 - It's the music executives who are pushing 1061 00:49:00,774 --> 00:49:04,110 this poison throughout our community 1062 00:49:04,177 --> 00:49:06,513 and causing disruption and murder and violence 1063 00:49:06,613 --> 00:49:07,947 in our neighborhood. 1064 00:49:08,014 --> 00:49:09,949 - This year's record-tying homicide count 1065 00:49:10,016 --> 00:49:12,585 has left police with three explanations-- 1066 00:49:12,652 --> 00:49:13,953 gangs, guns, and drugs. 1067 00:49:14,020 --> 00:49:16,189 But a local woman thinks the root cause 1068 00:49:16,289 --> 00:49:19,192 could be something less often mentioned--hip-hop music. 1069 00:49:19,259 --> 00:49:21,261 - When you look at the entertainment 1070 00:49:21,361 --> 00:49:25,598 and you are rewarding bad behavior-- 1071 00:49:25,665 --> 00:49:28,101 My son is an artist. 1072 00:49:28,134 --> 00:49:31,304 And he said, "Pops, when I talk to the people at Sony, 1073 00:49:31,371 --> 00:49:34,607 they asking me, is there anybody I got a beef with?" 1074 00:49:34,641 --> 00:49:37,010 - I was getting a major-deal situation, 1075 00:49:37,077 --> 00:49:41,014 and I was watching the Bloods and Crips unite. 1076 00:49:41,081 --> 00:49:42,982 Mac wore the red rag. 1077 00:49:43,049 --> 00:49:45,285 Dub wore the blue rag onstage, right? 1078 00:49:45,352 --> 00:49:48,021 So this is showing that there is unity within this 1079 00:49:48,088 --> 00:49:50,123 because there is money being made, right? 1080 00:49:50,190 --> 00:49:54,828 But outside of that, it was still conflicts and things, 1081 00:49:54,894 --> 00:49:56,463 you know, spilling out in the streets. 1082 00:49:56,596 --> 00:50:03,703 * * 1083 00:50:04,971 --> 00:50:09,009 - "Nobody can stop this war but us." 1084 00:50:09,075 --> 00:50:11,478 - This music they have now is garbage. 1085 00:50:11,578 --> 00:50:16,116 And it's music that has, I think, created more bloodshed 1086 00:50:16,149 --> 00:50:19,185 and violence throughout Black America, 1087 00:50:19,285 --> 00:50:21,654 where we have these gangster rappers 1088 00:50:21,688 --> 00:50:23,790 glorifying gang violence. 1089 00:50:23,857 --> 00:50:26,192 - Kids that are in that life 1090 00:50:26,226 --> 00:50:28,728 are really, like, living their life. 1091 00:50:28,795 --> 00:50:30,096 It's their reality. 1092 00:50:30,196 --> 00:50:32,065 So, for them to rap about how they're really doing it 1093 00:50:32,132 --> 00:50:34,734 and whatever, you can't look at it as negative 1094 00:50:34,801 --> 00:50:36,970 because it's just reality. 1095 00:50:37,003 --> 00:50:38,838 - * So welcome to the ghetto 1096 00:50:38,872 --> 00:50:42,042 * Where you can straight get played out like a cello * 1097 00:50:42,108 --> 00:50:44,177 * The man got the projects boarded up * 1098 00:50:44,244 --> 00:50:46,946 * And the whites and the Blacks all sorted up * 1099 00:50:47,013 --> 00:50:49,916 Some gangster rap is influential 1100 00:50:49,983 --> 00:50:51,184 to listeners in certain ways. 1101 00:50:51,251 --> 00:50:53,820 It never influenced me to go out and do some shit 1102 00:50:53,887 --> 00:50:56,356 that I wouldn't naturally do. 1103 00:50:56,389 --> 00:50:58,958 It had nothing to do with rap music, none of that shit. 1104 00:50:59,059 --> 00:51:01,227 I was just on some other shit, you know what I'm saying? 1105 00:51:01,294 --> 00:51:04,464 By the time the rap music came out, 1106 00:51:04,531 --> 00:51:06,833 and then it was gangster rap, it was like, damn, 1107 00:51:06,933 --> 00:51:08,234 I heard Ice T with "6 'N the Mornin'." 1108 00:51:08,301 --> 00:51:11,071 It was like, "6 in the mornin', police at my door." 1109 00:51:11,204 --> 00:51:13,239 - * 6 in the mornin', police at my door * 1110 00:51:13,306 --> 00:51:15,442 * Fresh Adidas squeak across the bathroom floor * 1111 00:51:15,508 --> 00:51:17,811 * Out my back window I make my escape * 1112 00:51:17,877 --> 00:51:20,847 * Didn't even get a chance to grab my old-school tape * 1113 00:51:20,947 --> 00:51:22,716 - This is like the first time I started 1114 00:51:22,782 --> 00:51:24,517 thinking about being a rap artist, like, okay, 1115 00:51:24,551 --> 00:51:29,289 he just fucking rapped about what the fuck did last night. 1116 00:51:29,356 --> 00:51:32,792 Fuck that. Fuck that. Give me a pen and pad. 1117 00:51:32,859 --> 00:51:35,095 - When I started making records, 1118 00:51:35,161 --> 00:51:37,097 there was so many hood cats calling me, 1119 00:51:37,163 --> 00:51:39,032 like, yo, what's up with that music, Ice? 1120 00:51:39,099 --> 00:51:40,834 What's going on with that? 1121 00:51:40,867 --> 00:51:42,335 You getting paper? 1122 00:51:42,402 --> 00:51:44,070 - You mean I ain't got to sell no dope? 1123 00:51:44,137 --> 00:51:45,405 I ain't got to go shoot no niggas 1124 00:51:45,472 --> 00:51:47,741 and jack no motherfuckers and shit to get the money? 1125 00:51:47,807 --> 00:51:49,642 All I got to do is rap? 1126 00:51:49,743 --> 00:51:51,111 That's kind of cool deal. 1127 00:51:51,177 --> 00:51:53,513 - Players are always looking for new lanes. 1128 00:51:53,613 --> 00:51:55,248 So when they see one of their own 1129 00:51:55,281 --> 00:51:57,283 with a new lane, they're like, what's up with that? 1130 00:51:57,350 --> 00:51:59,786 I mean, why do you think there's so many drug dealers 1131 00:51:59,853 --> 00:52:01,221 in the rap game right now? 1132 00:52:01,287 --> 00:52:02,288 Because it's a lane. 1133 00:52:02,355 --> 00:52:03,890 They're like, yo, I could take this money 1134 00:52:03,923 --> 00:52:05,291 and do something legit. 1135 00:52:05,358 --> 00:52:09,562 Only a fool wants to keep taking penitentiary chances. 1136 00:52:09,629 --> 00:52:11,331 All you got to do is slip up once. 1137 00:52:11,398 --> 00:52:13,400 - I just did a song, and I said, hip-hop saved 1138 00:52:13,433 --> 00:52:15,602 more motherfuckers than the Super Friends and shit. 1139 00:52:15,669 --> 00:52:17,270 [laughs] And it did. 1140 00:52:17,303 --> 00:52:20,807 - * 6 in the mornin', we didn't wake up to ask * 1141 00:52:20,874 --> 00:52:27,747 * * 1142 00:52:27,781 --> 00:52:29,582 - What? 1143 00:52:29,616 --> 00:52:31,785 * * 1144 00:52:32,952 --> 00:52:35,855 [epic music] 1145 00:52:35,889 --> 00:52:38,892 * * 1146 00:52:38,992 --> 00:52:41,795 - Violence has been a form of entertainment, 1147 00:52:41,828 --> 00:52:43,196 even in ancient times. 1148 00:52:43,296 --> 00:52:46,466 The Romans, for instance, used to subject people 1149 00:52:46,533 --> 00:52:50,270 to the brutality of lions for public amusement. 1150 00:52:50,303 --> 00:52:53,540 Furthermore, the first recorded act of murder 1151 00:52:53,573 --> 00:52:56,710 occurred when one brother killed another 1152 00:52:56,810 --> 00:52:58,845 out of jealousy. 1153 00:52:58,945 --> 00:53:01,181 This begs the question-- 1154 00:53:01,247 --> 00:53:03,817 is violence inherent to human nature? 1155 00:53:03,883 --> 00:53:05,485 - [screaming] 1156 00:53:07,520 --> 00:53:11,458 - Now at 11, a Fourth of July celebration turns to tragedy. 1157 00:53:11,524 --> 00:53:15,295 [fireworks exploding, indistinct shouting] 1158 00:53:18,865 --> 00:53:22,102 - When I was 13, I seen my cousin get smoked 1159 00:53:22,168 --> 00:53:23,970 right in front of me. 1160 00:53:24,004 --> 00:53:25,438 It was Fourth of July. 1161 00:53:25,505 --> 00:53:27,941 Everybody out there playing football, popping fireworks, 1162 00:53:28,041 --> 00:53:29,509 and then we started hearing stuff. 1163 00:53:29,576 --> 00:53:31,244 And, basically, everybody thought it was fireworks. 1164 00:53:31,311 --> 00:53:33,079 We looked down the street, flames this long coming 1165 00:53:33,146 --> 00:53:35,315 out of barrels and everybody duck and hide. 1166 00:53:35,382 --> 00:53:37,350 And, sadly, my cousin ain't make it. 1167 00:53:37,384 --> 00:53:39,319 My cousin was out in the middle of the street. 