America's Longest Running Civil War

Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines a civil war as a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country.  From the American Civil War from 1861-1865, to modern day civil wars in the Congo, Kosovo, Chechenia, and Sierra Leone, millions of people die as a result of these conflicts.  When a country cannot solve their issues, other nations step in with military and humanitarian aid.  In 2009, the United States appropriated over 20 million dollars in foreign aid to Sierra Leone alone.  In 2011, it is estimated that this number will grow to 30 million dollars.  3% of the yearly aid is allocated to "peace and security." 

Now let's change the focus to Los Angeles, California.  Although there are many stories and theories about the origins of LA's most infamous gangs, it is widely accepted that the Crips started around 1969 and the Bloods started around 1972.  In 1979, the Los Angeles Police Department created an elite unit to combat gang activity.  This unit was called "Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums" or CRASH.  This unit was disbanded in 2000 amid reports of controversy and police brutality. 

In 1988, the film "Colors" was released.  I lived in Inglewood, California at the time.  Gang violence was rising exponentially in the area.  I remember a day shortly after the film was released.  My mother, sister, and I were at a local mall.  On our way back to the car, there was a shoot out outside the theater when the movie let out.  As this was happening more and more frequently, several theaters stopped showing the movie.  A few years later, gangs were forming truces all across the country.  Police departments started cutting back their gang units.  As the war on drugs escalated, gangs were no longer given as much attention.  The attacks on September 11, 2001 further pushed gangs out of the spotlight as the war on terror began. 

However, one statistics stands out more than any other.  Between 1999 and 2009, 5,750 people have been killed by gang violence in Los Angeles County.  That's over 500 people per year in 4000 square mile area.  There are no concrete statistics on the number of people killed every year due to gang violence in the United States.  However, one can easily estimate that over 1 million people have been killed across this country as a result of gang violence since the bloods and crips emerged in the late 60's, early 70's.  While the US is spending billions of dollars on foreign aid and foreign wars, people across this country are killing themselves in what can be looked at as America's longest running civil war.  These are kids, often as young as 12 years old, killing each other over colors and neighborhoods.  A sad fact is that many of them have no idea why their gang started, nor what the colors, names, and symbols stand for.  They just see their peers doing it, so they decide to do it. 

Baron Davis (professional basketball player) and Stacy Peralta (former professional skateboarder and surfer) came from different walks of life.  Stacy Peralta graduated high school 4 years before Baron Davis was born.  Stacy Peralta was innovative in making skateboarding the craze that it is today.  Matter of fact, my first skateboard was a Powell-Peralta Tony Hawk board.  Baron Davis, at the age of 14, became involved in gang activity.  Although years apart, sports allowed both men to become professionals in their field.  In 2008, they worked together on an amazing documentary, Crips and Bloods: Made in America.  Baron Davis was the executive producer and Stacy Peralta was the writer and director.  While the movie does a good job of depicting how these gangs started, it paints a very clear picture of 2 things:

1 - gang violence continues to be an epidemic
2 - there is a lack of resources aimed at preventing or intervening in gang activity.

As one crip gang member says on the movie, "It's like you're waiting for someone to come save you man but you never get saved."

So as you reflect on statistics and dollar signs, I leave you with this quote from Stacy Peralta's director statement
   "With that in mind then, why is it that young African-Americans  have been involved in this spiral
    of death for over four decades with no viable solution in sight?"

Crips and Bloods: Made in America can be found on Netflix and several other legal sources for viewing.  Please take the time to watch this powerful documentary.