0:00:02 > 0:00:13This programme contains very strong language and scenes which some viewers might find upsetting.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33The Bronx was like a world of its own.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38In the early '70s, man, crime was like the major income of the Bronx.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42In the Bronx, it was a deep-rooted gang culture.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45There were gangs literally on every corner. The violence was everywhere.
0:00:45 > 0:00:46You could feel the tension in the air,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49you could see the fights across the street.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51You could hear the shots in the night-time.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01It was that fateful day that I sent him to bring peace.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04That was one of the worst days in South Bronx history.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06The word on the street was that he was trying to make peace and he was
0:01:06 > 0:01:08murdered trying to make peace.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12Basically, after that, the South Bronx, Fort Apache was out of control.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14They were running through the streets,
0:01:14 > 0:01:15they were burning everything.
0:01:15 > 0:01:16I mean, pandemonium hit.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18SIREN WAILS
0:01:23 > 0:01:28I put out a bulletin and I started calling all the Ghetto Brothers.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Charlie wanted to get the Ghetto Brothers to mobilise for the biggest
0:01:31 > 0:01:34bloodbath in the history of New York.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37We lost a member, they viciously murdered him out there on the street.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39Now it's an eye for an eye.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42The Bronx was going to be bathed in blood.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52How rumours spread, how news spread.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57There was not a gang in the whole of New York that was not aware what was happening.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59It was like the movie, in The Warriors,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02when the lady's on the radio talking about, "Hey boppers," you know,
0:02:02 > 0:02:03"you've got to make that move."
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Let's get down to it, boppers,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07we're going to have to do better out there.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Everybody was tense because nobody knew what was going to jump off.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Remember that scene from The Warriors, "Can you dig it?"
0:02:12 > 0:02:15That really went down, that really happened.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Can you dig it?
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Can you dig it?
0:02:20 > 0:02:23ROARING CHEER
0:02:53 > 0:02:57We moved up to the South Bronx in 1963.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00From Greenwich Village to the South Bronx,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02it was a completely different world.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05The buildings were beautiful, very spacious, the blocks were wide.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09There were still Jews living there at that time.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Pockets of Italians and Irish still living in the community.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14The South Bronx at the time was fantastic.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17It was just a completely different world, it was a world of discovery.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30In those days, I didn't like the idea of joining a gang.
0:03:30 > 0:03:31I started my own thing.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34When I started the Ghetto Brothers,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36originally it wasn't supposed to be a gang,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38it wasn't supposed to be an organisation,
0:03:38 > 0:03:39it was a brother thing.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41It was basically my brothers and I.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43We lived in Manhattan, we moved to the Bronx,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46and in those days it was the ghetto so we were Ghetto Brothers.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Who were the Ghetto Brothers? Robin, Benjy, Victor.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Those were the Ghetto Brothers, MY brothers.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55OK, then later on, since I knew a lot of the kids in the community,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57I was very friendly, I was amicable,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59everybody got along with me, so I said, you know,
0:03:59 > 0:04:00let's expand this.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09I met Charlie in 158th Street and Trinity Avenue.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12I was with my friend Raymond. He was like a brother, we grew up together,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15and I saw this guy taking a wooden stick and going...
0:04:15 > 0:04:18"Hiyaah" and breaking it, and I said, "Wow!"
0:04:18 > 0:04:21It thought it was amazing. Because I was into the martial arts.
0:04:21 > 0:04:22And I said, "That is fantastic.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24"That's a man I want to make friends with."
0:04:24 > 0:04:27That was me. I want to make friends with this guy.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31I walked up to him and I said, "Hi, my name is Benjy."
0:04:31 > 0:04:35It's 1960...something.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40I only know they rob, they steal.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Nobody is going to rob me so I prepare,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46I'm ready to take this guy on.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48"I just want to shake your hand."
0:04:48 > 0:04:53- That's Charlie.- I said, "OK. The moment he moves, his ass is mine,"
0:04:53 > 0:04:58but he's standing there with his hand out and he starts telling me about
0:04:58 > 0:05:02there's a few guys that study martial arts that he's been watching,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07and he can imagine that I'm a pretty good martial artist.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09And we sat down, he said, "What's your style?"
0:05:09 > 0:05:11I said, "I'm Goju. Talk to me."
0:05:11 > 0:05:13And we just talked and talked and talked.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16I stick out my hand, I put my hand in his, and...
0:05:17 > 0:05:19..the Ghetto Brothers are one.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33The '60s were a time of worldwide social and cultural reckoning,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35with movements demanding change
0:05:35 > 0:05:37spreading across the college campuses
0:05:37 > 0:05:39and the front lines of America's ghettos.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42It truly felt like the seeds for a full-blown revolution were being sown.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55So we thought this revolution was going to happen.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57We knew this was the end of the world order.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00We thought revolution was possible.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03For the first time, we had a multicultural movement.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07For me, it reconfirmed, in a strange way, my faith in America.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19But as the '60s came to a close,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23the Vietnam War and racism continued to erode America's soul
0:06:23 > 0:06:24and fade all optimism.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28A systematic backlash against organisations like the Black Panthers,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31coupled with the assassinations of nearly every iconic figure of
0:06:31 > 0:06:36hope, left a new generation with nothing more than unfocused rage.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38They killed the King,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40and then they killed Kennedy.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44My heroes died in the '60s.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46The hope is deflated.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49I was so mad at America, I was pissed!
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Remember the '60s?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Hey! Peace!
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Now it was peace.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10America's unrest was reflected locally as New York City struggled
0:07:10 > 0:07:13under the weight of its own mounting crises.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15A failed vision of urban renewal
0:07:15 > 0:07:17pushed all but the city's wealthiest to the brink,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21and a new pessimism and desperation made its home in its streets.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26Now here was this great city, the international capital
0:07:26 > 0:07:29of commerce and culture and communications,
0:07:29 > 0:07:34and finance, and it was on its knees, asking, begging for help.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36The city was on the edge of bankruptcy.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38All through the '70s, remember,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41industries supporting jobs were disappearing.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43If there was a safety net before,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45the federal government was basically
0:07:45 > 0:07:48not just ceasing to protect it but cutting holes in it.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Despite the city's financial troubles,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03in 1970, New York's cultural scene was as vibrant as ever.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Construction of the World Trade Center would soon be complete
0:08:06 > 0:08:09and the New York Knicks would win their first championship.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13However, only four miles away, due to reckless urban planning,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16the district of the South Bronx was rapidly becoming a symbol
0:08:16 > 0:08:18of urban decay around the world.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22When we were young, we remember Robert Moses.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25I remember the teacher talked about a guy who was fixing up the area.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28They would say they were renovating the area.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Buildings were being taken out of commission.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33"Got to go, we're going to build this highway over here."