1168 00:53:39,352 --> 00:53:42,222 All his kids seen him like that, everybody. 1169 00:53:42,322 --> 00:53:44,391 - Oh, I don't even know where to start. 1170 00:53:44,424 --> 00:53:46,926 Do I start at my ex-husband 1171 00:53:46,993 --> 00:53:48,361 murdering his current girlfriend 1172 00:53:48,428 --> 00:53:50,497 after trying to kill me and the kids? 1173 00:53:50,530 --> 00:53:53,967 Do I start at when I got shot when I was a child? 1174 00:53:54,067 --> 00:53:57,370 Do I start at the young man that died in my arms 1175 00:53:57,404 --> 00:53:59,973 and I prayed over him as he took his last breath? 1176 00:54:00,040 --> 00:54:02,308 Gun violence is prevalent. 1177 00:54:02,409 --> 00:54:06,746 It seeps into every aspect of our community. 1178 00:54:06,813 --> 00:54:08,348 Bullets have no color. 1179 00:54:08,448 --> 00:54:11,851 It doesn't matter if you're young or old, straight, gay, 1180 00:54:11,885 --> 00:54:14,254 short, or tall. 1181 00:54:14,320 --> 00:54:16,656 That bullet will find you. 1182 00:54:16,690 --> 00:54:19,759 - I saw my first dead body at nine years old. 1183 00:54:19,826 --> 00:54:22,829 On Saturday, when Moms got to go to work 1184 00:54:22,896 --> 00:54:24,397 and you got your brother. 1185 00:54:24,464 --> 00:54:26,666 I'm probably about 9, my brother about 12. 1186 00:54:26,733 --> 00:54:28,601 And you got to stay in the house. 1187 00:54:28,668 --> 00:54:31,204 So I decided to sneak out the house, go to the corner store. 1188 00:54:31,237 --> 00:54:33,573 And it was a man on the ground, 1189 00:54:33,640 --> 00:54:35,608 looked like he was trying to get something out the gutter. 1190 00:54:35,675 --> 00:54:37,644 So I just kept pushing, and he came back, he didn't move. 1191 00:54:37,777 --> 00:54:40,580 So a nine-years-old child kicked this man foot, 1192 00:54:40,613 --> 00:54:42,782 and it felt kind of weird. 1193 00:54:42,849 --> 00:54:44,284 And it was a dead body. 1194 00:54:44,351 --> 00:54:47,320 And I saw blood leaking. I saw bullet holes. 1195 00:54:47,420 --> 00:54:49,055 And I was the one that called the police 1196 00:54:49,089 --> 00:54:51,257 to report the incident. 1197 00:54:51,291 --> 00:54:53,426 And at the time, 911 wasn't even there. 1198 00:54:53,560 --> 00:54:56,096 I had to dial the entire number on the rotary phone. 1199 00:54:56,129 --> 00:54:59,265 - I lost my son's father in '76. 1200 00:54:59,399 --> 00:55:02,035 I was 5 1/2 months pregnant with my son. 1201 00:55:02,135 --> 00:55:04,404 I lost my son September of '99. 1202 00:55:04,437 --> 00:55:07,440 And then there's multiple other people 1203 00:55:07,507 --> 00:55:10,276 that we know that were close to the family 1204 00:55:10,310 --> 00:55:12,545 that have been killed by gun violence, 1205 00:55:12,612 --> 00:55:14,814 senseless gun violence. 1206 00:55:14,948 --> 00:55:17,617 [dramatic music] 1207 00:55:17,650 --> 00:55:20,820 * * 1208 00:55:20,887 --> 00:55:23,957 2009, my son... 1209 00:55:23,990 --> 00:55:27,327 had just turned 21 June 4th. 1210 00:55:27,394 --> 00:55:30,630 July 17th, he went to a party. 1211 00:55:30,697 --> 00:55:32,899 While they were letting the party out, 1212 00:55:32,932 --> 00:55:37,671 these two young men come down Don Felipe, identify my son. 1213 00:55:37,737 --> 00:55:39,305 They were wearing hoodies. 1214 00:55:39,339 --> 00:55:40,807 There was two girls sitting in the car. 1215 00:55:40,840 --> 00:55:43,376 They saw these guys hand off weapon, 1216 00:55:43,476 --> 00:55:46,346 one to the other, and fatally shot my son, 1217 00:55:46,413 --> 00:55:48,882 who succumbed to his injuries. 1218 00:55:48,948 --> 00:55:53,053 So my life was changed indelibly forever. 1219 00:55:53,119 --> 00:55:56,289 My birthday is May 4th. His birthday was June 4th. 1220 00:55:56,322 --> 00:55:59,325 When he was born, I held him first 1221 00:55:59,459 --> 00:56:01,528 as he came out his mother's womb. 1222 00:56:01,594 --> 00:56:06,066 So there was a covenant relationship between us. 1223 00:56:06,099 --> 00:56:13,473 * * 1224 00:56:21,548 --> 00:56:25,985 July 5th, there was a shootout, and there was a drive-by. 1225 00:56:26,052 --> 00:56:29,356 Tragically, my grandson was the one that got hit in the head. 1226 00:56:29,456 --> 00:56:33,293 His passing affected us really, really hard 1227 00:56:33,393 --> 00:56:36,830 because he was my first grandbaby. 1228 00:56:36,863 --> 00:56:38,998 * * 1229 00:56:39,065 --> 00:56:42,702 [voice breaking] If I was ever able to see my grandson again, 1230 00:56:42,736 --> 00:56:45,138 I think the first thing I would do is just hug him, 1231 00:56:45,205 --> 00:56:47,207 kiss him, 1232 00:56:47,307 --> 00:56:49,743 tell him that I miss him so much... 1233 00:56:49,843 --> 00:56:51,811 * 1234 00:56:51,845 --> 00:56:54,881 That I regret not being there the day he left. 1235 00:56:54,914 --> 00:56:56,716 [sighs shakily] 1236 00:56:56,750 --> 00:57:01,955 * * 1237 00:57:02,022 --> 00:57:04,457 - The first time I heard a woman howl-- 1238 00:57:04,524 --> 00:57:08,862 1972 murder. 1239 00:57:08,995 --> 00:57:10,330 Last name Green. 1240 00:57:10,430 --> 00:57:12,866 If you was there, you know the first name. 1241 00:57:12,932 --> 00:57:16,169 And I was there before the crime scenes were famous 1242 00:57:16,202 --> 00:57:17,937 as they are today. 1243 00:57:18,004 --> 00:57:20,340 I was 14 at that time. 1244 00:57:20,407 --> 00:57:23,410 And I've heard a howl nightly, weekly, 1245 00:57:23,476 --> 00:57:27,614 monthly for 40-some years since then. 1246 00:57:27,714 --> 00:57:29,716 And what happens is this. 1247 00:57:29,783 --> 00:57:32,218 You're always going to hear that mother, 1248 00:57:32,252 --> 00:57:34,054 hear that family howl, 1249 00:57:34,154 --> 00:57:36,089 and you'll never forget that. 1250 00:57:36,122 --> 00:57:38,525 That's the first thing you're going to hear. 1251 00:57:38,625 --> 00:57:42,629 - [howling] 1252 00:57:42,696 --> 00:57:46,433 - Please, all you young kids out here, young mens, 1253 00:57:46,566 --> 00:57:49,469 would y'all please put the guns down. 1254 00:57:49,569 --> 00:57:51,905 - Yes, put them down. - Put the guns down. 1255 00:57:52,005 --> 00:57:54,240 [indistinct chatter] 1256 00:57:54,274 --> 00:57:57,277 - Guns are an evolved tool 1257 00:57:57,410 --> 00:58:01,614 that allow people to do more proficiently 1258 00:58:01,648 --> 00:58:04,084 what we've been doing since the beginning of time. 1259 00:58:04,117 --> 00:58:06,119 I mean, since... 1260 00:58:06,152 --> 00:58:09,222 we're on biblical grounds... 1261 00:58:09,255 --> 00:58:10,757 Cain and Abel-- 1262 00:58:10,824 --> 00:58:15,128 the first murder we see biblically... 1263 00:58:15,161 --> 00:58:17,731 between brothers. 1264 00:58:17,831 --> 00:58:19,766 However you slice it, 1265 00:58:19,866 --> 00:58:24,671 this is not just an issue of... 1266 00:58:24,704 --> 00:58:27,173 the weapon of choice, 1267 00:58:27,240 --> 00:58:30,243 which is a firearm today. 1268 00:58:30,343 --> 00:58:32,479 It begins in the human heart. 1269 00:58:32,512 --> 00:58:37,784 * * 1270 00:58:37,851 --> 00:58:39,419 - I was on my way to work, 1271 00:58:39,486 --> 00:58:41,621 and I was driving up Wilmington. 1272 00:58:41,721 --> 00:58:46,326 And I had just crossed 124th, and I saw two fire trucks. 1273 00:58:46,393 --> 00:58:48,728 You know how the fire trucks being like at a catty corner 1274 00:58:48,862 --> 00:58:50,830 so you can't see what's on the other side? 1275 00:58:50,897 --> 00:58:54,834 And so I kept on driving, and I went on to practice. 