Participants: Aaron Chancy (Host), Kitrell Lucas
Series Code: TNJ
Program Code: TNJ000063
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00:01 The following program discusses sensitive issues.
00:03 Parents are cautioned that some material 00:04 may be too candid for younger children. 00:10 Welcome to The New Journey, 00:11 a program where you'll meet real life people, 00:13 with real life testimonies, 00:15 doing real life ministry for Jesus Christ. 00:17 I'm your host Aaron Chancy, 00:19 come join us on The New Journey. 00:52 Welcome back to The New Journey. 00:53 On today's broadcast, we have with us Kitrell Lucas. 00:56 Kitrell, we'd like to thank you for being on the program today. 00:58 Welcome and thank you. 01:00 Yes sir, yes sir. 01:01 Just some general brief background information, 01:03 could you tell us your age and where you are from? 01:06 I'm 41 years old from Chicago, Illinois, 01:08 but right now I live in Huntsville, Alabama. 01:11 Okay, you mentioned Chicago, Illinois, 01:13 what was it like growing up in Chicago, Illinois 01:16 when you were younger? 01:17 Well, I grew up on the south side of Chicago. 01:23 We had limited resources. 01:28 But it was dangerous, 01:30 you know, the areas that I came in, 01:32 I grew up in a Robert Taylor Homes. 01:33 Okay. 01:34 That's a public house and development 01:36 on the south side. 01:37 All right. 01:39 Growing up, I was into do, 01:42 well, I was exposed to a whole lot. 01:44 Okay. 01:45 But I've learned even then 01:48 that if I mind my business 01:50 that I can get away with few things. 01:53 Okay, okay. 01:54 Now what was the likelihood growing up in Chicago back 01:57 when you were younger of a person young person 01:59 making it to 21 years old? 02:01 Wow, you know 21 seemed far away 02:04 for lot of people, you know. 02:06 Definitely. 02:08 And 21 would have meant that if for me 02:11 that we were in the early '90s, and that was close to 2000, 02:15 and that seemed like a distant future. 02:18 So a lot of things were handled for the moment. 02:23 We did have gang violence, a lot of gang violence, 02:25 little kids did get killed. 02:27 Wow. 02:28 A lot of lives were lost before the age of 21. 02:31 Okay. 02:32 The likelihood of a mother with more than one child, 02:36 you know, to get out of the projects with all of them. 02:39 Yeah. 02:40 That was really slim to get out. 02:41 Wow, wow. 02:43 So growing up, you mentioned that, 02:45 you know, friends got killed and young people got killed. 02:49 How did that make you feel growing up, 02:51 seeing those things around you? 02:53 Well, I wasn't one of those who didn't think 02:55 that I wouldn't live to see 21 years old. 02:59 Okay. 03:01 I always had a plan for myself but it was dangerous. 03:06 There was some areas that I knew not to go into. 03:10 There was some people that I knew 03:12 not to even look their way. 03:14 You know, because they'll, it could, 03:16 it could spell trouble for me. 03:17 Okay. 03:19 What was your early home life like growing up? 03:22 Well, it's funny because we grew up 03:24 in the heart of the projects. 03:26 Okay. 03:27 We lived on a 16th floor in a 16th storey high rise, 03:31 and I'd like to tell folk, I grew up in the projects, 03:35 but in that house, 03:36 in that apartment it was totally different. 03:39 Okay. 03:40 My mother she was introduced to Adventism 03:43 when I was very young. 03:45 She was a single parent, 03:46 she raised myself and two brothers 03:48 before another brother came along. 03:50 Okay. 03:51 And we were taught about God, 03:54 what we know outside of our house 03:56 didn't go inside of our house. 03:58 There was no smoking, no men in and out, you know. 04:03 It was a single mom 04:05 who'd pray with her children every day, 04:07 taught us about God every day. 04:09 We got whippings for messing up the house and all of that, 04:12 but for most part, 04:14 I have friends who were able to come over 04:16 a few but I was hardly able to go out and visit. 