On Jan. 31, a Gang and Violence forum was held in Greensboro at the Hive with a showing of the HBO film “Bastards of the Party.”
The film was a documentary on gangs in Athens Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The film centered around one ex-member Blood member Cle “Bone” Sloan.
Sloan was only four years old when his father died and 12 when he became a member of the Bloods. Throughout the film he reflects on his life as an active member and how the condition of black gangs in his city needs a change.
The film showed the mentality of gang members and the issues that go along with living a gangster life-style. To Sloan, the whole idea of being in a gang is stupid when turned violent. He tries to explain the reasons why young black men get caught up into gangs is the idea of having culture, brotherhood, and a purpose which can derive from being in a gang.
Most of the men in the film came from fatherless homes and lived short lives over colors, economics, and territory. The audience was receptive to the film and was touched by the struggle and pain in the life of a gang member. The thought of having gangs, like the ones shown in the film, reign in Greensboro shook up some the audience members.
After the film, a discussion held by the Leadership & Empowerment Institute with Director Pat Callair, the Find 4 Democratic Communities & Glenwood and a local activist group called the Greensboro Hive. The organization is for a diverse group of people from across Greensboro who came together in 2006 to organize a place where different communities could come together. Gangs have always been an issue across America, but the citizens of Greensboro are surprised that gangs have hit their town and are growing in numbers.
“I live in the Glenwood neighborhood, and they believe that we should push the bad people (gangs) out and lock them up and that is not the solution,” Isabell Moore said, an activist from the Fund 4 Democratic Communities & Glenwood.
Moore started the forum on Gangs and Violence the Greensboro Hive due to her lack of knowledge on gangs, and their purposes.
“I remember going to one gang forum and asking ‘Do we have gangs in Greensboro?'” Moore said. Her lack of knowledge drove her to find out more about gangs in the community.
During the discussion, one of the hosts asked four different groups how the HBO film relates to them. The question was asked to black women, white women, white men and black men.
The black women felt hurt that they birthed these destructive men that fail to do anything positive for the community while many of the white women were upset that they were not shown in the film.
One woman noted that gangs affect all humanity and that the film should have displayed different ethnic backgrounds. Others felt ignorant to the film and had no idea how gangs came about and the severity of them.
The majority of white men believed that the film got its point across and thought it was very insightful. Some agreed that being born privileged versus being born into poverty makes a huge difference.
Economics plays a role in the mentality of gangs, most of the white men were not surprised that gangs are formed in the poorer communities.
Ted Nashland, a citizen of Greensboro, was frustrated with the subject of black involvement with gangs and said that there are bigger problems going on with the world, and gangs is just one sector.
“I want to get down to the heart of the matter, I want it to be a spiritual revolution,” Nashland said.
To Nashland, issues such as, global warming, the governments’ involvement with Iraq, and issues such as Darfur, makes gangs just another issue from the long list of problems that are occurring in the world that are due to lack of “spirituality.” When the question came around to the black men, automatically the film had a direct relationship towards the group. Some feel like the problem will never be solved because America makes a dollar off of each person they put in jail with inmates doing labor for only 30 cents.
A 15-year-old student from Dudley High School, who would not state his name, explained that people, including teachers, do not understand what an everyday child born into poverty has to go through. He explained that he has to take care of his family, and helps provide for them. His pet peeve is being yelled at by teachers when he shows up late to school. He said the last thing that he wants to hear is someone scolding him for something as minute as being late, considering all the things he deals with prior to going to school. When higher authorities stress out the youth, the children will overt to other groups that can relate to the struggles that they go through, such as gangs. According to American Heritage Dictionary, the word gang means, a group of criminals or hoodlums who band together for mutual protection and profit. The HBO film opened with the history of gangs showing the Black Panther Party of the late 60s and 70s. They too could fall under the lines of that definition, but they protected the community due to the repression from the police.
Unfortunately, problems were not solved during the two-hour discussion of gang violence in the community; however, helpful suggestions were made such as, getting the community to sacrifice more of their time to help out with the youth, having more activities for kids and the idea that raising the minimum wage should help prevent the economic struggle that drives people towards gangs.