0:08:33 > 0:08:37The Cross Bronx Expressway - at one time that whole area was nothing but houses.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Beautiful houses.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41He takes a wonderful borough that's made up of polyglot.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I mean, everybody was there - Ralph Lauren comes from there.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47And he cuts across, he cuts a huge swathe,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49literally destroying the neighbourhood.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51This is amazing. I mean it's amazingly creative.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Even though it was also humanly destructive,
0:08:53 > 0:08:55that he thought
0:08:55 > 0:08:58the shortest distance between two points is a line,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02even if there are houses and people in the way of the line.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04That's when things started to go down.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08The economy went with them, the store owners, everybody just took off.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11You see a quiet, white flight.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Everybody was migrating, you know,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16from the concourse up to you know, Nyack,
0:09:16 > 0:09:17White Plains.
0:09:17 > 0:09:18"Come on, up, pops, come on up.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20"You can't stay down there no more," you know?
0:09:20 > 0:09:24The rich move out to their second and third homes.
0:09:24 > 0:09:25The middle-class...
0:09:27 > 0:09:28..is not far behind,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30and left will be the poor,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34who require enormous services and who will suffer.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45The South Bronx, it has all the superlatives.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Highest crime, poorest people, greatest unemployment,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51worst blight and the world record for arson.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55In just ten years, more than 30,000 buildings have been set ablaze and
0:09:55 > 0:09:56abandoned here.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59You got rats, bugs, no heat, no water.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01It was terrible. Terrible.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03It was like another domino effect, you know.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Then you see the burning start.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09So your landlord wouldn't provide services,
0:10:09 > 0:10:11and the people had to ultimately move out,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15and then the landlord burned the building down and got the insurance.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17You know, having buildings torched was the norm.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20The Bronx was like a world of its own.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23The Bronx to us, was our whole world.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25This morning on the way into work,
0:10:25 > 0:10:30we had a report that the police have located a carcass
0:10:30 > 0:10:32in the street on 172nd and Bryant.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36It turned out to be stripped carcass of a gorilla.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40It was headless, and the fur was removed, the skin was removed.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42South Bronx!
0:10:43 > 0:10:44SIREN WAILS
0:10:49 > 0:10:52It was just a feeling of hopelessness.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55It wasn't like murder was hidden.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57You know, murder was very rampant.
0:10:57 > 0:11:03The number of homicides quadrupled from 1960 to 1971.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07There was crime from the crooked politicians to the crooked cops.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10In the early '70s, man, crime was like,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13crime was like the major income of the Bronx.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17There was lines of people, wrapped around a corner,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20just waiting to buy a bundle or a couple of bags of dope.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22When the cops drive up and down,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25it was like a total pharmacy drugstore.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27When it got virulent, people got into it.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29It's almost as if they wanted to die
0:11:29 > 0:11:32and so they got into heroin because there was no dream.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48All the stuff was happening simultaneously.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50It was too much for anybody to understand,
0:11:50 > 0:11:55but one of the by-products was a lot of kids out on the street
0:11:55 > 0:11:58and a lot of locations that would have been alternatives
0:11:58 > 0:12:00to the streets, ceasing to exist.
0:12:00 > 0:12:01The system had totally let us down,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04they let us do what we wanted to do,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06we deal with whatever we deal with,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08they deal with it in their own manner.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10The police department was beating on us
0:12:10 > 0:12:12like they had the permission card.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15It was just total chaos, there was nothing for us here.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17So, you know, we turned to each other
0:12:17 > 0:12:19and we said let's do something for ourselves.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Basically that was it.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Every gang was for themselves back then.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25We had nobody looking out for us so it was us,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28it was the brotherhood, it was the gang, and that's it.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40Out of the rubble and chaos of the city,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43a new breed of outlaw street gangs arose,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47transforming the urban wasteland to a dark and dangerous playground.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52Police estimated gang membership in the tens of thousands.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54And these new outlaws maintained a firm grip
0:12:54 > 0:12:56on New York city's streets.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01The mentality of the gangs that came out of the '70s was very violent.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04The street gangs that were coming out in the late-'60s, early-'70s,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07was more, um, what you could say savage and outlaw.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11These guys kicked you and cursed you and spit on you
0:13:11 > 0:13:15and urinated on you and then showed you.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18This is who did it.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Weren't you charged with shooting a policeman?
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Yeah. The last time I got busted, they told me,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25"We're going to catch you one of these nights and we're going to kill you."
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Some people would say they'd be very worried if someone told them that.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30Why don't you?
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Because, you know, if I'm going to die, you know,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36let it happen now than later.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48It was all about power.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50I ain't gotta ponce. My mother ain't going to tell me what to do.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52I have all this anger.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55I'm going to grab at all these guys and they're going to do my bidding.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58So whatever I want that I've lacked in my life, I'm going to get it right now.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00It wasn't like you had a choice.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Whatever gang ran the block, you had to be a part of it.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05There were no civilians.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07You know, you had to be in it or you were a victim.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09On the outside looking in, it looked really good.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11We were fighting all the time.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13We didn't take any bullshit from anybody.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15We pretty much did whatever we wanted.
0:14:20 > 0:14:21There was nothing to look forward to.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23This was our life.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25We lived for each other.
0:14:25 > 0:14:26We lived and died for each other.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28We bled for each other.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Whether you was right or wrong, it didn't matter.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40'In the steel and concrete jungle of the big city, a tribal group survives -
0:14:40 > 0:14:41'the One Percenters.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43'These are the motorcycle freaks.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46'They get a charge out of spooking
0:14:46 > 0:14:48'the citizens in a straight neighbourhood.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49'They live in a different world.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52'A strange copout world of their own making.
0:14:52 > 0:14:53'With a kick pedal and the boot,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56'they work off their frustrations on the man in the street.'
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Everybody wanted to be the giant
0:15:03 > 0:15:05that everyone's afraid of.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Everybody wanted to be the Hells Angel.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Everybody wanted to be the guy on the roaring machine.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19We figure, "Well, fuck it, we could do that too!"
0:15:19 > 0:15:20You know, they were raising hell
0:15:20 > 0:15:22and we figured we could raise hell
0:15:22 > 0:15:26because we had something to raise hell against.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28As much as America thinks, we're not watching it,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31we are watching it and we're imitating it.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35So, what you see with the retention of some of the garb,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38the biker garb, what you see is Americana.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40But it's an outlaw Americana.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42They don't want to be Mr Wasp.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44But they can see themselves as Hells Angels.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51And, yeah, we had the swastikas and everything,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53because they had the swastikas and everything.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56We tried to emulate them as much as possible.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00And as they wanted to shock society, we wanted to shock society.
0:16:00 > 0:16:06So, we just wanted to be as repulsive and repugnant as possible.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07We put the covers on the floor.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09The guys surround the covers.
0:16:09 > 0:16:10Everybody takes out their penises
0:16:10 > 0:16:12and they start leaking on the jacket.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Then, if you're lucky, the guy vomits.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16The you take the jacket...
0:16:16 > 0:16:17put it on. Wah!
0:16:17 > 0:16:19That's an outlaw.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Not even flies would want to hang around you!
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Patches are a family's coat of arms.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37Your colours is your shield.
0:16:37 > 0:16:43Most of the gangs of yesteryear wasn't nervous to say who they was.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45So if you was a Skull, a Spade, a Reaper
0:16:45 > 0:16:50or a Turban, you would wear with honour on your back, who you was.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Supreme Enchanters, you see that? Javelin.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Did you see? Get a good look at you.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Gang culture street law says, "This is our turf.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03"If you want to walk through our turf, this is like our nation.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05"In order to pass through our nation,
0:17:05 > 0:17:10"you have to show respect and not fly your colours because this is our turf."