1276 00:58:54,901 --> 00:58:57,570 And when I got to practice, my cell rung. 1277 00:58:57,637 --> 00:58:59,539 And I looked down at it, 1278 00:58:59,606 --> 00:59:03,176 and it was an emergency text... 1279 00:59:03,209 --> 00:59:06,312 saying that something had happened to Gabriel. 1280 00:59:06,346 --> 00:59:09,582 - That day, May 23, 2005, 1281 00:59:09,649 --> 00:59:12,552 I was going to a friend's house 1282 00:59:12,619 --> 00:59:14,788 for him to drop me off at the practice, 1283 00:59:14,821 --> 00:59:17,457 waiting for him to change his clothes. 1284 00:59:17,557 --> 00:59:22,028 And I was expecting a son that year as well. 1285 00:59:22,095 --> 00:59:26,199 On the phone, 3:30, broad daylight-- 1286 00:59:26,266 --> 00:59:28,301 last thing I was looking at was on the phone, 1287 00:59:28,368 --> 00:59:31,371 looking at my shoes and fiddling around in the dirt, 1288 00:59:31,404 --> 00:59:34,974 not knowing that I was shot in the temple of the head, 1289 00:59:35,008 --> 00:59:38,845 not knowing that I was down there for 45 minutes 1290 00:59:38,878 --> 00:59:42,849 while the paramedics were there and the police... 1291 00:59:42,882 --> 00:59:45,618 bleeding out from the head, not even knowing 1292 00:59:45,685 --> 00:59:47,220 and conscious. 1293 00:59:47,253 --> 00:59:51,024 So I went through four major brain operations. 1294 00:59:51,057 --> 00:59:55,428 They reconstructed my face from my forehead to my cheekbone. 1295 00:59:55,495 --> 00:59:57,464 My nose was broken. 1296 00:59:57,530 --> 00:59:59,733 I'm more comfortable about it. 1297 00:59:59,799 --> 01:00:02,635 This is the reflect of 2005 looked like. 1298 01:00:02,702 --> 01:00:06,272 A bullet went through here, came out my right side. 1299 01:00:06,406 --> 01:00:08,174 My eyes are sitting on my face. 1300 01:00:08,241 --> 01:00:09,576 I'm looking a mess. 1301 01:00:09,709 --> 01:00:11,611 So this is what it was looking like, 1302 01:00:11,678 --> 01:00:15,382 the aftermath of May 23, 2005, 1303 01:00:15,448 --> 01:00:19,419 and the doctor telling me that I've been in an accident. 1304 01:00:19,486 --> 01:00:21,521 I don't know what type of accident, 1305 01:00:21,621 --> 01:00:23,590 but told me that my vision wasn't there. 1306 01:00:23,656 --> 01:00:25,592 And I was all of 22 years of age. 1307 01:00:25,625 --> 01:00:30,397 * * 1308 01:00:30,497 --> 01:00:31,898 - When I was just five years old 1309 01:00:31,931 --> 01:00:33,933 and my brother Saeed was only two years old, 1310 01:00:33,967 --> 01:00:36,903 we lost our father due to a senseless act of gun violence 1311 01:00:36,970 --> 01:00:40,407 during a robbery at our family-owned cell phone store 1312 01:00:40,440 --> 01:00:43,710 in Van Nuys in 2013. 1313 01:00:43,810 --> 01:00:46,046 The day started out very normal for my father. 1314 01:00:46,079 --> 01:00:49,816 He was an ambitious and dedicated small-business owner 1315 01:00:49,849 --> 01:00:51,284 who was very successful. 1316 01:00:51,384 --> 01:00:54,854 And the day that my father was killed was anything but normal. 1317 01:00:54,921 --> 01:00:56,656 Although I was just five years old, 1318 01:00:56,723 --> 01:00:57,991 I knew from that day forward 1319 01:00:58,024 --> 01:00:59,726 that things would be completely different. 1320 01:00:59,826 --> 01:01:02,462 I just realized that me-- I need to take a stand, 1321 01:01:02,595 --> 01:01:04,531 because many people dismiss me. 1322 01:01:04,631 --> 01:01:06,766 And that's when I started social media, 1323 01:01:06,866 --> 01:01:10,737 and I realized, this is a very big issue worldwide. 1324 01:01:10,837 --> 01:01:14,507 - My daughter, her name was Ky Alicia Thomas. 1325 01:01:14,641 --> 01:01:17,911 She was killed December 1, 2020. 1326 01:01:18,011 --> 01:01:19,846 She was 28 years old. 1327 01:01:19,946 --> 01:01:23,450 She had just had a son. He was 3 1/2 weeks old. 1328 01:01:23,516 --> 01:01:26,519 Her daughter was 8 years old. 1329 01:01:26,619 --> 01:01:30,190 You know, as a mother... 1330 01:01:30,256 --> 01:01:32,058 you know, I was upset. 1331 01:01:32,125 --> 01:01:33,193 I was shocked. 1332 01:01:33,259 --> 01:01:35,328 But as we're getting ready to go, 1333 01:01:35,362 --> 01:01:37,464 that instinct told me 1334 01:01:37,564 --> 01:01:40,266 that my daughter wasn't going to make it. 1335 01:01:40,300 --> 01:01:47,507 * * 1336 01:01:47,540 --> 01:01:50,276 We made it to the hospital. 1337 01:01:50,343 --> 01:01:53,246 I never got to say goodbye to my daughter, 1338 01:01:53,346 --> 01:01:55,515 because when I got there, 1339 01:01:55,648 --> 01:01:58,518 they told me that I had to wait. 1340 01:01:58,651 --> 01:02:01,554 So I never got to say bye to her. 1341 01:02:01,688 --> 01:02:03,623 It's taken a toll on my family. 1342 01:02:03,723 --> 01:02:07,160 However, I'm pushing through it. 1343 01:02:07,227 --> 01:02:11,765 I found that my faith got me through, however. 1344 01:02:11,831 --> 01:02:14,534 Sometimes you don't want to hear that. 1345 01:02:14,668 --> 01:02:17,237 And so I know what worked for me 1346 01:02:17,303 --> 01:02:19,773 may not work for the next mother. 1347 01:02:19,839 --> 01:02:24,411 But if she has a good support system, 1348 01:02:24,544 --> 01:02:26,646 let your family love you. 1349 01:02:26,713 --> 01:02:30,250 And just don't allow the bitterness 1350 01:02:30,383 --> 01:02:31,885 to consume you. 1351 01:02:31,951 --> 01:02:36,423 You have to live for the rest of your family. 1352 01:02:36,489 --> 01:02:40,860 I had another child that I have to live for. 1353 01:02:40,894 --> 01:02:44,030 I have a granddaughter that I'm raising. 1354 01:02:44,064 --> 01:02:47,400 And I could be a blessing to other mothers 1355 01:02:47,434 --> 01:02:49,769 by them seeing my strength 1356 01:02:49,836 --> 01:02:53,773 and seeing the light in me. 1357 01:02:53,873 --> 01:02:57,777 Just because, you know, our children are gone, 1358 01:02:57,844 --> 01:03:00,814 we always have their memories. 1359 01:03:00,880 --> 01:03:05,118 You took my child, but you didn't take that from me. 1360 01:03:05,185 --> 01:03:06,786 And I know where she's at. 1361 01:03:06,853 --> 01:03:08,888 And that's why I have peace-- 1362 01:03:08,988 --> 01:03:11,758 is because she's at peace and I know where she's at. 1363 01:03:11,791 --> 01:03:13,827 - Facing the possibility of the death penalty, 1364 01:03:13,893 --> 01:03:17,097 Roy Harvison stands before a Franklin County judge, 1365 01:03:17,163 --> 01:03:20,667 pleading not guilty to murdering his estranged wife 1366 01:03:20,734 --> 01:03:22,302 and his former brother-in-law. 1367 01:03:22,435 --> 01:03:24,371 - I'm often asked, 1368 01:03:24,471 --> 01:03:27,574 what has been so difficult about this. 1369 01:03:27,640 --> 01:03:30,810 Death has not been difficult... 1370 01:03:30,877 --> 01:03:34,848 because I understand that we all live to die. 1371 01:03:36,716 --> 01:03:39,619 And that is just a part of life. 1372 01:03:41,321 --> 01:03:43,890 But for me... 1373 01:03:43,957 --> 01:03:47,093 what has been challenging is every day after... 1374 01:03:47,160 --> 01:03:50,663 my children were murdered... 1375 01:03:50,730 --> 01:03:55,468 the things that people have no idea... 1376 01:03:55,502 --> 01:03:59,105 that I've had to endure. 1377 01:03:59,205 --> 01:04:01,508 [sniffles] 1378 01:04:01,541 --> 01:04:05,679 And that I had to go home and have a conversation 1379 01:04:05,745 --> 01:04:07,881 with a five-year-old 1380 01:04:07,981 --> 01:04:11,051 to explain to him that his mother 1381 01:04:11,117 --> 01:04:14,454 was not coming home that night. 1382 01:04:14,487 --> 01:04:16,890 [sniffles] 1383 01:04:16,956 --> 01:04:20,493 And I believe the most damaging... 1384 01:04:20,560 --> 01:04:23,897 out of everything was when... 1385 01:04:23,997 --> 01:04:28,501 my granddaughter Royce started talking 1386 01:04:28,568 --> 01:04:30,337 and I became Mommy. 