04:21 How do you think your mother manage to raise you all up, 04:24 you, and your brother, 04:25 and your siblings together in a house and protect you 04:29 and shelter you from certain things 04:30 that were going on around you. 04:32 My mother was a praying woman. 04:34 Okay. 04:35 And I believe that it was her prayers 04:37 that got us through 04:38 because not all families came out of there 04:42 with all of their siblings intact. 04:44 Okay. 04:45 With no grudges, no strings attached, 04:49 you know, if I went back and round in the old hood, 04:52 I might be recognized as the guy 04:54 who didn't come outside, 04:56 you know, wouldn't be anything held against me like, 04:59 "Oh, we've been looking for you, let's get him, 05:02 " the things like that. 05:03 I believe it was her prayers. 05:05 Okay. Okay, praise the Lord. 05:07 Now you mentioned that you grow up 05:08 in a Robert Taylor Homes. 05:09 Now, I'm not familiar with the Robert Taylor Homes 05:11 but I have heard about Cabrini Green Projects, 05:14 infamous Cabrini Green Projects. 05:17 What was the difference between those projects 05:19 and the projects that you grew up in? 05:21 Not much of a difference besides location. 05:23 Okay. 05:24 Robert Taylor was on the south side of Chicago, 05:26 and it was part of a housing development 05:28 that stretched 2 miles long. 05:30 Okay. 05:31 As a matter fact, from my 16th floor window 05:34 I could see the neighboring Stateway Gardens, 05:37 and there were Dearborn Homes, Ickes Homes downstate street. 05:42 If I look to my left, I can see across the Dan Ryan, 05:46 Wentworth Garden Housing Projects. 05:48 If I look to my right... 05:50 What? 05:51 You know, to the lake there was the Ida B. Wells, 05:54 you know, public house and development. 05:56 And behind me, or south of me 05:59 was the rest of the Robert Taylor Homes. 06:00 Okay, okay. 06:02 Cabrini Green, they had the same gangs. 06:05 As a matter of fact, their gangs were lot affiliated 06:07 with the gangs in my neighborhood. 06:09 Okay, okay. 06:10 There was an instance 06:12 where a little boy was killed in Cabrini Green, 06:14 and it was, it's known, it was on the news, 06:17 his name is Dantrell Davis, 06:20 and they wanted to get rid of their guns. 06:22 It just so happens a boy, a guy, 06:25 from the area I lived in 06:27 was followed by the police 06:29 bringing their guns to our neighborhood. 06:31 So they were pretty much 06:33 in cohesion as far as gang structure, 06:36 but one development was on the north side of Chicago 06:39 and the others on the south side. 06:40 Okay. 06:42 Now, Chicago is known for its gang violence, 06:45 and you eventually got involved in the GDs 06:47 or a Gangsters Disciples. 06:49 Can you shed some light upon that for us? 06:50 And the whole structure and formation 06:52 of the Gangster Disciples? 06:54 Well, from what I know the Gangster Disciples 06:56 come out of a gang that started as the Devils Disciples. 07:00 Okay, wow. 07:02 The chief in that gang disciple, 07:03 Gangster Disciples, 07:05 Larry Hover was a Devils Disciple. 07:08 And some of his friends, or gang partners, 07:14 you know, they branched off, and broke up, 07:16 and developed their own gangs. 07:18 Okay. 07:19 If you come down to the years, this was actually in 1970s, 07:22 the early '70s when this happen, 07:24 and I was just being born. 07:27 Yeah. 07:28 You want to know how I ended up in it? 07:29 Yeah, yeah. 07:31 Shed some light upon that also. 07:32 I was exposed to the gang, gangs at an early age. 07:37 As far as second grade I could remember 07:39 guys doing gang size, and trying to recruit. 07:41 Okay. 07:43 I was never really interested until about seventh grade. 07:47 I was more of a wannabe in seventh grade, 07:50 I was actually a student at an Adventist school. 