0:17:10 > 0:17:13You walked into another turf and you didn't have their permission,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16you might lose your colours or you might lose your life.
0:17:16 > 0:17:17I mean, you would walk certain places.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20They see you in a cut-off dungaree jacket,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23they would take it from you, stomp you out, and stuff like that.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26I mean, if you had MC boots on, you weren't in the club,
0:17:26 > 0:17:28you were walking on barefoot. If you could walk.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34They just beat you up. Take your clothes.
0:17:34 > 0:17:35Hang them up on a wall.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37That's how they used to do it.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Our conquered enemy. Those are our conquered enemies right there.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45Bachelors, Enchanters Bronx, Royal Javelins and Latin Eagles.
0:17:52 > 0:17:53Girls have major roles.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Because back then, there were no policewomen.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00So we carried the guns, which was a big issue.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Because, if the cops stopped to you, they'd tell the women,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05"Keep it moving," and they'd search the guys.
0:18:05 > 0:18:06The guys are beautiful.
0:18:08 > 0:18:09We all get along.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11We call each other...
0:18:11 > 0:18:13IN SPANISH
0:18:13 > 0:18:15- That means respect. - We're brothers and sisters.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18We have respect for each other.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19We bore their babies.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20We fought alongside them.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Not behind them, or in front of them,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24although many of us did fight in front of them.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26But we were hand in hand.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Back then, to join a gang you did have to go through initiations.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38For every gang, the standard initiation is the Apache line.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40The Apache line is something we used
0:18:40 > 0:18:43to test your metal and fighting skills and your heart.
0:18:43 > 0:18:44People would set up on each side,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47and somebody would beat you with their fists.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Some gangs might even hit you with bats or sticks.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53It was almost like going through rites of passage.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Other guys was jumping a cop.
0:19:04 > 0:19:05We used to have to fight.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07It wasn't a choice. We had to fight.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09I was... We didn't do the Apache line.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12We had a 45. As long as that record was playing,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14you had to fight three guys at the same time.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17So, we put on a record. You're going to have to...
0:19:17 > 0:19:19"All right, the song is finished."
0:19:23 > 0:19:25One day, I looked at my brother, Victor, and said,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28"Vic, I'm going to the store. Take care of this, I'll be right back."
0:19:28 > 0:19:29I go to the store. Come back.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32He had an album. I said, "What the hell are you doing with an album?"
0:19:32 > 0:19:33"I just want to see the guy beaten up."
0:19:33 > 0:19:35It's supposed to be a 45 - he had an album on.
0:19:35 > 0:19:36The poor guy got his jaw broken.
0:19:36 > 0:19:42The Skulls were the ultimate because their Apache line
0:19:42 > 0:19:44was a .32 - one shell.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Er, spin and pull the trigger.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00From the Saigons of Harlem, to the Jolly Stompers of Brooklyn,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03outlaw gangs followed a system of law and organisation
0:20:03 > 0:20:06that was common, despite their glaring differences.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09The ranks in most gangs, there were only three levels.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13There was the president, the vice president, and the warlord.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Your president, he had to have the charisma.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19And everybody would want to follow him.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22There has to be someone you respect and someone you admire to give you a
0:20:22 > 0:20:24different perspective.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27That person has to have not only the power of love,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30but the ability to beat you down.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35The vice president came in, in case the president was ever killed.
0:20:35 > 0:20:36And then you have the warlord.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40The warlord was the person that either declared or stopped a war.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42The warlord was the one who would go and negotiate.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45To see if we're going to go to war with just the hands, the bats,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48the chains, the knives or the guns.
0:20:48 > 0:20:49Some gangs had Gestapo.
0:20:50 > 0:20:56Those were the guys that were in charge of inflicting punishment on their members.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58They were like the police.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00You policed your own gang.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06The Gestapo were like the real hard-core gang guys,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09like they followed street law to the T.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13I represent Gestapo and the Savage Nomads.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Which is a different squad.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19I give one of my members which screws up and doesn't know how to behave on the street,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22or talk to anybody like a human being,
0:21:22 > 0:21:23the way he's supposed to.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Well, he comes to my little cell here.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32In those days, the meanest borough was the Bronx.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34You came from the Bronx, you was bad.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37It all started up in the Bronx.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41In the Bronx, it was a deep-rooted gang culture.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43OK, they lived it.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52There was 101 gangs in the Bronx.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54So, take your pick.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Black Assassins, Peacemakers...
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Roman Kings. Young kids.
0:21:59 > 0:22:00Deadly.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Nice till you see them - they're little kids.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04You look at them wrong and they'll shoot you.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06The Turbans. The Javelins.
0:22:06 > 0:22:07Reapers.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10Seven Immortals.
0:22:10 > 0:22:11Turbans.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14Turbans. Ex-veterans from Vietnam.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18These guys didn't have guns, they had rifles.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19The Bachelors, they were big.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23One of the biggest gangs in the Bronx, the Black Spades.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25The Black Spades had a division
0:22:25 > 0:22:27in every...everywhere they had a police department.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Black Spades, you could count them.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Cos when they came in,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33they blackened like the whole street.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37We had nothing but respect for them because they earned their respect.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39The Savage Nomads.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42These guys, once they put those colours on,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44remember Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, that's what they did -
0:22:44 > 0:22:45these guys turned mean.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Good evening. I'm David Susskind.
0:22:50 > 0:22:51The first part of the show tonight
0:22:51 > 0:22:54are the emergence of the street gangs once again.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57My guests are leaders and spokesmen for these gangs.
0:22:57 > 0:22:58I want you to meet them now.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03First, Benjy Melendez is a spokesman for the Ghetto Brothers.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Former Marine Charlie Suarez is president of the Ghetto Brothers.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16With the Black Panthers and the Young Lords,
0:23:16 > 0:23:17the further you get in the '70s,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21the less influence they had on the younger generation -
0:23:21 > 0:23:25even the older generation.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29The Ghetto Brothers is kind of like filling that void.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32But they still had their street cred.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35We are being oppressed by the North American Yankee.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37We, the Puerto Ricans, shall rise up and defend ourselves against these
0:23:37 > 0:23:39dogs, who oppress us,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42and liberate our country from capitalism and imperialism.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45The North American is trying to steal our identity as Puerto Ricans
0:23:45 > 0:23:46and call us Americans.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48We Puerto Ricans are Puerto Ricans
0:23:48 > 0:23:50to the day we are born until the day we die.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52THEY CHEER
0:23:54 > 0:23:55When the Black Panthers came onto the scene,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57the Young Lords came onto the scene.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59These groups went around talking to the gangs.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Stop the violence.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Let's direct all our energy this way.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06A lot of the gangs didn't want to hear that.
0:24:06 > 0:24:07The Ghetto Brothers took heed to that.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11What we wanted them to do was understand there was another vision of America,
0:24:11 > 0:24:12that they were killing themselves.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14That's what our intent was.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18And that the neighbourhoods that they were in
0:24:18 > 0:24:19were THEIR neighbourhoods.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22We wanted them to feel ownership over those blocks.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Because there's a lot of clubs that help just their own friends.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27They forget about other people, who lived around these, you know?