1387 01:04:30,370 --> 01:04:32,405 And every time she would say, "Mommy," 1388 01:04:32,439 --> 01:04:34,708 I would say, "yeah, yeah," and she would say, "Mommy." 1389 01:04:34,808 --> 01:04:36,876 And I would just cry. 1390 01:04:36,943 --> 01:04:39,579 That's when I realized I needed counseling. 1391 01:04:39,612 --> 01:04:46,419 * * 1392 01:04:46,486 --> 01:04:49,956 - A mother that has lost a child through gun violence-- 1393 01:04:50,023 --> 01:04:52,992 the pain is never going to fully go away. 1394 01:04:53,126 --> 01:04:57,997 But in being there, listening to their stories... 1395 01:04:59,566 --> 01:05:02,369 Presenting with an open heart and an open mind 1396 01:05:02,402 --> 01:05:04,004 for that parent, 1397 01:05:04,104 --> 01:05:08,174 not having the answers is okay... 1398 01:05:08,274 --> 01:05:11,077 but letting them know that their feelings 1399 01:05:11,111 --> 01:05:13,480 and their pain is valid. 1400 01:05:13,546 --> 01:05:15,982 - November 2000, 1401 01:05:16,049 --> 01:05:18,718 a few weeks before he was gonna turn 22, 1402 01:05:18,785 --> 01:05:20,920 he was gonna come over, 1403 01:05:20,987 --> 01:05:24,024 but my husband had a toothache, and he said, 1404 01:05:24,057 --> 01:05:25,959 "Let's have him come over tomorrow." 1405 01:05:26,026 --> 01:05:27,861 That was Friday morning. 1406 01:05:27,994 --> 01:05:31,231 And Friday morning we got a call that... 1407 01:05:31,331 --> 01:05:33,733 I just heard my husband say, "No, no, no." 1408 01:05:33,767 --> 01:05:35,568 And I was like, "What? What?" 1409 01:05:35,602 --> 01:05:36,970 He said, "That was Jenny. 1410 01:05:37,070 --> 01:05:39,773 She went to pick him up to go to work," 1411 01:05:39,839 --> 01:05:41,641 because his car was in the shop. 1412 01:05:41,708 --> 01:05:45,812 And the police were there, yellow tape everywhere. 1413 01:05:45,912 --> 01:05:49,549 And they said somebody there's been shot, 1414 01:05:49,649 --> 01:05:51,117 in the apartment's been shot. 1415 01:05:51,184 --> 01:05:54,254 And so she called us, freaked out. 1416 01:05:54,320 --> 01:05:57,290 And we're like... [groans] 1417 01:05:57,357 --> 01:05:58,992 We didn't know what to do. 1418 01:05:59,092 --> 01:06:01,728 So we just started driving over there. 1419 01:06:01,828 --> 01:06:03,863 And then we got another call from her 1420 01:06:03,963 --> 01:06:06,666 that said, "Go to the police station, 1421 01:06:06,733 --> 01:06:08,835 "go to Northeast police station. 1422 01:06:08,935 --> 01:06:11,938 Whoever was shot did not survive." 1423 01:06:11,971 --> 01:06:16,142 * * 1424 01:06:16,209 --> 01:06:19,145 I remember my body felt like it was out my mind. 1425 01:06:19,212 --> 01:06:21,881 My soul was outside of my body looking down, 1426 01:06:21,915 --> 01:06:23,683 because I realized... 1427 01:06:23,750 --> 01:06:26,152 [voice breaking] The pain that I was about to suffer 1428 01:06:26,186 --> 01:06:27,787 was unbearable pain. 1429 01:06:27,821 --> 01:06:31,624 It's really the worst pain a parent could ever suffer-- 1430 01:06:31,658 --> 01:06:32,959 is to lose a child. 1431 01:06:33,093 --> 01:06:34,661 I'm talking about a loving parent, 1432 01:06:34,728 --> 01:06:36,029 somebody that's your life. 1433 01:06:36,129 --> 01:06:37,597 That's your life. Your child is your life. 1434 01:06:37,664 --> 01:06:40,834 [sniffles] You nurture them. You want the best for them. 1435 01:06:40,900 --> 01:06:42,802 And they're gone, just like that. 1436 01:06:42,836 --> 01:06:45,205 And then you realize that somebody 1437 01:06:45,271 --> 01:06:49,509 did that and for nothing, for nothing, you know? 1438 01:06:49,576 --> 01:06:52,312 It's just-- it's too unbearable. 1439 01:06:52,345 --> 01:06:55,582 So that's why my body was-- my mind was outside of my body, 1440 01:06:55,615 --> 01:06:59,786 because that first shock, it was initial shock, you know? 1441 01:06:59,819 --> 01:07:03,023 And that shock, that shock, 1442 01:07:03,089 --> 01:07:06,326 it lasts a long time, and that's what trauma is. 1443 01:07:06,359 --> 01:07:10,230 * * 1444 01:07:10,296 --> 01:07:12,432 - Tonight we look at the first layer of victims, 1445 01:07:12,465 --> 01:07:15,435 the bystanders, the people caught in the crossfire. 1446 01:07:15,468 --> 01:07:17,904 A woman shot and killed near the LA Coliseum, 1447 01:07:17,971 --> 01:07:19,739 a case of misidentification. 1448 01:07:19,806 --> 01:07:22,142 A 13-year-old shot, his father and sister killed 1449 01:07:22,175 --> 01:07:24,277 because the boy wore the wrong color hat. 1450 01:07:24,344 --> 01:07:26,012 - Mental health means everything. 1451 01:07:26,046 --> 01:07:30,350 Anytime you witness so much loss of life, 1452 01:07:30,417 --> 01:07:33,086 a lot of people suffer trauma 1453 01:07:33,153 --> 01:07:36,122 based on what we've seen growing up, 1454 01:07:36,222 --> 01:07:39,092 based on what we're still, unfortunately, experiencing 1455 01:07:39,192 --> 01:07:42,328 throughout our nation with the rise in gun violence 1456 01:07:42,395 --> 01:07:45,098 and the amount of innocent people losing their lives. 1457 01:07:45,198 --> 01:07:47,701 - Gun violence has always been a tragic thing 1458 01:07:47,734 --> 01:07:49,369 in Black America. 1459 01:07:49,402 --> 01:07:53,440 Recently, mass shootings hit the US like a damn storm. 1460 01:07:53,506 --> 01:07:54,641 You know what? 1461 01:07:54,708 --> 01:07:56,843 That ain't just about the physical harm. 1462 01:07:56,910 --> 01:07:59,012 It's about the mental scars. 1463 01:07:59,112 --> 01:08:01,748 We're talking about a rise in trauma 1464 01:08:01,815 --> 01:08:03,283 and mental-health cases. 1465 01:08:03,350 --> 01:08:06,720 - When we look at it from a mental-health perspective, 1466 01:08:06,753 --> 01:08:11,424 we look at it as something that we anticipate 1467 01:08:11,458 --> 01:08:15,261 in terms of experiencing violence, 1468 01:08:15,328 --> 01:08:18,398 because there's really no just cause 1469 01:08:18,465 --> 01:08:21,935 for us to experience it at the level that we have. 1470 01:08:22,002 --> 01:08:25,238 - Mental health is, like, taboo in African American culture. 1471 01:08:25,271 --> 01:08:27,374 Like, it's just something you don't talk about. 1472 01:08:27,407 --> 01:08:29,743 It's something that your parents will deny, 1473 01:08:29,809 --> 01:08:31,444 but it's real. 1474 01:08:31,511 --> 01:08:33,980 - The truth of the matter is, is that Black folks are scared 1475 01:08:34,047 --> 01:08:35,415 of hospitals and mental-health systems 1476 01:08:35,482 --> 01:08:37,751 because they experimented on us, and they still do. 1477 01:08:37,784 --> 01:08:39,119 Nobody wants to be 51-50'd. 1478 01:08:39,185 --> 01:08:40,787 Nobody wants to say, you know, 1479 01:08:40,854 --> 01:08:43,590 I'm having an emotional, psychological break, 1480 01:08:43,690 --> 01:08:45,091 because you go there. 1481 01:08:45,125 --> 01:08:46,493 They don't offer counseling and therapy. 1482 01:08:46,526 --> 01:08:48,294 They don't try to lay you on the couch 1483 01:08:48,395 --> 01:08:49,696 and listen to your story. 1484 01:08:49,763 --> 01:08:51,398 What they going to do is pull out that bag with the pills 1485 01:08:51,431 --> 01:08:53,266 and like, which one you one of these are going to try? 1486 01:08:53,400 --> 01:08:55,568 - In the small town of Tuskegee, Alabama, 1487 01:08:55,669 --> 01:08:58,405 from 1932 to 1972, 1488 01:08:58,438 --> 01:09:01,708 the US Public Service conducted a medical experiment 1489 01:09:01,775 --> 01:09:04,944 that would become one of the most shameful episodes 1490 01:09:05,011 --> 01:09:06,479 in our nation's history. 1491 01:09:06,513 --> 01:09:09,449 This experiment was called the Tuskegee Study 1492 01:09:09,516 --> 01:09:13,420 of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male. 1493 01:09:13,453 --> 01:09:16,156 It began with the promise of free health care 1494 01:09:16,222 --> 01:09:18,658 and medical examinations. 