REDEMPTION

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REDEMPTION

• The story of Stanley Tookie Williams
• Self-proclaimed Founder of the Crips
• Convicted of 4 Murders
• Blue Rage, Black Redemption
• Childrens Author
• 2-Time Nobel Prize Nominee
• Anti-Gang Advocate?

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Redemption

• Los Angeles, CA late 1960s early 1970s
• Racial violence is raging
• Peaceful protest turns to violent resistance with
  the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
• Riots in multiple cities
• Unemployment rate and dropout rate are
  skyrocketing
• Severe inequalities in wealth, education,
  government assistance, police protection

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Redemption

• LAPD historically white dominated
• History of police brutality
• Minorities feel they cant turn to the Police for
  help so they look elsewhere
• When the norm of society does not serve the needs
  of the people an alternative means must be
  implemented

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Redemption

• Urban communities of LA County (South Central,
  Watts, Compton) suffer extremely high rates of
• poverty, illiteracy, illegitimate births
• Development of a violent street culture
• Survival of the fittest
• Combination of opportunity / strain theory
• Youth with little direction/opportunity find ways
  to entertain/provide for themselves

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Redemption

• East side Crips founded in 1969 by Raymond
  Truck Washington
• Piru Street Boys
• West side Crips founded in 1971 by Stanley
  Tookie Williams
• Avalon Garden Boys
• We merged as a means of keeping the streets
  safe, reducing violence and police brutality
  Tookie

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Redemption

• Majority had been thrown out of multiple schools
  and spent time in detention centers
• 14-17 years old
• Neighborhood civic organization???
• Aligned themselves to fight other neighborhood
  gangs
• Pride, belonging, self-worth
• We were the baddest of the bad! Tookie
• Khaki pants, t-shirts, suspenders, wide brim hats
• Blue bandana was a tribute to Buddha
• Canes were carried to display pimp status
  Tookie
• People called them Cripples

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The Name

• Its not an acronym for anything
• Has nothing to do with the word Crib
• Raymonds brother had severely bowed legs causing
  problems with his ankles
• Kids wrote crip (short for cripple) on his
  shoes
• Others took to walking with a cane and
  exaggerating a limp to make him feel more
  comfortable
• It Stuck

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Tookie

• Thrown out of three high schools in 2 years
• Took up bodybuilding while in juvenile detention
• Assault / drug distribution
• Entered bodybuilding competitions
• Disqualified for drug use
• Got a job as a youth counselor
• Fired for robbery and drug use
• He was not part of the norm so he needed to find
  an alternate means of survival

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Redemption

• we started out at least my intent was to, in a
  sense address all of the so-called neighboring
  gangs in the area and to put, in a sense I
  thought I can cleanse the neighborhood of all
  these, you know, marauding gangs. But I was
  totally wrong. And eventually, we morphed into
  the monster we were addressing
• Stanley Williams,
• prison interview with Barbara Becnel

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Stanley Williams
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Redemption