0:24:27 > 0:24:29We don't think like that. We like to help everybody.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31# We are going to take you higher
0:24:31 > 0:24:34# The Ghetto Brothers power. #
0:24:34 > 0:24:37All right!
0:24:37 > 0:24:38I love the Ghetto Brothers.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40You know, we honoured them because...
0:24:42 > 0:24:44..to me it seemed like they had enough courage to do
0:24:44 > 0:24:47something we all really wanted to do but didn't have the courage to do it
0:24:47 > 0:24:50because you were known for your brutality in those days.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52You weren't known for being a nice guy.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55The Ghetto Brothers was definitely politically minded.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57But they also, you know, didn't take no shit either.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59It wasn't that they couldn't fight.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01That was the South Bronx. There's no "not fighting".
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Even though you're a nice guy, everybody had to fight.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06You know, if you saw them coming down a block, you know,
0:25:06 > 0:25:08the Ghetto Brothers, they're cool.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10They've got a lot of kids off the street.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13A lot of kids, man, like going back into school.
0:25:13 > 0:25:14For what I understand,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16they did start helping the neighbourhoods a lot.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18So far, since I've been with the Ghetto Brothers,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21they have gave me back my self-respect.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Because I am an ex-junkie.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25They was with me almost like 24 hours a day.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27I'd kick coals.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29More than eight or nine Ghetto Brothers in the
0:25:29 > 0:25:31organisation we've got now are ex-junkies.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34If you go now to Ghetto Brothers headquarters,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36you don't see no junkies in that block no more.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40The Ghetto Brothers started to grow and grow and grow and grow.
0:25:40 > 0:25:422,500 in the Bronx alone!
0:25:44 > 0:25:48Then the Ghetto Brothers started to expand to Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53They knew how to articulate and use the media to actually let,
0:25:53 > 0:25:58not just New York City, but the United States,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02know that, "Look, this is happening here in New York City, right."
0:26:02 > 0:26:04I guess it's what the teenagers are going to make of it.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09If we shoot dope, they're going to be shooting dope when they get older.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11And if they see like my club is doing that.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13We get ourselves together, if we do something for the community,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15then they're going to think that's what's hip.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17I started to think.
0:26:17 > 0:26:22I said, "It will be good to channel all this energy into doing something
0:26:22 > 0:26:23"for our community."
0:26:23 > 0:26:24Let's have a good time.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Let's get together. Let's sweep the community.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Let's give out free food.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Let's give out clothes to this community because, at those times,
0:26:31 > 0:26:32things were really bad.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34I want people to say, "The Ghetto Brothers has done something."
0:26:34 > 0:26:38I want my child to say when he grows up, "Well, my father has done something for society."
0:26:38 > 0:26:41See? And I want things to change because I don't want to be living in the South Bronx
0:26:41 > 0:26:43where everything is messed up.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Three names had always popped up.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Benjy, Karate Charlie, and Black Benji.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56You know, like, I'm an ex-drug addict.
0:26:56 > 0:26:57I'm not going to lie about it.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59When I came to them, I was still using drugs.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Due respect to them, and I went to kick it.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06I've been straight since and I love Ghetto Brothers.
0:27:06 > 0:27:07There's a purpose here.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09It's something that's beneficial to the neighbourhood,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12the establishment, and everybody else.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Black Benji, Benji McConnell was introduced to me by Charlie.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18He said, Benji, he wants to check out the Ghetto Brothers.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20Sure. I said, "So, what do you do?"
0:27:20 > 0:27:21He said, "I work as a drug counsellor."
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Good. That's very good.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27So, when the kids were on the programme in the Ghetto Brothers club, I'm looking at him.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29He sits down on a chair and talks to the kids.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31I saw them, they were on the floor.
0:27:31 > 0:27:32Telling them stories.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35And I looked. I said, "That's wonderful."
0:27:35 > 0:27:37And then he talked to the older people in our community.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40He said, "Man, there's something about this guy. I like that."
0:27:40 > 0:27:45"Charlie, come here. I think we should just drop the warlords and put a peacemaker.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47"That's the man. Let's make him into a peace ambassador."
0:27:47 > 0:27:51He became the first at Ghetto Brothers and I said, "You're going to be the ambassador for peace."
0:27:55 > 0:27:58What I knew about the Ghetto Brothers, the first thing,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00I heard a lot about Karate Charlie.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Everybody kept hearing about this guy, Karate Charlie.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07Right. Guys in gangs, you had to have a karate something.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Like, in this one gang you had a Karate Kenny.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13I remember him. Then you had a Karate Joe Knowles.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Then we had a guy named Karate Mo.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18But it was all because of everybody heard about this guy
0:28:18 > 0:28:20named Karate Charlie.
0:28:20 > 0:28:21Charlie was a warrior.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25He lived like the Japanese Bushido.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29You cross me, you cross my honour, hee-yya - you're going down.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33Remember, I just came out of the Marine Corps.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36So, what I wanted was a little Marine Corps.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39Because he brought the military discipline to the Ghetto Brothers.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41The Ghetto Brothers were not known for guns.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43We were known for the hands.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45So Ghettos Brothers were very good with the hands and legs.
0:28:45 > 0:28:46So, Charlie was the instructor.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49They called me Karate Charlie.
0:28:49 > 0:28:55And they called the founder, Benjy Melendez, the preacher.
0:28:55 > 0:28:56Charlie and I were brothers.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58I mean, we were very close.
0:28:58 > 0:28:59But we were two worlds.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04Benjy was a yin, while I was a yang.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Black and white, soft and hard.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Rain and shine.
0:29:09 > 0:29:10We were the opposites.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13The yin and yang, that's true - that's me and Charlie.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16Charlie was the "grr", and I would say, "No, Charlie."
0:29:18 > 0:29:20"Come on, Benjy." "No, Charlie. Come on."
0:29:20 > 0:29:22Sometimes it was the other way around, too.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24Charlie had to calm Benjy down.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27They kept each other, you know, at bay.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30Yellow Benjy, he was more of a peacemaker.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33He was also trying to let people know,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36"Look, let's stop fighting amongst ourselves
0:29:36 > 0:29:39"because we're only hurting each other. Let's fight the man.
0:29:39 > 0:29:40"Let's hurt him."
0:29:40 > 0:29:43The enemy around the Bronx now at this very moment, is the policeman.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45Yes, this is a warrior thing.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Yes, it is and we're here to defend our brothers and sisters against
0:29:48 > 0:29:51people like them. If you're going to communicate, communicate, man.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54- And if you're going to strike at us, we are going to strike back.- OK.
0:29:54 > 0:29:55CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:29:57 > 0:29:59# Let's get together
0:30:00 > 0:30:03# And make things better
0:30:05 > 0:30:06# To understand
0:30:08 > 0:30:09# What it's all about... #
0:30:18 > 0:30:20Beyond running the gang,
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Yellow Benjy was also the leader of the Ghetto Brothers band,
0:30:23 > 0:30:27a unique and well-loved rock and Latin funk outfit.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31The band and the gang were two separate entities.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33The talent was definitely there.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36It was definitely a Latin flavour,
0:30:36 > 0:30:41it also showed what clubs could do if they took a different direction.