1495 01:09:18,725 --> 01:09:20,193 Fast forward to today, 1496 01:09:20,260 --> 01:09:22,328 and the effects of this atrocity 1497 01:09:22,395 --> 01:09:25,765 still reverberate within the Black community, 1498 01:09:25,865 --> 01:09:27,133 which leads to the reluctance 1499 01:09:27,267 --> 01:09:29,369 to seek medical help when needed. 1500 01:09:29,436 --> 01:09:31,137 - When you think about generational trauma 1501 01:09:31,271 --> 01:09:33,673 and how it relates to gun violence 1502 01:09:33,740 --> 01:09:35,208 and police brutality, 1503 01:09:35,308 --> 01:09:38,178 you have to look at it from a historical perspective, 1504 01:09:38,278 --> 01:09:41,181 from even us coming over here from Africa 1505 01:09:41,314 --> 01:09:45,352 and the level of brutality that we experienced. 1506 01:09:45,485 --> 01:09:48,288 - One of the most enduring legacies of this injustice 1507 01:09:48,321 --> 01:09:51,091 is the toll it's taken on the mental health 1508 01:09:51,157 --> 01:09:52,592 of Black individuals. 1509 01:09:52,625 --> 01:09:54,627 - Why I understand what most of these young people 1510 01:09:54,694 --> 01:09:56,596 go through when they don't have a value of life, 1511 01:09:56,629 --> 01:09:59,199 because I went through a whole numbing period of, 1512 01:09:59,265 --> 01:10:02,836 I don't have a mother, and she was taken. 1513 01:10:02,902 --> 01:10:05,038 I don't have a value for life. 1514 01:10:05,171 --> 01:10:07,474 If I take another person's life, 1515 01:10:07,540 --> 01:10:09,709 you know, it is what it is at this point, 1516 01:10:09,743 --> 01:10:12,645 because I'm numb to everything, because I'm really numb 1517 01:10:12,712 --> 01:10:15,382 and don't know how to express that my mother is dead 1518 01:10:15,448 --> 01:10:17,217 and my whole world has changed. 1519 01:10:17,283 --> 01:10:20,086 - If I were to say all of it in one word, 1520 01:10:20,153 --> 01:10:22,856 it traumatizes the individual 1521 01:10:22,889 --> 01:10:25,859 and most definitely traumatizes the community 1522 01:10:25,925 --> 01:10:28,495 because the young person or the individuals 1523 01:10:28,528 --> 01:10:32,365 that happen to see or be a part of that scenario 1524 01:10:32,465 --> 01:10:34,267 is traumatized for life. 1525 01:10:34,334 --> 01:10:36,503 - When you say the mental health, you then-- 1526 01:10:36,569 --> 01:10:38,571 you know, once we know that we're traumatized, 1527 01:10:38,605 --> 01:10:40,807 there's a form of depression that comes with that. 1528 01:10:40,874 --> 01:10:44,210 There's a form of isolation that comes with that. 1529 01:10:44,244 --> 01:10:46,579 When you're hurt and you are in pain 1530 01:10:46,646 --> 01:10:50,517 and, you know, you believe that nobody really, 1531 01:10:50,583 --> 01:10:53,486 really understands the pain you go through, 1532 01:10:53,553 --> 01:10:56,256 which sometimes we don't, because it's all different. 1533 01:10:56,322 --> 01:10:58,425 - Because you're not mentally able to go make 1534 01:10:58,525 --> 01:11:01,294 those necessary steps-- you think you might be, 1535 01:11:01,361 --> 01:11:03,530 but it's not like somebody snatched your purse, 1536 01:11:03,563 --> 01:11:05,532 especially when somebody killed your child. 1537 01:11:05,565 --> 01:11:09,102 That's the whole-- your mind is not set for that. 1538 01:11:09,169 --> 01:11:10,437 Your mind is like a total circle. 1539 01:11:10,503 --> 01:11:12,906 But when someone kills your child, there's an open, 1540 01:11:12,939 --> 01:11:14,140 and it never closes. 1541 01:11:14,207 --> 01:11:16,976 It never-- No other child can replace it. 1542 01:11:17,077 --> 01:11:18,578 It don't go like that. 1543 01:11:18,611 --> 01:11:20,880 There's no medication they can give you to straighten it out. 1544 01:11:20,914 --> 01:11:23,983 That don't work. 1545 01:11:24,084 --> 01:11:26,820 - Oh, mental health... 1546 01:11:26,886 --> 01:11:30,223 Wow. Mm. 1547 01:11:30,290 --> 01:11:33,793 Mental health, you know... 1548 01:11:33,827 --> 01:11:38,631 took away my oldest child about a year ago. 1549 01:11:38,698 --> 01:11:41,634 She was a great person. 1550 01:11:41,701 --> 01:11:43,737 She was a great student. 1551 01:11:43,803 --> 01:11:47,874 She did all the things we call the American way. 1552 01:11:47,941 --> 01:11:50,577 She went to college. She graduated from college. 1553 01:11:50,610 --> 01:11:54,080 She got married. She had my first grandson. 1554 01:11:54,147 --> 01:11:57,784 And then all it took was... 1555 01:11:57,884 --> 01:11:59,953 one thing to go wrong, 1556 01:12:00,020 --> 01:12:02,489 and now she was 51-50'd. 1557 01:12:02,555 --> 01:12:05,425 I know that it was because of a lot of the trauma 1558 01:12:05,492 --> 01:12:09,562 that her dad, me, put her through 1559 01:12:09,596 --> 01:12:11,765 when she was just a little girl, 1560 01:12:11,831 --> 01:12:14,734 you know, because we all think that... 1561 01:12:14,768 --> 01:12:19,372 Sometime what we do to hold your family together 1562 01:12:19,472 --> 01:12:22,942 can still create trauma in that process. 1563 01:12:23,009 --> 01:12:27,681 And it might not affect them then, but as they get older, 1564 01:12:27,714 --> 01:12:29,449 it can affect them even worse. 1565 01:12:29,516 --> 01:12:33,553 I can remember the last time that we talked, 1566 01:12:33,653 --> 01:12:37,657 and she called me, and she said, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." 1567 01:12:37,757 --> 01:12:41,294 She said, "I love you, I love you, I love you." 1568 01:12:41,394 --> 01:12:44,764 And I said, "Baby, I love you, too," you know? 1569 01:12:44,798 --> 01:12:49,202 And it was because I took her son by to see her, 1570 01:12:49,336 --> 01:12:52,339 and he was really her medicine. 1571 01:12:52,372 --> 01:12:54,974 But, you know, in this world we live in, 1572 01:12:55,041 --> 01:12:57,477 they said you can't take a child around somebody 1573 01:12:57,544 --> 01:12:59,379 who is mentally ill. 1574 01:12:59,446 --> 01:13:02,182 Three days later, my baby was-- 1575 01:13:02,215 --> 01:13:06,319 she fell asleep and never woke up. 1576 01:13:06,386 --> 01:13:07,954 And so... 1577 01:13:07,987 --> 01:13:10,590 * * 1578 01:13:10,690 --> 01:13:12,192 That... 1579 01:13:12,225 --> 01:13:16,262 [stammering] Yeah, that was tough. 1580 01:13:16,296 --> 01:13:18,832 And so... 1581 01:13:18,865 --> 01:13:20,600 Mm. 1582 01:13:20,700 --> 01:13:27,440 * 1583 01:13:33,413 --> 01:13:35,248 - Studies show that children who are exposed 1584 01:13:35,382 --> 01:13:36,750 to gun violence at a young age, 1585 01:13:36,816 --> 01:13:37,984 there's many side effects, 1586 01:13:38,051 --> 01:13:39,853 short- and long-term negative side effects, 1587 01:13:39,953 --> 01:13:42,422 including anger, post-traumatic stress, 1588 01:13:42,489 --> 01:13:45,425 withdrawal, "desensitation" to violence. 1589 01:13:45,492 --> 01:13:47,560 And if you aren't familiar with "desensitation," 1590 01:13:47,627 --> 01:13:49,729 it basically means you're exposed 1591 01:13:49,796 --> 01:13:51,498 to higher levels of violence, 1592 01:13:51,564 --> 01:13:53,700 which leads to less internalized stress. 1593 01:13:53,733 --> 01:13:56,736 And usually people who have experienced that 1594 01:13:56,770 --> 01:13:59,973 prove to have higher levels of violence as they grow up. 1595 01:14:00,073 --> 01:14:01,408 And that just continues 1596 01:14:01,474 --> 01:14:03,710 the cycle of violence as we know it. 1597 01:14:03,743 --> 01:14:05,845 - When there's a shooting in the Black community, 1598 01:14:05,912 --> 01:14:09,649 especially with young people or with schools, 1599 01:14:09,816 --> 01:14:12,485 we don't see the mental-health professionals 1600 01:14:12,585 --> 01:14:14,554 coming and talking to the young people, 1601 01:14:14,587 --> 01:14:16,690 to the families, and to the community. 