07:54 So I took the mentality 07:56 that I saw in the projects to the school, 07:59 try to form my own gang in the school, 08:01 and be this and that in the school. 08:03 And when I graduated high school, 08:06 that's when I was actually drafted into the gang. 08:09 Didn't have courage to say I didn't want to be in it. 08:13 And I was drafted in 08:16 and became at that point a ranking member. 08:18 Okay. 08:19 Now talk about that whole drafting process, 08:21 and the ranking member, what you mean by that? 08:24 Well, I was sitting outside, 08:25 sports was a thing that I liked, 08:28 and the guys we would go to the school, 08:30 our neighboring school, and play basketball. 08:32 So I'm out one day bouncing a basketball, 08:36 bunch of guys outside, I just dip in a corner store, 08:39 or go into a corner store, 08:41 come out the corner store everybody's gone. 08:43 This happened two Wednesdays in a row. 08:45 Okay. 08:46 The third Wednesday, 08:48 and it was Wednesday is significant 08:49 because this is the time 08:51 where you get a lot of people out on the block. 08:53 Okay. 08:55 There was a guy come up and say, 08:56 "I want you, you, you and you on my staff," 08:58 and I was one of them. 09:00 And other people say, "Uh-oh, Kitrell, 09:01 Kitrell go in to the thing, to the thing." 09:03 I didn't know what the thing was. 09:05 Okay, okay. 09:06 But I'm going with these guys, we go down an ally, 09:09 and to an abandoned house we go down in a basement. 09:13 Everybody says, well one fellow says, 09:15 "Now everybody get in your six point stance," 09:17 and I didn't even know what that was. 09:19 But I'm a pretty fast learner, so I saw everybody was standing 09:21 and I'm standing there, 09:23 and these guys steps in the middle of a circle 09:26 that we have formed, 09:28 and said a creed, and I realized that 09:30 I'm not a gang member yet, you know. 09:32 Okay. 09:34 If I had the courage then, 09:35 if I had somebody probably guiding me 09:38 or steering me better from there, 09:40 I probably would have left. 09:42 Okay. 09:44 But instead I stayed there, and me being one of those guys, 09:48 he wanted on the staff, 09:49 he actually made me a ranked member. 09:51 Okay, now what are some of the rival gangs that, 09:53 that are located in the Chicago area, 09:56 the inner city Chicago area? 09:58 Well, you got the Gangster Disciples 10:00 which was a... 10:02 which was the gang that I was a member of. 10:04 You have Black Disciples. Okay. 10:06 You have Black Stones, you have Mickey Cobras, 10:11 you have Vice Lords, 10:13 and you got a lot of different factions. 10:16 One thing I could say about the Gangster Disciples, 10:18 you know, they say you are, it takes one to be one, 10:24 that probably took one to kill one. 10:26 Yeah, okay. Wow. 10:28 The Gangster Disciples were pretty much 10:29 hated by all those other gangs. 10:31 Yeah. Now, why was that? 10:32 Well, they were the biggest and probably the most ruthless, 10:35 the strongest, even to this day 10:39 they're reputed as the most strong, 10:42 strongest gang. 10:43 They run a penitentiaries, 10:44 they had a run in streets there, 10:46 they run a gangs, Cook County Jail there, 10:50 so all the other gangs I guess, you know what they, 10:53 they'll unite with one another to fight 10:55 the Gangster Disciples. 10:56 Wow, wow. 10:58 Now, you mentioned that you were a high ranking member, 10:59 being a high ranking member, 11:01 what were some of your responsibilities? 11:02 Okay, I was... 11:04 Well, high ranking, I won't say high ranking, 11:07 but I was chief of security. 11:10 My job was to make sure that the drug dealers has security, 11:15 I mean, someone looking out for the police. 11:18 So I would assign guys to stand on certain corners, 11:22 you know, to let us know when a police will come. 11:24 Okay, now growing up in that gang life, 11:27 and growing up in Chicago anyhow inner city 11:29 in '70s, '80s, 11:30 and seeing all the violence going on around you, 11:33 how did that impact your life 11:35 based upon the things that you saw? 11:37 You know, I never had a heart to kill a person. 