Tookie William's Legacy

I am rarely political on this blog, but the impending execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams at midnight tonight begs to be talked about. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Williams or his life, I will mention that he was the founder of the Crips street gang, based out of Compton, California. The Crips are one of the most violent street gangs in the history of our country. They started out small but now you can find Crips members literally from coast to coast and many places in between. They, along with the notorious Blood street gang, have divided Compton for decades. (I will not spend time here debating the issues of crime & poverty.)

While there is a lot being said about whether Tookie should live or die tonight, and debate about if he is guilty or innocent of the 4 murders for which he is charged, one thing is certain. There is a legacy of blood, death and destruction caused by his actions as a younger man. He has tried to atone for these things as best as he could. He has renounced the Crips, and dedicated himself to trying to educate young people as to the true nature of gang violence. He has tried to leave another legacy, for which he deserves credit.

I have a different perspective from most white, middle-class Americans on the subject of gang violence. To most people in this country gang culture is something observed only in the news, in movies or through rap music. I have seen it up close and personal. Harold & I spent several years at a church in Compton. My life has been impacted by the citizens of that area who have lost children to gangs, whether by incarceration, death, or violence. I have held a weeping mother in my arms, whose gang banging son has been sent to jail. I have been to the hospital to visit someone who has been caught in the crossfire of a gun battle between the Crips and Bloods. I cannot wear something blue (the gang colors of the Crips) or red (the colors of the Bloods) without thinking of those gangs. I saw and experienced things I will never forget.

It was an honor to serve the people of Compton. I learned more there about life and God than almost anywhere else. I have learned bravery from stubborn grandma's who fought for their families and neighborhoods against gang violence. I learned that people will either think you are very crazy or very brave by visiting their home at night, when nary a white person can be found on the streets, but they will love you for your effort. I have had the joy of seeing former gang members give their hearts and lives to God, and make changes possible only with the help of Christ. No city I have ever lived or worked in has impacted me like Compton.

Today I pray this: that if Mr. William's life is required of him tonight, that he is ready to face God, who is the only one who knows the truth about each and every one of us and will judge us accordingly. I pray also for Compton and South Central L.A., that, should Mr. William's be executed, there would not be rioting and further violence in his name, something I doubt he wants.

And finally, I pray that somehow, someway gang culture, which has  become so horribly glamorized that even farm kids in my rural, Midwestern town flash "gang signs", would be shown for what it is: a legacy of death. 

Comments

[Marla]

Hi Lori, I like your new digs! :)

I was taken with Williams' plight at first but then I read that his reformation had come through Islam, and that saddened me. I'm sure he was a changed man and did a lot of good but from his website and interviews it seemed like he had that whole "black power" thing going on. Not to mention that he never admitted to his crimes. Usually I'm the first to believe that someone really could be innocent (and I'm also not in favor of the death penalty) but in this case, I just didn't get the sense that he was truly innocent, so it was troubling that he didn't repent. I suppose seeing the gruesome pictures of the victims didn't help either.

I can't imagine living in Compton--you are an even more courageous woman than I thought! I have a lot of empathy for kids who grow up in that kind of environment. One of my favorite books was The Cross and The Switchblade.

[Lori F]

I was also saddened by that same thing, Marla. Just to clarify, we served,first on staff and later as just members, at a church in Compton and lived in Lakewood, about 10 miles from Compton. (Lakewood is a racially mixed, middle-class city.)

[Mir]

I am glad that the long delays involved in executing murderes has allowed him to reconsider his past. I think repentance is always good, even if it's not the "saving" repentance. Prison can make some people re-evaluate, and that's good, especially given how ugly prison is. Some good coming out of it has to be praised.

But Tookie earned his sentence. I do not mourn his death. What I mourn is the choices he made that led to the death of others and to himself. I would have preferred he had never caused harm. But he did and justice is served by his execution. Mercy was served by giving him time to repent, reform, and do some good to atone for his evils.

I grew up in gang-infested South Bronx in the sixties and seventies. I know what it's like to worry when a gang guy takes a shine to you--how do you say no and not incur harm? I know what it's like to be beaten up just for wearing the wrong color in a place with no crips and bloods, but with gangs with other, older names.

I grew up in the same streets as those who chose a dark path. I chose a better path. I had parents to teach me right and wrong and love me. But there were other kids who had difficult home lives who also chose NOT to cause harm with knives or guns or fists.

Ultimately, we do make choices, for good or ill. And while I sympathize with poverty (which I knew) and ghettos (where I lived once) and worrying about walking safely (which I did), and the pressure to belong...we are each still responsible for saying no to evil and yes to civic duty and the voice of God.

Mir
http://mirathon.blogspot.com
http://onceuponanovel.blogspot.com

[Lori]

I tried to make clear from my post, perhaps not successfully, that I am not going to weigh in on the guilt or innocence issue. I am simply trying to express my feelings about a city and people that I love, who live with a legacy of violence, which Tookie Williams certainly helped create.

In my saying that he appeared to try to atone, I am not saying he should have been allowed to live. In all honestly, I am divided about the death penalty & have never been able to say I felt comfortable with either viewpoint.

Mir, thank you for coming by and expressing your viewpoint. I absolutely agree with you that "we are each still responsible for saying no to evil and yes to civic duty and the voice of God." Wonderfully put.