1602 01:14:16,790 --> 01:14:19,426 But if the shooting happens in the White community, 1603 01:14:19,459 --> 01:14:20,860 we'll see the mental-health professionals 1604 01:14:20,927 --> 01:14:23,797 going to the school, talking to the students, 1605 01:14:23,830 --> 01:14:26,633 making sure they have everything they need 1606 01:14:26,700 --> 01:14:29,669 to make sure that, psychologically, 1607 01:14:29,736 --> 01:14:33,807 it's not a permanent impact in the mental-health capacity. 1608 01:14:33,840 --> 01:14:37,010 - My help came from learning to believe in God, 1609 01:14:37,043 --> 01:14:39,679 just trying to change my whole psyche, my mindset. 1610 01:14:39,746 --> 01:14:42,182 I never got the tools-- 1611 01:14:42,248 --> 01:14:43,550 or helped me with the fact 1612 01:14:43,650 --> 01:14:45,785 of dealing with the friends and family members 1613 01:14:45,819 --> 01:14:47,554 that I lost in the streets. 1614 01:14:47,620 --> 01:14:50,623 Not one person have ever, ever came and told me, 1615 01:14:50,690 --> 01:14:52,625 how could we help you with that situation? 1616 01:14:52,726 --> 01:14:56,129 - I realized the effect that was having on the kids who 1617 01:14:56,196 --> 01:14:57,630 who lived in Watts, 1618 01:14:57,664 --> 01:15:00,734 because what I noticed when I would drive around is, 1619 01:15:00,767 --> 01:15:02,902 I would see all these memorials 1620 01:15:02,969 --> 01:15:05,472 where somebody had been killed, 1621 01:15:05,605 --> 01:15:08,675 with candles and flowers, maybe a picture. 1622 01:15:08,708 --> 01:15:11,745 And I thought to myself, 1623 01:15:11,778 --> 01:15:14,948 how can a child be walking to school, 1624 01:15:15,015 --> 01:15:17,584 walk past one of these memorials, 1625 01:15:17,617 --> 01:15:20,620 knowing that somebody died there 1626 01:15:20,720 --> 01:15:24,024 either last night or within the last couple of days, 1627 01:15:24,090 --> 01:15:27,827 and then go sit in their chair in school 1628 01:15:27,894 --> 01:15:30,230 and learn their times tables? 1629 01:15:30,296 --> 01:15:32,432 That's just not realistic. 1630 01:15:32,532 --> 01:15:36,436 - One thing that I am very serious 1631 01:15:36,503 --> 01:15:38,405 and intentional about 1632 01:15:38,471 --> 01:15:40,640 is making sure that parents 1633 01:15:40,774 --> 01:15:43,443 are treated for their mental-health issues, 1634 01:15:43,510 --> 01:15:44,844 and effectively, 1635 01:15:44,911 --> 01:15:48,114 because when they're treated, 1636 01:15:48,214 --> 01:15:50,517 then you're not just helping them. 1637 01:15:50,550 --> 01:15:52,886 You're helping generations to come. 1638 01:15:52,952 --> 01:15:57,691 People still don't accept that a life experience 1639 01:15:57,757 --> 01:16:01,294 can cause us to go off rails for a while, 1640 01:16:01,361 --> 01:16:05,365 or the death of a loved one causes someone to not function 1641 01:16:05,498 --> 01:16:07,767 the way they were before. 1642 01:16:07,867 --> 01:16:10,704 We've got to get to the point where the dialogue 1643 01:16:10,770 --> 01:16:13,673 is consistently open about mental illness. 1644 01:16:13,807 --> 01:16:18,978 - Mentally, there is this mental diagnosis 1645 01:16:19,079 --> 01:16:20,447 that they called-- 1646 01:16:20,547 --> 01:16:23,950 I think it's post-traumatic stress. 1647 01:16:23,983 --> 01:16:27,921 And when you see that, that kind of stress, 1648 01:16:27,954 --> 01:16:32,525 that kind of pain go into our community 1649 01:16:32,559 --> 01:16:35,128 and you see it for so long, 1650 01:16:35,195 --> 01:16:39,232 scientists say that once you suffer trauma 1651 01:16:39,299 --> 01:16:41,101 for more than 20 years, 1652 01:16:41,167 --> 01:16:43,837 it develops cells in your bodies. 1653 01:16:43,903 --> 01:16:46,373 So not only is that trauma 1654 01:16:46,439 --> 01:16:49,409 being experienced by us today, 1655 01:16:49,476 --> 01:16:51,811 but that trauma, through our DNA, 1656 01:16:51,845 --> 01:16:55,281 is passed down into our children. 1657 01:16:55,315 --> 01:16:59,052 So our children are born with this resolve, 1658 01:16:59,119 --> 01:17:02,555 are born with this pain already ingrained in them. 1659 01:17:02,589 --> 01:17:05,558 And this is what we have to stop 1660 01:17:05,592 --> 01:17:07,861 and why we have to stop it now. 1661 01:17:07,961 --> 01:17:09,496 - But they don't care. 1662 01:17:09,562 --> 01:17:12,232 All they see is a Black nigga that's dead 1663 01:17:12,332 --> 01:17:14,467 at the hands of another nigga. 1664 01:17:14,534 --> 01:17:16,936 But who's getting paid off of it? 1665 01:17:16,970 --> 01:17:20,607 The system, the 911 caller, 1666 01:17:20,674 --> 01:17:24,511 the police that responds, the coroner, 1667 01:17:24,577 --> 01:17:27,113 the jailer, 1668 01:17:27,147 --> 01:17:29,683 the judge. 1669 01:17:29,783 --> 01:17:32,185 So what does that make us in today's terms? 1670 01:17:32,285 --> 01:17:33,987 We are the bag. 1671 01:17:34,054 --> 01:17:36,923 Another nigga in a body bag is the bag that they're chasing, 1672 01:17:36,990 --> 01:17:39,125 because no matter what crime we commit, 1673 01:17:39,225 --> 01:17:40,427 they get paid off of it. 1674 01:17:40,460 --> 01:17:42,395 Gun violence, gang banging, 1675 01:17:42,429 --> 01:17:45,432 robbery, homicide, 1676 01:17:45,532 --> 01:17:48,368 we're the bag that they're chasing. 1677 01:17:50,303 --> 01:17:51,638 Next question. 1678 01:17:51,671 --> 01:17:58,845 * * 1679 01:18:01,614 --> 01:18:03,950 - Well, we need to have more resources 1680 01:18:04,050 --> 01:18:06,619 to help educate our babies. 1681 01:18:06,753 --> 01:18:08,788 I've always said, how do you educate 1682 01:18:08,855 --> 01:18:11,624 a child that lives in a war zone 1683 01:18:11,758 --> 01:18:13,893 and don't know that he's in a war zone? 1684 01:18:13,993 --> 01:18:16,663 And then you expect for him to get straight A's, 1685 01:18:16,730 --> 01:18:20,367 you expect for him to be an honor-roll student, 1686 01:18:20,433 --> 01:18:23,336 but he has to go home to an unsafe environment. 1687 01:18:23,370 --> 01:18:25,672 He has to be in a condition 1688 01:18:25,705 --> 01:18:29,676 where he may witness abuse, drugs, violence, 1689 01:18:29,809 --> 01:18:33,847 and still we want him to succeed. 1690 01:18:35,515 --> 01:18:38,385 What I've come to learn is that trauma 1691 01:18:38,451 --> 01:18:40,587 turns into mental illness. 1692 01:18:40,653 --> 01:18:43,256 And mental illness is what we see 1693 01:18:43,356 --> 01:18:45,025 all around the world now. 1694 01:18:45,058 --> 01:18:52,032 * * 1695 01:18:56,236 --> 01:19:00,674 - There's direct services that people need to receive 1696 01:19:00,774 --> 01:19:03,309 in terms of trauma support, you know, 1697 01:19:03,343 --> 01:19:07,614 and those services have to be, like, pointed and directed 1698 01:19:07,681 --> 01:19:09,282 towards certain populations, 1699 01:19:09,315 --> 01:19:11,418 you know, folks who are participating in the violence. 1700 01:19:11,518 --> 01:19:13,753 Then there's the business 1701 01:19:13,820 --> 01:19:16,389 of trauma services and support services. 1702 01:19:16,489 --> 01:19:19,526 So these two things have to be cultivated in communities 1703 01:19:19,592 --> 01:19:21,661 because I see this as a part 1704 01:19:21,728 --> 01:19:23,630 of the public-safety ecosystem. 1705 01:19:23,730 --> 01:19:25,432 And in this country, you say public safety 1706 01:19:25,565 --> 01:19:26,866 and people say, police, right? 1707 01:19:26,966 --> 01:19:30,370 You know, when police are only one aspect of the process. 