11:41 Okay. 11:42 And that probably goes back 11:44 to when I was about three yeas old. 11:46 I was in a fight with another boy, 11:48 he was about five, I wrestled him to the ground, 11:51 and I was going to mash his head 11:53 to the concrete ground. 11:54 Hmm. At three years old? 11:55 Yes. Wow. 11:57 My mom though, she, she said, stop it. 12:01 And the way she said it, it hit so hard, 12:04 it made me see that I was doing something wrong. 12:06 Yeah, wow. 12:08 And just like that I could never hurt anyone. 12:11 Okay. 12:13 I can recall an instance 12:14 where the guys wanted to go and shoot 12:16 at the rival gangs. 12:17 Okay. 12:19 And it was 2:30; 2:30 was the time 12:20 when kids get out of school. 12:21 Hmm. Wow. 12:23 And I just couldn't agree with it, 12:24 I couldn't, I couldn't, I did not allow it. 12:28 Being chief of security, I was able to stop that. 12:31 I didn't allow it, I actually would argue with guys over it, 12:35 you know, I find myself in the base 12:37 in heated arguments over 12:40 why we will not go over there and shoot. 12:42 You can do it early in the morning 12:44 or do it late at night. 12:45 Yeah, but not while, 12:47 not when school kids getting out, 12:48 so how would a lot of, a lot of your friends in the gang, 12:51 how would they look at you being that you are saying, 12:53 "Okay, we're not gonna do this, or we're not gonna do this." 12:55 How did they view you? 12:57 Well, a few of them, 12:58 you know, those who were really gang bangers, 13:01 you know, all thrilled just being a little punk 13:03 this and that, and the other. 13:05 Yeah. 13:06 But I... 13:07 it's funny how folk look at you, you don't realize 13:09 what a person sees when they look at you. 13:12 Yeah. 13:13 I was with a guy 13:15 who was really heavy into that stuff recently, 13:18 may be about seven to eight years ago. 13:20 And he said, "Man, you know what? 13:22 You should've never been in an outing, 13:24 I don't know how you got in that." 13:25 He said, "You were never that type of person," 13:28 you know, and I am like, 13:29 whoa, you saw it but I didn't even see it. 13:31 Yeah, wow. 13:32 What do you think that he saw in you 13:33 that was different from the others? 13:35 I don't know, you know, I was, like I said from the time 13:38 when my mom stopped me 13:40 from ramming that boy's head into the ground, 13:42 I was pro-life. 13:44 Okay. 13:45 I couldn't, I felt everybody's pain. 13:47 My best friend's grandmamma was rushed out to the hospital, 13:50 I cried more than he did, you know. 13:53 My uncle died, his children said, 13:55 "You cry like he was your daddy." 13:57 You know, I felt everyone else's pain, 14:00 and if I knew that someone was hurt, 14:03 I was hurt. 14:05 Someone was getting hurt, I was hurt. 14:06 So people, you know, they saw that in me. 14:08 Yeah. 14:09 Now you mentioned about if you would have had guidance 14:11 at a younger age, 14:12 you probably would have had the courage to stand up 14:15 and not get into the gang. 14:17 Where was your father at this time? 14:18 Yeah. 14:20 My mama going to get me for that 14:21 because she like to think that 14:22 she did a good job and she did. 14:24 She did a very good job. Okay. Praise the Lord. 14:25 But without a dad in that home, it hurt me. 14:29 Because I didn't have anything to model my life after. 14:32 Yeah, wow. 14:33 You know, I look at my sons, 14:35 and I see they have that same attitude, 14:37 one specially that I have. 14:39 I said, well, I have to let this boy know 14:41 that it's okay for him to be who God made him to be. 14:43 Yeah, wow. 14:45 And not try to be what he sees out there in the streets. 14:47 Yeah, definitely. 