There is a consensus among pundits of American history that street gangs were first established on American soil by early European immigrants who entered America through Ellis Island. However, gangs are as old as America and street organizations were probably in existence long before Ellis Island became a rendezvous point for immigrants entering the new World. By 1850, 30 thousand of New York’s 500 thousand residents were gang members. Among the famous gangs of that era were the Dead Rabbits, the Forty Thrives and the Five Pointers. They controlled turf and engaged in criminal activity that included robbery, theft and extortion. By 1911, their criminal activity and propensity for violence compelled city officials to pass the Sullivan Gun Control Law. After WWII, the racial makeup of street gangs, particularly in New York, began to change dramatically. However, the dynamics that fueled the crimes committed by gangs began to change during Prohibition. Prohibition, enacted by the Eighteenth Amendment, sparked a more vicious cycle of violence that came to be known as the Prohibition Wars. Chicago was turned into a war zone as gangs vied for control of illegal alcohol trafficking. Although violence had become more prevalent among the more structured and organized gangs, the “rumble” remained the modus operandi for most street organizations to settle a score up to mid-1900. A rumble was a fight. Rumbles were usually pre-arranged battles between rival street gangs that included rules of weaponry and other rules of conduct. They were usually fought with fists, chains and bats. Occasionally knives were used. But, rarely did rumbles end with the loss of human life. There was a certain level of moral consciousness that caused combatants to respect life. For the most part, street gangs of yesterday also had respect for family and community. Children could play outside without having to worry about being killed by a stray bullet. Neighborhood residents did not have to worry about being assaulted and robbed. There was no drug dealing in full view of innocent children, and violence against the community, in general, was the exception more than the norm. By 1997, the issue of street gangs officially reached the highest echelon of politics when President Bill Clinton was sworn in for his second term. During his January 20, 1997 inaugural address, the President stated: “There is work to do, work that government alone cannot do; teaching children to read; hiring people off welfare rolls; coming out from behind locked doors and shuttered windows to help reclaim our streets from drugs and gangs and crime…” Under the eight year Clinton-Gore administration, more young men and women were incarcerated than the combined previous administration of George H. W. Bush and the eight year administration of Ronald Reagan. The surge in America’s prison population was partly due to Clinton’s welfare reform. The Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 required States to meet an objective of the reform legislation that centered on a State’s ability to move welfare recipients into jobs—jobs that did not exist. Several Clinton aides were so disgruntled over welfare reform that they resigned in protest, including the husband of Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund. In the wake of welfare reform, the U.S. prison population skyrocketed. FROM JERICHO TO JERUSALEM: YOUTH, STREET ORGANIZATIONS & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT was written in response to increasing violence, fratricide and destructive behavior that has touched the lives of many people and has caused many communities to deteriorate. This book is not an attempt to blame youth and gangs for every act of violence and community destruction that is taking place. As a matter of fact, street gangs account for just a small, yet increasing, percentage of the mayhem that runs rampant in so many neighborhoods. Nevertheless, the presence of street organizations and their influence on the youth has become a social problem that warrants attention. Therefore, the focus is primarily on causes and solutions to behavior that destroys lives and communities. Therefore, it is the author’s hope and humble prayer that the words written on the pages of this book will encourage further public discourse toward solving the gang dilemma, while enlightening errant youth and members of street organizations that they are being misled if they are following a mandate that is destroying lives and communities. Throughout this book the term “street organization” is often used interchangeably with “street gang” or “gang.” Sometimes each term is used in the same breath. To clarify what may seem like incongruence it must be understood, in all fairness, that some organizations that are labeled as “gangs” began as legitimate community-based organizations that filled a void in the lives of poor and alienated young men and women during a time when they felt abandoned and hopeless. They organized to give themselves identity and purpose. They were not criminal organizations at the time of their genesis. Moreover, perhaps, to the disbelief of some people, there are members of street organizations who do not engage in criminal activity and destructive behavior. They are also active in an attempt to lead their younger cohorts away from behavior that undermines the community. However, while the majority of youth are law-abiding and aspiring young men and women, there are many youth and members of street gangs who are literally sucking the life out of their communities. Therefore, the future of communities across America rests greatly on how each individual responds to the negative and destructive path that our youth and street gangs have undertaken. For more than two decades, the author has worked relentlessly to educate and support young incarcerated American citizens (iAcs) in positive endeavors. His work also includes brokering peace accords between warring sets of street organizations, holding peace and youth summits; and whenever possible, he has used his influence to bring young men out of gangs.
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