1708 01:19:30,437 --> 01:19:33,340 The hospital, you got the police department, 1709 01:19:33,406 --> 01:19:35,975 you got the jail system, you got the courts, 1710 01:19:36,042 --> 01:19:40,980 all of these folks are making a gazillion dollars off of us. 1711 01:19:41,081 --> 01:19:43,516 We have yet to, like, really organize ourselves 1712 01:19:43,583 --> 01:19:47,354 in a way to build, like, institutions in the community, 1713 01:19:47,420 --> 01:19:50,123 to where we can accept and receive these type of dollars 1714 01:19:50,156 --> 01:19:52,492 and provide services to our own folks. 1715 01:19:52,525 --> 01:19:56,763 - My stepfather used to make us do chores every weekend, 1716 01:19:56,830 --> 01:19:58,898 and one of those tours was pulling up weeds. 1717 01:19:58,932 --> 01:20:00,533 He didn't give us tools or anything. 1718 01:20:00,633 --> 01:20:02,635 He gave us some gloves. That was our tools. 1719 01:20:02,702 --> 01:20:05,739 Two weeks later, we would have to do the same chore, 1720 01:20:05,772 --> 01:20:07,607 which is go back in the backyard 1721 01:20:07,674 --> 01:20:10,110 and pull these weeds up all over again. 1722 01:20:10,176 --> 01:20:11,511 After a while, I told the man, 1723 01:20:11,578 --> 01:20:13,580 listen, we're going to have to dig this thing up, 1724 01:20:13,646 --> 01:20:15,949 because if we're just picking the weeds at the surface 1725 01:20:16,049 --> 01:20:18,084 and don't deal with the root issue, 1726 01:20:18,151 --> 01:20:21,721 this problem is going to continue to persist. 1727 01:20:21,821 --> 01:20:26,292 Where there are issues of jealousy... 1728 01:20:26,359 --> 01:20:27,660 envy, 1729 01:20:27,794 --> 01:20:30,463 where there are issues of discord, 1730 01:20:30,530 --> 01:20:32,832 where there is pronounced lack, 1731 01:20:32,899 --> 01:20:36,102 where people are unsure of their standing 1732 01:20:36,136 --> 01:20:40,073 with God and with others, there's human conflict. 1733 01:20:40,106 --> 01:20:43,610 If we don't deal with these internal issues, 1734 01:20:43,677 --> 01:20:46,646 these spiritual issues, 1735 01:20:46,780 --> 01:20:51,484 this weed we call gun violence... 1736 01:20:51,551 --> 01:20:53,319 will never be fully dealt with. 1737 01:20:53,353 --> 01:20:56,156 [hip-hop music] 1738 01:20:56,189 --> 01:21:01,995 * * 1739 01:21:02,062 --> 01:21:05,098 - As a result, Black Men March on LA-- 1740 01:21:05,198 --> 01:21:06,933 we pulled together. 1741 01:21:06,966 --> 01:21:09,703 Within two months, we had a march 1742 01:21:09,769 --> 01:21:11,638 from Staples Center to City Hall. 1743 01:21:11,671 --> 01:21:13,239 And we had a rally. 1744 01:21:13,273 --> 01:21:16,776 At this rally, we had prominent leaders, 1745 01:21:16,843 --> 01:21:18,878 prominent politicians, 1746 01:21:18,945 --> 01:21:21,448 prominent religious leaders as well 1747 01:21:21,514 --> 01:21:24,451 to address police reform. 1748 01:21:24,484 --> 01:21:27,887 During this time, we were able to draft four initiatives, 1749 01:21:28,021 --> 01:21:30,423 and we placed them out in forms of a petition 1750 01:21:30,523 --> 01:21:32,258 to address police reform. 1751 01:21:32,292 --> 01:21:34,994 With these four initiatives, I'm not asking 1752 01:21:35,028 --> 01:21:37,330 anything punitive against the officers. 1753 01:21:37,364 --> 01:21:41,835 I'm asking something that's actually basic common sense. 1754 01:21:41,868 --> 01:21:43,703 I'm asking that they be treated 1755 01:21:43,770 --> 01:21:47,040 like the regular average citizen. 1756 01:21:47,073 --> 01:21:51,778 So, again, the first would be liability insurance. 1757 01:21:51,845 --> 01:21:56,716 Secondly, would be self-defense funding. 1758 01:21:56,750 --> 01:21:59,719 Third, restrictions on employment. 1759 01:21:59,753 --> 01:22:01,654 And fourth, firearm revocation. 1760 01:22:01,721 --> 01:22:04,190 So, with Black Men March on LA, 1761 01:22:04,224 --> 01:22:07,327 as the executive director of the organization, 1762 01:22:07,360 --> 01:22:10,163 these are the four initiatives that we have in place 1763 01:22:10,196 --> 01:22:13,333 at this time that we're pushing for. 1764 01:22:13,400 --> 01:22:19,539 * * 1765 01:22:19,606 --> 01:22:22,742 - Because now people act like it's normal to be murdered. 1766 01:22:22,876 --> 01:22:24,244 They act like it's normal 1767 01:22:24,344 --> 01:22:26,379 for you to be a victim of gun violence. 1768 01:22:26,446 --> 01:22:28,815 They act like it's part of the norm for everyone 1769 01:22:28,882 --> 01:22:30,183 to have someone in the family 1770 01:22:30,216 --> 01:22:32,585 being a victim of gun violence, and it's not. 1771 01:22:32,652 --> 01:22:34,187 We're bringing up a generation 1772 01:22:34,220 --> 01:22:36,222 that's looking at that and sees it. 1773 01:22:36,289 --> 01:22:38,725 And they're thinking that, hey, why should we do anything? 1774 01:22:38,792 --> 01:22:41,227 Why should we say anything? You all said it was okay. 1775 01:22:41,294 --> 01:22:43,396 You all are glorifying it. 1776 01:22:43,430 --> 01:22:47,267 You all are saying it's part of the norm in every fashion. 1777 01:22:47,334 --> 01:22:49,469 And I think we all got to think about that 1778 01:22:49,536 --> 01:22:50,770 when we talk about guns. 1779 01:22:50,804 --> 01:22:52,505 We got to look at it like we look at other things. 1780 01:22:52,539 --> 01:22:55,041 Just like we don't put alcohol in our kids' hands, 1781 01:22:55,108 --> 01:22:57,243 we don't put drinks in our kids' hands, 1782 01:22:57,310 --> 01:22:59,913 and we will be furious if someone else did it, 1783 01:22:59,979 --> 01:23:01,848 furious. 1784 01:23:01,915 --> 01:23:04,284 We need to think about that with guns, too. 1785 01:23:04,317 --> 01:23:10,924 * * 1786 01:23:11,024 --> 01:23:12,959 - Me and my crew, The Fathers in Hip-Hop, 1787 01:23:13,093 --> 01:23:15,261 we go out to these foster homes, 1788 01:23:15,328 --> 01:23:16,696 and we talk to these young men 1789 01:23:16,730 --> 01:23:19,833 and teach them the importance of getting themselves together 1790 01:23:19,966 --> 01:23:21,634 and putting themselves in a position 1791 01:23:21,701 --> 01:23:23,470 to be able to be good fathers, 1792 01:23:23,503 --> 01:23:25,405 because a lot of them themselves, 1793 01:23:25,472 --> 01:23:28,475 being in those type of homes don't have fathers, 1794 01:23:28,608 --> 01:23:30,977 and it caused them a great deal of pain. 1795 01:23:31,011 --> 01:23:33,747 And they take that pain, and they translate it 1796 01:23:33,813 --> 01:23:35,348 in these streets to violence. 1797 01:23:35,415 --> 01:23:39,052 So we want to catch these boys, we want to catch them as boys 1798 01:23:39,119 --> 01:23:41,287 and show them what manhood looks like. 1799 01:23:41,321 --> 01:23:43,490 I think if we want to solve some of these problems 1800 01:23:43,556 --> 01:23:45,258 that's going on in our neighborhood, 1801 01:23:45,291 --> 01:23:46,826 we got to reach out to the fathers. 1802 01:23:46,860 --> 01:23:49,295 We got to get the men in the community to come together. 1803 01:23:49,329 --> 01:23:51,264 And just as hard as we banged our neighborhoods, 1804 01:23:51,364 --> 01:23:54,300 if we could put that same passion, loyalty, and intensity 1805 01:23:54,401 --> 01:23:56,503 into fatherhood, I promise you, 1806 01:23:56,569 --> 01:23:58,605 we can see a better day in our hoods. 1807 01:23:58,638 --> 01:24:01,041 * * 1808 01:24:01,107 --> 01:24:04,411 - We need to support these intervention programs, 1809 01:24:04,477 --> 01:24:06,046 you know, stopping the violence. 