14:48 You know, I've seen a guy, he was actually crippled, 14:51 he walked a certain way. 14:52 Okay. I thought it was cool. 14:54 So I tried to do it. Yeah. 14:55 You know, and I look back, 14:58 and I learned that there were guys 15:00 who actually did to other gangs. 15:02 No, I'm not going to be a part of it. 15:03 Yeah. 15:05 And they actually were in the Robert, 15:06 in that area, and play ball and hung with everybody, 15:10 but they had nothing to do with the gangs. 15:12 And I feel like wow, 15:13 why I couldn't be strong like that. 15:15 What didn't I have somebody, you know, a father, or some, 15:19 you know some positive male, a big brother... 15:21 Yeah, definitely. 15:22 You know, to help me, and teach me 15:24 that that wasn't what I want. 15:26 What do you think would have been 15:27 some of the differences had you had 15:29 that father in a home? 15:30 Well, I tell you about my dad, 15:34 what I learned a lot about him 15:36 I can understand why he wasn't in the home. 15:37 Okay. 15:39 You know, my dad he depended on a gun. 15:42 And my mom said he was a coward. 15:44 I say because I told you about those different projects. 15:46 Yeah. 15:47 They were run by different gangs. 15:49 And as he went to visit each one, 15:51 he became whatever gang that were. 15:53 Wow. Wow. 15:55 Well, so how... 15:57 So, I mean, so how did 15:58 the lot of the gangs there being that, 15:59 you know, they would know him and know that he switched into, 16:02 you know, switch in the different gangs. 16:03 Well, they apparently never found out. 16:04 Never found. wow. 16:06 Because he probably wouldn't be alive today if they had. 16:07 Wow. 16:09 So growing up do you, 16:11 did you get involved in any drugs, 16:12 alcohol or anything along those lines? 16:14 You know, I was prejudiced against folk 16:17 who smoked marijuana, 16:18 my brother's daughter smoking marijuana, 16:20 and I caught him what if, 16:21 you know, there is name in Chicago 16:23 they called Crackheads. 16:25 Okay. 16:26 I'm sorry that they call people who use cocaine. 16:29 They call them Crackheads and they call them Hypes. 16:31 Okay. 16:32 And I used to call my brothers hypes all the time, 16:35 and they say, "We only smoking weed, 16:36 we ain't smoking crack." 16:37 I said, "Well, what you think going to be next, 16:39 you know, when the weed can't get you high more. 16:41 And it's so funny 16:43 because I went through a depression one time. 16:46 A period, I put a lot of love into a girlfriend, 16:49 and when that relationship broke up I was vulnerable, 16:52 and a cousin introduced me to marijuana. 16:54 Okay. 16:55 And that was the first time, this was in 1997 16:58 that I actually tried marijuana. 17:00 Okay. 17:01 Wasn't this part of a gang ritual, 17:02 or any of that type of, type of stuff. 17:05 Drinking, I tried in high school 17:07 and I stopped instantly. 17:08 I didn't understand 17:10 how somebody wanted a headache out of that, 17:12 you know, couldn't have do it. 17:13 Wow, wow. 17:14 So looking back on your life, 17:17 what do you think were some of the positive 17:19 versus some of the negative influences in your life? 17:21 Well, positive influences I found at church. 17:24 I actually bragged... 17:26 You know, went home to the projects 17:29 and bragged about my pathfinder instructor. 17:31 You know, and I bragged about the... 17:35 some of the elders in the church. 17:36 My Sabbath school teacher, you know, he was a male. 17:39 Most were a males that I bragged about. 17:42 There was all the males that I had. 17:44 Yeah, okay. 17:45 My mom was my mother, and my aunts were my dad. 17:49 Mean and they didn't let me get away with anything, 17:51 if I smut, they were on it. 17:52 Wow. 17:54 You know, if you rose your eyes a certain way, 17:56 they were on it, you know. 17:57 Yeah, wow, wow. 17:59 How do you think the effect is upon another young man, 18:02 especially a young man who doesn't have a father 18:04 in the home? 18:05 That may lead him to a lifestyle, a crime, 18:08 and different things like that. 18:09 And the reason I asked that question 18:11 is because I grew up in a home 18:12 where I had both parents, 18:14 and though everything wasn't hunky-dory 18:16 just because I had both parents, 18:17 I still gravitated to the streets. 