0:30:41 > 0:30:42- # Higher - Higher
0:30:42 > 0:30:44- # Higher - Higher
0:30:44 > 0:30:46- # Higher - Higher
0:30:46 > 0:30:48# Higher... #
0:30:48 > 0:30:50I'd tell my brothers, listen, I noticed that when you talk to people
0:30:50 > 0:30:53some people listen and some people don't.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55But the idea of music, my brothers and I,
0:30:55 > 0:30:57music caters to all types of people.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59So if you want to get the message why don't we put it into words,
0:30:59 > 0:31:01put it into song, watch them listen.
0:31:01 > 0:31:02Then when we play the music,
0:31:02 > 0:31:07what we always wanted to say to them and you put it behind the guitars and say, "Yo, man. That's me, man.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08"I live that type of life.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10"Well, we made that song for you, my brother."
0:31:10 > 0:31:13I remember a lot of bongos.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15I always remember, you know, bongo music.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17If they were jamming up the street,
0:31:17 > 0:31:19up the hill, you could hear the music.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22When we played music, why don't we play a little rock here,
0:31:22 > 0:31:26a little Latin here, a little soul over here.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30So you heard The Beatles, Sly And The Family Stone, Santana - all of that.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34So everybody, the gangs knew that we had music and a message.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59In 1971, despite all efforts by social workers and specialised police units,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03gang violence has escalated to a fever pitch,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06plunging the streets into a state of continual war,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09unlike anything the city had ever experienced before.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13The drugs was a big factor in gangs going haywire, lust for power,
0:32:13 > 0:32:14lust for turf.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17The garbage can is here, if you go past that garbage can,
0:32:17 > 0:32:22although it's the same block in the same neighbourhood, it could be a war.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24The Devil's Rebels is a fighting gang.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29And on this night they found the first victims outside a corner grocery store.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31What looks like child's play is not.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34In the middle of all this a young man was stabbed.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42There were big gang wars between the Savage Skulls, the Black Spades.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Between the Savage Skulls and the Bachelors.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47You know, back then nobody had cellphones but it was like drums,
0:32:47 > 0:32:50you'd hear it. You'd hear it all over the place.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52You know, one way or another you'd hear who has beef with who.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54The violence was everywhere.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56You could see the fights across the street,
0:32:56 > 0:32:58you could hear the shouting at night-time.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02What made life interesting in the South Bronx in those days for these young guys was fighting...
0:33:02 > 0:33:05was killing. "Yo, man, I killed a dude today."
0:33:05 > 0:33:06"What did you do?"
0:33:06 > 0:33:08"I stabbed him in the throat. What did you do, man?"
0:33:08 > 0:33:12"Yo, I shot that dude. I burned this guy." You'd hear this.
0:33:12 > 0:33:13And this is every day.
0:33:13 > 0:33:14It was a lawless time.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17Listen, if somebody got killed on your place their body stayed there,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20you know, an ambulance wouldn't dare come and pick that body up.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23The police came in riot gear to take that body out there and they didn't do an investigation,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27they took that body out there as quick as possible cos they didn't want to get it.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30There's no ambulance coming. There are no ambulances, all right?
0:33:30 > 0:33:31How long, man? How long it going to be?
0:33:31 > 0:33:34In the '70s you had firepower.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37You had some gangs with arsenals.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41I've seen 357s, I've seen 12-gauge shotguns,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43I've seen dynamite on the street.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45I've seen all of this.
0:33:45 > 0:33:46You'd be surprised, man.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Pretty soon they're going to steal the damn atom bomb.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58As the bloodshed continued, the Ghetto Brothers worked fervently
0:33:58 > 0:34:01to mediate peace amongst the ever-growing web of turf battles.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04A lot of change was happening in the Bronx at the same time
0:34:04 > 0:34:07but we felt the whole world was going through these changes.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10I said, "This is getting out of hand."
0:34:10 > 0:34:15We were pretty much hurting and fighting each other instead of going
0:34:15 > 0:34:17against the real enemy.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19Benjy, he tried, man.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21He tried to let us know that.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25They were like the club that would be the mediators, you know,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28stopped a lot of us from going out there and going ballistic on a whole
0:34:28 > 0:34:29lot of wars, you know?
0:34:29 > 0:34:32I would sit down and reason with a lot of these brothers.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34"Come here, guys. Savage, come here.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36"Savage Nomads, come here. Black Spades, come over here."
0:34:36 > 0:34:39That's the way we used to talk.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42"It doesn't make any sense with this turf out there, guys."
0:34:42 > 0:34:43It is against the government.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46It's not me against you.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50You are not hurting me, you're not the one that's keeping me down.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55I don't have to fight you, you're not the problem.
0:34:55 > 0:34:56"Yo, brothers, come on, man.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58"No, but you don't understand, man.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00"He came into my turf with his colours, man.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02"And he was trying to tell me how..."
0:35:02 > 0:35:03"Because colours?
0:35:04 > 0:35:06"Come on, guys. Think what I'm just saying.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08"Colours is going to make you go insane?"
0:35:12 > 0:35:15On December 8th, a series of events transpired that rocked
0:35:15 > 0:35:18the Ghetto Brothers and the rest of the Bronx.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22As a result, the outcome would come to change gang life in New York City for ever.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26They came to the storefront and said there was going to be a
0:35:26 > 0:35:30fight at the bottom of the stairs.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32Benji, three guys are coming from Southern Boulevard.
0:35:32 > 0:35:37Bongos, Black Spades and Seven Immortals.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39They want to get the Roman Kings.
0:35:39 > 0:35:40Benji said let...
0:35:41 > 0:35:44..Black Ben go, Cornell go.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46Benji, you got your job cut out for you.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49You going to get me the president, vice president and the warlords of those three gangs,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52bring them here so we can broker a peace. Bring them here.
0:35:52 > 0:35:53Take some Ghetto Brothers with you.
0:35:53 > 0:35:59So he left, he went with Playboy and a few of the younger Ghetto Boys.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02We came down the stairs, right.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06And we stopped there and there was about 13, you know, 13 to 20 of us.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09And then when we looked down we seen them and you couldn't even see the
0:36:09 > 0:36:12end of the corner, that's how many there were.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14And then when we got to the bottom of the stairs
0:36:14 > 0:36:17when they could have seen us, there was only about nine of us,
0:36:17 > 0:36:20that's when Benji came out and Benji said,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23he took a step forward and he said, "Listen, brother,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25"we're here to talk peace."
0:36:25 > 0:36:29And the guy who came out, he said, "Peace shit."
0:36:29 > 0:36:31That's when the guy pulled out the machete
0:36:31 > 0:36:33and that's when they had us all surrounded.
0:36:33 > 0:36:34Benji said, "Too, brothers, too."
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Because there was too many.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40So I heard the noise, you know, pow, like a slap.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42And Benji had got hit in the stomach and he tripped.
