Organizational neglect
The film interviews former gang members who describe being turned away from
youth organizations such as the
Boy Scouts of America and
Explorer Scouts of America.
The interviewees discuss how young African-American men are neglected from predominantly white organizations, and that black youth across South Central often have no place for developing a sense of identity. The interview subjects discuss how this gave gang culture a special appeal, especially among youth who lacked a sense of belonging.
The documentary also notes how gang culture rose from competition between neighborhood cliques, namely groups like the Slausons, Dell Vikings, and the Gladiators.
[15] In addition to providing a sense of community for local youth, these groups also fought back against white gangs who routinely caused problems in black neighborhoods.
[16] These first organizations offered a newfound unity and sense of safety for young black men that was otherwise out of reach.
Los Angeles Police Department
Due to the perceived criminality of African-American men, the
Los Angeles Police Department under the direction of Chief Officer
William Parker, regulated the Los Angeles area. Parker believed in a hardline approach to gang violence and resisted using social work to quell the violence. One of the ways he enforced this was through locking down African-American neighborhoods.
[17]According to Kumasi, a former Slauson gang member, "You had to be at the right neighborhood at the right time. You couldn't go east of
Alameda, for example."
East of Alameda was a predominantly white neighborhood, where African Americans were not welcomed during the high of the
Civil Rights Movement. Kumasi further discusses the invisible barriers that were established. If one was found walking through the “wrong neighborhood” they were questioned. This, in essence, limited the freedom to walk wherever one pleased.
Kumasi later described the experience of an African-American man of Los Angeles as a "walking
time bomb". They were experiencing so much hatred from the police that sooner or later they would erupt. "The only question was upon whom," he said.
Watts riots
The documentary then demonstrates how these African-American experiences set the stage for the
Watts riots. African Americans were being killed for small crimes. After a police encounter lead to the arrest of an intoxicated man, his brother, mother, and other African Americans took to the streets against the Los Angeles Police Department to protest the
racial injustices against them. Chief Officer William Parker fueled the already racialized tension by calling African Americans "monkeys in a zoo".
[18] News papers around the country were covering the riots and the documentary discusses the way it was portrayed by the media.
Institutional changes occurred afterwards. The documentary discusses the changes made by the
Black Panther Organization and the backlash they received.
FBI investigations claimed that the "Black panthers were the biggest threat to internal stability of USA". Black Panther leaders were murdered and arrested.
[19] After those leaders disappeared, the new generation started: the Crips and Bloods (see background, membership, and history below).
California economy
California was different from other parts of the South. There were no prior
bus laws or
segregation in public schools. However, there were covenants against black housing and neighborhood segregation. Even after it was outlawed, neighborhoods remained the same.
Industrialization came to Los Angeles in the late 1950s in response to the booming industrialization of the country. The American economy was changing to an economy with either high end or low end jobs. African Americans found themselves displaced in the job market. They did not have the prior skills, knowledge, or education to perform the high wage technological jobs due to the historical
discrimination and lack of opportunities.
They also did not feel like they, as US citizens, should have to perform the low labor jobs either. African Americans felt that they were above the
immigrant low level jobs. This resulted in total displacement form the
labor market. Eventually, by the latter half of the 1960s, jobs and factories disappeared from the Los Angeles region. The consequences were enormous: businesses were empty with nowhere to turn. It simply became harder and harder to survive.
Drug trade
After the introduction of crack cocaine, even African-American families were torn apart; family institutions also became dysfunctional. There were no male role models in the family. Seventy percent of black children were born to single mothers. Twenty eight percent of all black men would be incarcerated in their lifetime. The disproportionate number of black men in prison made the possibility of a male figure in an African-American family even less likely.
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