18:19 I'm a street drug gravitated to the drugs, the alcohol, 18:22 the cocaine, the marijuana, different things 18:24 along those lines. 18:25 But what do you think another child's impact 18:29 has upon not having that parent in the home? 18:32 Well, it's a lot of elements, you know, because 18:35 we didn't have both parents in our home. 18:38 You know, but we didn't have a mama that was saying, 18:40 "You're gonna be just like your dad, 18:42 who is in penitentiary. 18:43 Yeah, that's very important, I think that's very good. 18:45 You got a lot of dads that went to penitentiary, and sometimes, 18:49 you know, I would hear it even today 18:51 you hear mothers tell their children, 18:53 "You're gonna be just like your dad." 18:55 You're gonna be this, 18:56 you ain't gonna be nothing this and all. 18:57 Yeah. Wow. 18:59 You know, so they had... 19:00 It's almost like setting up a child for failure. 19:01 Yes, different elements, you know, 19:03 they contribute to what role a child takes in life. 19:09 You know, you have some who may have a father 19:12 who is in a penitentiary, 19:14 and that may motivate them not be in the penitentiary. 19:16 Yeah, yeah, that's true. 19:17 You know, I tell it is, my mom at one point was a 21 year old 19:23 with three kids by three different dads. 19:25 Hmm, wow. 19:27 My dad not being there didn't hurt me. 19:29 Okay. 19:31 My younger brother, youngest brother his dad, 19:35 well, his dad was there in and out, 19:37 you know, and they eventually got married, 19:39 but it didn't hurt him. 19:41 But my middle brother his dad being out, 19:43 it angered him. 19:45 And now that anger is being shown 19:47 in his own relationship with his child. 19:49 Hmm. Wow, wow. 19:50 Looking back on your life growing up 19:52 in inner city Chicago. 19:54 What are some instances that you could talk about 19:57 where you specifically saw the hand of God protecting you? 20:00 Well, so many. 20:03 You know, I am 41 years old now. 20:06 I could remember something that I did at 19 20:10 where I probably be just getting out 20:11 of the penitentiary last year. 20:14 Wow. 20:17 I can tell you another instance where, 20:20 as far as gang related, you know, there were many. 20:23 You know, there were many, 20:25 many going through those projects, 20:28 you know, where, 20:29 I probably about give my brains blowing out. 20:32 You know, if I hadn't, 20:33 if the Lord didn't make me look to the left. 20:35 Yeah, okay. 20:36 You know, or at one time, he made me look to this God, 20:40 and I tell you this. 20:41 There was the one building down there, 20:43 told you the GD's they were very notorious gang. 20:48 Okay. 20:49 And they love violence. 20:51 Yeah, wow. 20:52 So, sometime they want to fight each other. 20:55 So there was one building 20:56 they didn't care where you were from 20:57 or who you were. 20:59 Yeah. 21:00 You come in their building, they want to fight. 21:01 Yeah. 21:03 And I had a nephew that lived there. 21:04 So I had to go there, that was so often that, 21:05 oh man, I dreaded it every time, 21:08 you know, because I knew these guys 21:10 can really say something to me. 21:12 Yeah. 21:13 So I'm going with my cousin one time, 21:14 we're taking her groceries, 21:16 we went grocery shop from there, 21:17 and God, they were all outside, it was, I mean, pack bats, 21:21 golf gloves, everything they use, you know, 21:24 and they guy said, yeah, 21:26 we're gonna touch them up from the top of their hairs 21:28 to their toenails, all right. 