0:36:42 > 0:36:48At that time was a time when they were killing, killing, killing.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51And Cornell wasn't recognised.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53They recognised violence,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55they recognised somebody that'll throw a punch.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11It was a moment in time that could have been avoided.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14If I could just turn back the hands of time,
0:37:14 > 0:37:16this would never have happened.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19And I looked at my brothers today, my brothers, my real brothers,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21and said, "Think about it.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25"It was that fateful day that I sent HIM to bring peace."
0:37:25 > 0:37:29And my brother looked at me and said, "But, Benji, you didn't know what was going to..."
0:37:29 > 0:37:32"No, you're right. I didn't know what was going to happen, I didn't know the fate,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35"but it was MY decision to send HIM."
0:37:39 > 0:37:42That was one of the worst days in South Bronx history,
0:37:42 > 0:37:43when he got murdered.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46The word on the street was that he was trying to make peace
0:37:46 > 0:37:48and he was murdered trying to make peace
0:37:48 > 0:37:53and basically after that the South Bronx, Fort Apache was out of control.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55When this tragedy happened they went to war
0:37:55 > 0:38:00and even got many of the gangs to move against the Seven Immortals and the Black Spades.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04Every gang in my neighbourhood, at least,
0:38:04 > 0:38:05were so mad that they killed this guy
0:38:05 > 0:38:07that they were running through the streets,
0:38:07 > 0:38:09they were burning everything, they were...
0:38:09 > 0:38:11I mean, pandemonium hit.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15Black Spades wasn't going to back down if they was going to fully get attacked.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17That was the time when the Spade leaders said,
0:38:17 > 0:38:19"To hell with it, get ready for war."
0:38:19 > 0:38:22How rumours spread, how news spread,
0:38:22 > 0:38:27there was not a gang in the whole of New York that was not aware what was happening.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31I put out a bulletin and I started calling Ghetto Brothers,
0:38:31 > 0:38:33all the Ghetto Brothers.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36Charlie wanted to get the Ghetto Brothers to mobilise
0:38:36 > 0:38:38for the biggest bloodbath in the history of New York.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41We lost a member that they viciously murdered him out there on the streets.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Now it's an eye for an eye.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Cos another Ghetto Brothers loses a life, six of whoever,
0:38:46 > 0:38:49whether they his kids, his mother, his father who...
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Who was it that took the lives of two of yours?
0:38:52 > 0:38:53Some dude out there.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56At the time, I was... I was blind.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58And I said, "No, I'm going to make everyone pay."
0:38:58 > 0:39:02That's what I said. "I'm going to just start killing."
0:39:02 > 0:39:05You know? Watch, the sword is sharp.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Look, razor sharp.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10And Benji kept saying, "But, Charlie, that's not the way."
0:39:10 > 0:39:12I said, "I don't care.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14"At the moment, I don't care."
0:39:18 > 0:39:22My business at the point was to quell down the anger
0:39:22 > 0:39:24that was coming up.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26He said, "Let's go see Gwendolyn."
0:39:26 > 0:39:28That's Cornell's mother.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31"Let's go see her, show respect."
0:39:31 > 0:39:36I said, "When I walk in there and tell her I've called New Jersey,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39"I've called Connecticut, I've called all the boroughs,
0:39:39 > 0:39:43"I've called everybody, I've got an army outside."
0:39:43 > 0:39:48I walked in a motherfucking cock ready to fight.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50Spurs gleaming.
0:39:51 > 0:39:57I strutted over, I kissed her, I said "Mom,"
0:39:57 > 0:40:00I said, "I've got an army outside."
0:40:00 > 0:40:03And she said, "Charlie, my son died for peace."
0:40:05 > 0:40:07Goddamn.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20I looked at a mother, she didn't want to see other children die.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22It's just confirmed what I said,
0:40:22 > 0:40:25you know. So he understood after what she...
0:40:25 > 0:40:27"Please.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29"Charlie, that could be our moms, man.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32"That's an omen. It's your mother talking to you.
0:40:32 > 0:40:33"It's my mommy talking to me."
0:40:33 > 0:40:34"My son died for peace, Charlie."
0:40:37 > 0:40:41I walked back to the storefront, storefront was like this with media,
0:40:41 > 0:40:46cameras, waiting for me to say that the Bronx
0:40:46 > 0:40:49was going to be bathed in blood.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53We could have gone in the chronicles of New York to be the most notorious gang.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57We even allowed our influence to use all these gangs to do our bidding.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01All they were waiting for was this. Like the Roman emperor.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04All the gangs were there at 174th.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06They were waiting for the big war.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08We said, "No.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11"We're not going to do anything." I said, "Brother, don't you know this?
0:41:11 > 0:41:13"Look at the newspaper people. Look!"
0:41:13 > 0:41:15As soon as I said no, they stop writing.
0:41:15 > 0:41:16This is what they want to see.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19They want to tell the world that we're a bunch of savages,
0:41:19 > 0:41:22that we're killers. We're not going to give you the satisfaction.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25Send out a message. Hands down, no war.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Nope. We ain't doing nobody.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31Got to figure out how we're going to do this.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36We're going to have a peace treaty.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44Word of the murder and fear of reprisals spread like wildfire.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46At the insistence of the Ghetto Brothers,
0:41:46 > 0:41:50representatives of over 40 of the city's most notorious gangs
0:41:50 > 0:41:53met at the Hoe Avenue Boys Club in the Bronx.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58So I got them while they were still in revenge mode.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00They wanted to see war and blood.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02I said, "This is the time to do it.
0:42:02 > 0:42:03"Don't wait, right now."
0:42:03 > 0:42:05Listen, this is what is going on.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08They killed my brother, Benjy. What do you want me to do?
0:42:08 > 0:42:10I said, "I don't want you to do anything.
0:42:10 > 0:42:11"I want you to come to a peace treaty.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16"I don't do peace." I said, "Well, you do peace now, bro."
0:42:16 > 0:42:18I said, "You do peace or we're going to take you out."
0:42:18 > 0:42:19"Who's you?"
0:42:19 > 0:42:24"I'm the Spades, I'm the Skulls I'm the Nomads..."
0:42:24 > 0:42:25And I just started running it off,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29everyone that said that they'd stand behind me.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31This is a Hoe Avenue.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35This is the spot, Madison Square Boys Club, here was where history was made.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39It was here that the gangs got together to have the biggest peace treaty
0:42:39 > 0:42:40in the history of the Bronx.
0:42:40 > 0:42:41President, Young Sinners.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Vice President, New York Sinners.
0:42:43 > 0:42:44Vice President Young Saints.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47- President of the Young Cobras. - War Counsel of the Young Saints.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49It was fantastic that it all happened.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52And they just sent just their main leaders.
0:42:52 > 0:42:53Come on, it was too many guys.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55So it was all the leaders that were there.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57At the treaty I was a young...