1810 01:24:06,179 --> 01:24:08,048 If you start in your community, in your home, 1811 01:24:08,114 --> 01:24:10,717 encourage your mom--hey, Mom-- 1812 01:24:10,784 --> 01:24:12,085 There's many city council, 1813 01:24:12,152 --> 01:24:14,120 your own congresswomen or congressmen 1814 01:24:14,154 --> 01:24:16,289 have meetings on topics like this. 1815 01:24:16,389 --> 01:24:19,659 Either weekly, monthly, or throughout every other month, 1816 01:24:19,759 --> 01:24:20,860 they hold meetings like that. 1817 01:24:20,894 --> 01:24:22,796 And it is welcome to the public 1818 01:24:22,862 --> 01:24:24,831 for anyone who's interested, and you can get involved. 1819 01:24:24,931 --> 01:24:26,900 And you can learn all the backgrounds 1820 01:24:27,033 --> 01:24:28,702 about the amendments or these rules 1821 01:24:28,768 --> 01:24:29,936 or when it's time for voting. 1822 01:24:30,036 --> 01:24:32,138 You can learn more deep about them, 1823 01:24:32,205 --> 01:24:34,407 and that's how you can help in your community. 1824 01:24:34,507 --> 01:24:38,011 * 1825 01:24:38,111 --> 01:24:42,549 - So I actually started a softball league 1826 01:24:42,649 --> 01:24:46,086 amongst Crip sets because everybody thinking 1827 01:24:46,152 --> 01:24:48,822 that it's always a Blood and Crip war 1828 01:24:48,855 --> 01:24:50,190 that's going on. 1829 01:24:50,256 --> 01:24:52,459 Actually, there's internal wars that's going on 1830 01:24:52,525 --> 01:24:54,728 in our community between the Crips, 1831 01:24:54,861 --> 01:24:57,063 and same thing with the Bloods-- 1832 01:24:57,130 --> 01:24:59,132 they have internal wars going on. 1833 01:24:59,232 --> 01:25:02,369 But we feel that we can all get together 1834 01:25:02,435 --> 01:25:04,371 and try and unite with this ourselves 1835 01:25:04,471 --> 01:25:07,440 and be able to unite with the Bloods that's going on, 1836 01:25:07,540 --> 01:25:10,276 doing the same thing with our softball league. 1837 01:25:10,343 --> 01:25:13,046 We can be very successful knocking down the violence 1838 01:25:13,079 --> 01:25:15,415 and gun violence in our community. 1839 01:25:15,448 --> 01:25:22,288 * * 1840 01:25:27,260 --> 01:25:30,330 [dramatic music] 1841 01:25:30,430 --> 01:25:37,170 * 1842 01:25:40,306 --> 01:25:42,108 - What we need is, 1843 01:25:42,208 --> 01:25:45,945 we need not people like me, not politicians. 1844 01:25:45,979 --> 01:25:50,316 We need people with lived experience 1845 01:25:50,350 --> 01:25:53,953 who are older and wiser, 1846 01:25:54,020 --> 01:25:58,792 but also the young people who get it 1847 01:25:58,892 --> 01:26:03,463 to speak out and say, we have to stop killing each other 1848 01:26:03,563 --> 01:26:06,900 because that's what needs to happen. 1849 01:26:07,000 --> 01:26:08,968 It can't be the politicians. 1850 01:26:09,002 --> 01:26:11,438 It shouldn't be the politicians. 1851 01:26:11,538 --> 01:26:14,307 It can't only be sports people. 1852 01:26:14,407 --> 01:26:18,778 It has to be people in the community 1853 01:26:18,812 --> 01:26:20,447 who are respected, 1854 01:26:20,480 --> 01:26:24,451 who can say, we have to stop killing each other. 1855 01:26:24,517 --> 01:26:27,854 And it's okay to get help, 1856 01:26:27,954 --> 01:26:31,191 It's okay to be supported. 1857 01:26:31,257 --> 01:26:35,495 And that's, in my opinion, where we need to get. 1858 01:26:35,562 --> 01:26:39,399 And I feel if we can get there, 1859 01:26:39,466 --> 01:26:42,635 if we can get the right people to be talking to these kids, 1860 01:26:42,702 --> 01:26:45,505 if we can get these kids the support they need 1861 01:26:45,538 --> 01:26:47,173 while they're growing up, 1862 01:26:47,207 --> 01:26:49,509 then that's the only way we'll really see 1863 01:26:49,542 --> 01:26:51,544 a decrease in the violence. 1864 01:26:51,678 --> 01:26:54,514 * * 1865 01:26:54,547 --> 01:26:57,884 - In order to help solve the problems and the issues 1866 01:26:57,951 --> 01:27:00,320 that we have going on in our communities, 1867 01:27:00,353 --> 01:27:02,122 it's going to take all of us coming together 1868 01:27:02,155 --> 01:27:04,090 and working together as one. 1869 01:27:04,190 --> 01:27:06,559 We need the community activists. 1870 01:27:06,626 --> 01:27:10,330 We need the police department. We need government officials. 1871 01:27:10,363 --> 01:27:13,266 We need the whole entire village to come together 1872 01:27:13,366 --> 01:27:15,669 and start sharing the different knowledges 1873 01:27:15,702 --> 01:27:19,539 that we have in our community to bring this thing to a halt. 1874 01:27:19,572 --> 01:27:26,479 * * 1875 01:27:28,415 --> 01:27:30,283 - Well, I'm definitely not trying to improve 1876 01:27:30,383 --> 01:27:31,785 the way of life in the community. 1877 01:27:31,818 --> 01:27:34,020 I'm improving the way of life in the community. 1878 01:27:34,054 --> 01:27:35,722 I am saving lives every day. 1879 01:27:35,755 --> 01:27:38,058 Yesterday I saved hundreds of lives. 1880 01:27:38,124 --> 01:27:39,759 People robbing each other 1881 01:27:39,793 --> 01:27:41,428 and hollering out different neighborhoods-- 1882 01:27:41,494 --> 01:27:43,530 come to find out, it's not that neighborhood 1883 01:27:43,596 --> 01:27:45,532 and find out the person who robbed the person. 1884 01:27:45,598 --> 01:27:47,500 And, man, can we get this stuff back? 1885 01:27:47,534 --> 01:27:50,403 Also, I have a group of ambassadors 1886 01:27:50,437 --> 01:27:52,739 at Leimert Park, where we asked the community, 1887 01:27:52,806 --> 01:27:56,309 can you not call the police for the homeless situation? 1888 01:27:56,376 --> 01:27:58,745 Can you not call the police for mental health? 1889 01:27:58,845 --> 01:28:00,246 I have five ambassadors 1890 01:28:00,380 --> 01:28:02,215 that walk the Leimert area every day. 1891 01:28:02,349 --> 01:28:04,351 They're out there now passing out food. 1892 01:28:04,451 --> 01:28:07,287 Can you call 2nd Call, as opposed to calling the police. 1893 01:28:07,354 --> 01:28:09,456 Let us deal with the situations first. 1894 01:28:09,589 --> 01:28:12,158 What are some of the things that we can handle ourselves 1895 01:28:12,258 --> 01:28:14,194 without getting law enforcement involved? 1896 01:28:14,260 --> 01:28:16,062 And that's what we do as 2nd Call. 1897 01:28:16,096 --> 01:28:17,864 We do those things. 1898 01:28:19,499 --> 01:28:22,569 - I would say that the number-one thing 1899 01:28:22,602 --> 01:28:25,538 that I think that we can do in terms of helping people 1900 01:28:25,572 --> 01:28:29,275 put the guns down is to address the emotional 1901 01:28:29,409 --> 01:28:32,345 and physical and psychological abuse, 1902 01:28:32,412 --> 01:28:34,614 especially for Black men, you know? 1903 01:28:34,647 --> 01:28:36,583 And I ain't trying to create the trauma Olympics and stuff, 1904 01:28:36,616 --> 01:28:39,152 with Black women and other people who have been harmed. 1905 01:28:39,285 --> 01:28:42,689 But this is a study that says that... 1906 01:28:42,756 --> 01:28:44,891 that Black men are the least helped, the most harmed. 1907 01:28:44,958 --> 01:28:48,995 And it's time for us to engage our healing journey. 1908 01:28:49,062 --> 01:28:50,397 I know that it's possible, 1909 01:28:50,463 --> 01:28:52,632 you know, because I see it happen all the time. 1910 01:28:52,732 --> 01:28:55,502 And I'm like, there's a level of vulnerability 1911 01:28:55,568 --> 01:28:59,572 that we as Black men have to bring to this work 1912 01:28:59,673 --> 01:29:01,608 if we're going to be 1913 01:29:01,641 --> 01:29:06,479 the real, like, champions for this whole nother-- 1914 01:29:06,513 --> 01:29:09,549 you know, this next phase of healing and transformation. 1915 01:29:09,649 --> 01:29:16,589 * 1916 01:29:21,761 --> 01:29:28,601 * 1917 01:29:33,173 --> 01:29:40,080 * 1918 01:29:44,651 --> 01:29:51,558 * 1919 01:29:57,330 --> 01:30:04,104 * 1920 01:30:09,943 --> 01:30:16,816 * 1921 01:30:20,820 --> 01:30:27,460 *