REDEMPTION The story of Stanley “Tookie” Williams Self-proclaimed Founder of the Crips Convicted of 4 Murders Blue Rage, Black Redemption Children’s Author 2-Time Nobel Prize Nominee Anti-Gang Advocate?

Redemption  Los Angeles, CA late 1960’s early 1970’s  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

Redemption  LAPD historically white dominated  History of police brutality  Minorities feel they can’t 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

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

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

Redemption  Majority had been thrown out of multiple schools and spent time in detention centers  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”

The Name  It’s not an acronym for anything  Has nothing to do with the word “Crib”  Raymond’s 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

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

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

Stanley Williams

Redemption