0:42:57 > 0:43:02young person sitting in the background listening to my leaders talk about
0:43:02 > 0:43:03what needs to be done.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06Basically, it was just like the movie The Warriors.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09Everybody was tense because nobody knew what was going to jump off.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12But it went well though. After a while everybody started talking and
0:43:12 > 0:43:15everybody calmed down and just got into
0:43:15 > 0:43:18what the purpose was and it turned out good.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22People were just bringing out atonement to say, you know,
0:43:22 > 0:43:24come on, let's slow this thing down.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26Let's bring this peace treaty into play.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30One by one gang leaders stated their grievances with the intention of
0:43:30 > 0:43:33squashing prior beefs once and for all.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37When we have static, man, we sell out among ourselves, man.
0:43:37 > 0:43:38Wow, we got to live in this district.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40The whitey don't come down here, man,
0:43:40 > 0:43:41and live in the fucked up houses, man.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43The whitey don't come down here, man,
0:43:43 > 0:43:46and have all the fucked up fucking no heat in the fucking winter time.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48You understand? We do, Jack.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52So therefore we got to make it a better place to live, you understand?
0:43:54 > 0:43:57The idea of the meeting was to expose the ones who murdered Black Benji.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59Now, in those days you can't say, "Rueben, you did it."
0:43:59 > 0:44:03We didn't say that. But if you saw that film you look at the guys that
0:44:03 > 0:44:06were sitting in front, those are all the guys that murdered my boy.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09And I'm looking at them and I say, "Yo, my brothers, man.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12One of the guys, the president of the club came up to me.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15"Benjy, I don't want to die. Please, I don't want to die."
0:44:15 > 0:44:18I say, "You're not going to die, my brother." See, that's power.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20You don't want us to become a gang again, right?
0:44:20 > 0:44:23Cos I know you. You was up in the meeting and you told me,
0:44:23 > 0:44:25"Benjy, I want to get out alive." Didn't you tell me that?
0:44:25 > 0:44:27"Benjy, I want to get out alive."
0:44:27 > 0:44:28And that's just what's going to happen.
0:44:28 > 0:44:29You're going to get out alive.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32Benji didn't get out alive. The thing is we're not a gang any more.
0:44:32 > 0:44:33We're an organisation.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36We want to help black and Puerto Ricans to live in a better environment.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39At the end of this historic summit an inter-gang peace treaty
0:44:39 > 0:44:41was signed by every attending leader.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45This momentous turning point gave the first real promise of the
0:44:45 > 0:44:48long-needed piece the system had failed to produce.
0:44:48 > 0:44:49- ALL:- Peace!
0:44:52 > 0:44:54A definite attitude shift.
0:44:54 > 0:44:59A lot of the people that were at the meeting, they decided,
0:44:59 > 0:45:01"Hey, you know, we're just killing ourselves
0:45:01 > 0:45:04"or hurting our own neighbourhoods. We better put a stop to this."
0:45:04 > 0:45:05The wars had stopped.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09It was here and there but wars had stopped.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Once the peace treaty happened
0:45:11 > 0:45:15people was being invited to areas where they used to never even step into that area.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17People would go to certain parties
0:45:17 > 0:45:19that you would never even step in that party
0:45:19 > 0:45:21or you know what would happen.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24We're having house jams, we're having basement parties.
0:45:24 > 0:45:29It was different. Now we're able to go here, go there, meet more people,
0:45:29 > 0:45:30unite with people.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32# Peace will come
0:45:32 > 0:45:34# This world will rest
0:45:34 > 0:45:39# Once we have togetherness... #
0:45:39 > 0:45:43Peaceful block parties hosted by the Ghetto Brothers and other local gangs
0:45:43 > 0:45:45began to multiply,
0:45:45 > 0:45:47helping to resolve the invisible turf boundaries
0:45:47 > 0:45:49that had dominated for years prior.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56Here's where the whole thing started to change.
0:45:56 > 0:45:57We invited many gang members
0:45:57 > 0:45:59and said, "Guys, if you guys have no party,
0:45:59 > 0:46:02"why don't you come out and get it started, we're going to have a party.
0:46:02 > 0:46:03"We're going to play out there."
0:46:03 > 0:46:05And they would invite other gang members
0:46:05 > 0:46:06to have jam sessions with them.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08From all over the city,
0:46:08 > 0:46:11you were invited to come to these jam sessions and jam with them.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14You could bring your instruments, you could, you know,
0:46:14 > 0:46:15do whatever it is you do.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17This is the famous 163rd Street.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19This was Ghetto Brother city.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22All the people came down here to hear the Ghetto Brothers.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24Every Friday and Saturday we would have a party.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26You had gangs from different areas that come down to check us out.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28This block was literally full with people.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30They would call out big parties.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34You see like 100 to 200 guys hanging out.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37It was massive. Scary, too.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39When the Ghetto Brothers had the party they all mingled.
0:46:40 > 0:46:41Everybody mingles.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45Savage Skulls, Black Spades, the Turbans - everybody mingles
0:46:45 > 0:46:46because we were having a good time.
0:46:46 > 0:46:53People were dancing. And you saw Turbans and you saw Skulls.
0:46:53 > 0:46:54What was the common thing?
0:46:55 > 0:46:57I said, "Look, I put the flags up there."
0:46:57 > 0:47:02They see the Puerto Rican flag, they see the Black liberation flag.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04"See, brothers, this is us, man.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06It's about dropping the idea...
0:47:06 > 0:47:08Yo, we're all one people here.
0:47:08 > 0:47:09It's almost like a...
0:47:11 > 0:47:12A relief. You know,
0:47:12 > 0:47:16cos the chaos in the streets and the mayhem and everything that was going
0:47:16 > 0:47:20on, this was kind of like a breather to say...
0:47:20 > 0:47:21HE SIGHS HEAVILY
0:47:21 > 0:47:23You know, finally some peace.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26You see, when you saw that friendly attitude there,
0:47:26 > 0:47:27they brought that back to their club.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31You understand, so every Friday they were looking forward to getting back together again.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35One of the things the Ghetto Brothers made us realise,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38I'll put it very simply - self-worth.
0:47:38 > 0:47:43When you, whether it be a guitar or a saxophone or instrument or a bongo,
0:47:43 > 0:47:49whatever it is that you can do to add to the flavour of what was going on,
0:47:49 > 0:47:52it kind of gave you a revelation that, "Hey, I can actually do something,
0:47:52 > 0:47:54"besides, you know, stomping somebody's brains out.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57"I can actually do something beside stabbing or shooting.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59"Or besides, you know, this other stuff we were doing.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02"There's something inside me that's positive."
0:48:10 > 0:48:14In the years that followed outlaw gangs transformed into DJ crews.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18A major shift in attitude made way for this emerging culture that was
0:48:18 > 0:48:21taking hold of the youth in the Bronx.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24I always felt there was a connection between gang culture and hip-hop
0:48:24 > 0:48:26because, from what I learned,
0:48:26 > 0:48:30either you was a DJ, an MC,
0:48:30 > 0:48:33a break dancer or a graffiti artist.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36Once upon a time one of them members was part of a gang.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40Now you can express yourself and show what it is you have
0:48:40 > 0:48:43on the other side from what you used to be.
0:48:43 > 0:48:49So now we saw the translation between the violent attitude to something positive,
0:48:49 > 0:48:52but at the same time, you see the intimidation.
0:48:52 > 0:48:57Competition is always and has always been the battle.
0:48:57 > 0:48:58When they battle on the mic,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01when they compete against each other they're battling.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04When they're dancing against each other, they're battling.
0:49:04 > 0:49:10It was more like challenging the dance now and not the fight.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12And whoever could dance the best won the fight.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14Colours were starting to come off
0:49:14 > 0:49:18and little by little that's when the music started to come into the deal.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22When the gang scene started fading down it was the DJs who started
0:49:22 > 0:49:27becoming the stars in the community, the leaders in the community.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29The Bronx's own DJ Kool Herc,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32considered the founding father of hip-hop,
0:49:32 > 0:49:37played a crucial role in redirecting gang energy into this new and growing movement.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40Herc had the right timing of presenting something.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43The same people that was involved with gangs
0:49:43 > 0:49:45they felt like they want to be relieved.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48They want to have something that's theirs.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52Herc took it upon himself to become their new Pied Piper.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55It was like, "Hey, this is what we want to hear."
0:49:55 > 0:49:58And we don't want to hear what was being played on the radio,
0:49:58 > 0:50:00what was being played and the clubs.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03We were trying to reach out for the beats, that raw essence,
0:50:03 > 0:50:05them heavy drums.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08Herc started something his enemies didn't want to stop.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11It came in the form of music.
0:50:11 > 0:50:12They'll gravitate to this.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14This is something that is theirs.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16You know, that didn't come in a long time.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18They ain't worried if you're black, you're white,
0:50:18 > 0:50:20cos you this common thing right here.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22He was God! He didn't...
0:50:22 > 0:50:24Herc didn't come out with no little tinker toy speakers,
0:50:24 > 0:50:26Herc came out with the big boys.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30I got some big boys behind me right now.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32Herc came out with the big boys!
0:50:36 > 0:50:40Later on some of these people that was coming to all his parties turned
0:50:40 > 0:50:41out to be DJs.
0:50:41 > 0:50:48Flash, Grandmaster Caz, Mean Gene, member of the L Brothers.
0:50:48 > 0:50:55Started seeing AJ the L Brothers, Theodore, Break Out, Baron, Bam.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05There was no closer connection between the gangs of the Bronx
0:51:05 > 0:51:08and this budding hip-hop movement than Afrika Bambaataa,
0:51:08 > 0:51:14who had personally taken it upon himself to convert the fearsome Black Spades into the Zulu Nation.
0:51:14 > 0:51:19This was the first worldwide force to promote positivity through music.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21When I started the Universal Zulu Nation
0:51:21 > 0:51:25I already had an army of street gangs that was with me.
0:51:25 > 0:51:26I had a lot of pull and power,
0:51:26 > 0:51:28so as I was with the Black Spades
0:51:28 > 0:51:32I might go and hang with the Nomads and some of the Javelins
0:51:32 > 0:51:35and some of the groups that might not even like each other.
0:51:35 > 0:51:40I had a type of persuasion with many of the other leaders and groups.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42Bambaataa had great influence among so many people.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44They believed in him.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48And if you were a person that come from Bronx River or
0:51:48 > 0:51:50the other end, the Soundview section,
0:51:50 > 0:51:52everybody was coming to their parties.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54And he accepted you and he put you down.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58It took a lot of work, it took a lot of speaking, a lot of teaching,
0:51:58 > 0:52:00a lot of organising,
0:52:00 > 0:52:05speaking to the brothers and sisters to get away from that certain mentality.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08The person who was in Zulu Nation at that time was assured that
0:52:08 > 0:52:12we can turn ourselves around from negative to positive,
0:52:12 > 0:52:14and we was doing that through music.
0:52:14 > 0:52:19Our slogan became, peace, unity, love and having fun.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21Part of Zulu Nation running Monroe now.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24- Yeah.- A lot of Zulu Nation in Monroe and Stevenson
0:52:24 > 0:52:27and in all these houses they built in the projects.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29Soon the Zulu Nation going to take over the world.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33Is the Bronx in the house?
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Is everybody in the house?
0:52:37 > 0:52:39We're going to get loose in here.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43# Just, just throw your hands in the air
0:52:43 > 0:52:45# And wave them like you just don't care
0:52:45 > 0:52:49- # Say Z-U-L-U That's the way you say...- Zulu!- #
0:52:49 > 0:52:54- # Say Z-U-L-U That's the way you say...- Zulu!- #
0:53:02 > 0:53:06Another thing that is not mentioned is a style change happened.
0:53:06 > 0:53:12Like, it wasn't just break dancing, graffiti, MC, DJ.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14A fifth thing included was style.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16You had to now have style.
0:53:16 > 0:53:21They didn't want to walk around with dirty clothes any more or, you know,
0:53:21 > 0:53:23the patches on their back
0:53:23 > 0:53:28because that wasn't attracting the type of girls that they wanted.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30It was just a whole mindset change.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32Well, let me talk about girls.
0:53:32 > 0:53:34Because I think women played a big part in it
0:53:34 > 0:53:36because there was always girls around.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38You know, even the Black Spades had their girls.
0:53:38 > 0:53:39Everybody had their girls,
0:53:39 > 0:53:43so basically once you could talk to the girls then you knew it was safe.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47So it kind of opened up a whole new area of South Bronx for us
0:53:47 > 0:53:50when you can talk to girls that you couldn't talk to before.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53That's a big deal. Oh, you can talk to this Puerto Rican girl now,
0:53:53 > 0:53:55cos you couldn't talk to Puerto Rican girl back then.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58Not and be black in the South Bronx and live.
0:53:58 > 0:53:59It wasn't happening.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05We didn't even know we was creating anything.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07We just wanted to have something that was ours.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09Music calms the savage beast...
0:54:10 > 0:54:12We would be the Pied Pipers.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15To calm...the storm.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18Music had definitely calmed the savage beast
0:54:18 > 0:54:25because how many times you may be in the motion of something that feels so tense
0:54:25 > 0:54:29and you would just hit that one tune and it would relieve everybody.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31MUSIC: Apache by The Incredible Bongo Band
0:54:35 > 0:54:40I think it's important that whoever sees this knows that we have grown
0:54:40 > 0:54:44and, yes, there was a lot of negative and a lot of shit happened
0:54:44 > 0:54:48but a lot of us own homes, fancy cars, two and three bikes,
0:54:48 > 0:54:50have good-paying jobs.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54I think it's important that whoever sees this knows that there is hope.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57That we could do this and it could be positive.
0:54:57 > 0:55:01They say history is not made by individuals. I disagree.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04I think it's a confluence of factors.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07It's the social context of the time,
0:55:07 > 0:55:12the economic context of the time and the individual dream.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16What was so powerful about our generation is we caused a movement.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19We had to take from nothing and make something.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23I believe that we were making a statement to society, so to speak,
0:55:23 > 0:55:26that had forgotten about us, that we have worth.
0:55:26 > 0:55:27Because we did have big fun
0:55:27 > 0:55:31even though we were poor and we didn't have a lot, we had fun.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34You know, we made a way to have fun and we made a way to feel like we
0:55:34 > 0:55:38counted and we made a way to show the world that we actually existed.