21:30 I'm like whoa. 21:31 Looking back now you can laugh about it. 21:33 They're getting ready to get me, you know. 21:34 So my cousin, he's acting as if nothing is wrong, 21:37 like what's wrong with him, 21:39 he didn't just hear what they said, you know. 21:40 Yeah. 21:42 So we get delivered the groceries, 21:43 and we're coming back out. 21:45 Coming out of the gangway, you coming out of the gangway, 21:48 you get a little glimpse of the sky. 21:50 Okay. 21:51 Lord had me look up at the sky, I don't know why. 21:54 But the clouds seemed to form rows of angels, 21:58 and there was another piece of a cloud off to city side 22:01 with his hand up like this. 22:02 Okay. 22:03 And I say, "Whoa, he is ready to charge." 22:05 Yeah. 22:06 And I heard the Lord say, 22:08 "Before I let them touch one hair on your head, 22:10 I've got allegiance of angels." 22:12 Wow. 22:14 And I'll tell you, it put a lot of courage in me 22:16 because it scared me. 22:18 Poked his chest out, I think I strutted to my car. 22:20 Yeah. 22:21 You know, and nobody say a one word 22:23 to either one of them. 22:24 Wow, wow, that's amazing. 22:26 Now you eventually were able to walk away from the gang. 22:28 How were you able to walk away from the gang where, 22:31 you know, a lot of times, 22:32 when you're in it, you're in it forever, 22:34 you're gonna die this, you can't get out. 22:36 How were you able to get out with your life? 22:39 There's this saying that they like to go about, 22:41 once a G, or once a gangster always a gangster? 22:44 Yeah. 22:46 Well, I never... 22:49 Well, before I wanted to get out, 22:52 I probably didn't think about the time 22:54 where I wouldn't be a gangster. 22:56 Yeah. 22:57 Because I was actually fooled, 22:58 I actually thought I would be a gangster for life, 23:02 you know, I actually thought what Larry Hoover's vision was 23:06 that his gangsters go to school, 23:08 and become productive citizens in the community. 23:11 Okay. 23:12 And that's how as gangsters we were going to take over. 23:14 Yeah. 23:16 But there was an instance 23:17 that took place that had a part to play in. 23:19 Okay. 23:21 And not long after that took place 23:24 I wanted out of the gang. 23:25 Okay. 23:26 Now there was before where 23:29 it was rumored that to get out of the gang, 23:31 you either get shot somewhere below your waist, 23:34 or you get a dead valleys, we beat you out of it. 23:37 Yeah, wow. 23:38 Well, I prayed to the Lord, 23:39 you know, and it wasn't so much 23:42 that they didn't do anything to me. 23:44 Okay. 23:45 I prayed to the Lord that 23:46 he forgive me for what I had did, 23:48 and that he would accept me. 23:49 Yeah. 23:50 And that even if I had to die, I'm getting ready to get out. 23:53 Hmm, wow. 23:54 So I went to the gang meeting 23:56 and I let the guys know I wanted out. 23:59 So about at what age were you 24:00 when you were getting out of the gang? 24:02 Well, I got out in 1995. 24:04 Okay. 24:05 So I was 22 years old. 24:07 Okay. 24:09 Yeah. 24:10 So how did those that you were speaking to about getting out, 24:13 how did they view you at that point? 24:15 Oh, my cousins, they were really upset. 24:18 Okay. 24:19 Being a member with rank, 24:20 you know, they probably want to see their cousin go higher. 24:23 Yeah, wow. 24:24 And then they probably looked at it as, 24:26 "Oh, he is a punk, you know, he wants to get out." 24:28 Wow. 24:30 I had other guys who would come to me saying, 24:32 "Man, you know, shake my hand. 24:34 You steer my gangster this, and that, and the other. 24:35 Okay. 24:37 I think to myself now I'm nobody's, I'm going. 24:42 Okay. 24:43 Okay, so looking back on your life, 24:45 what are some of the things that you would change and why? 24:48 What are some of the things that you would not change 24:49 that have made you into the person you are today? 24:51 Okay. Good question. 24:54 I'm what I would change is, 24:57 I probably would, well, 25:01 I don't know what I would change 25:02 because I've learned so much, you know. 25:04 Okay. 25:07 I can't think of anything 25:08 that I'd-- because I don't know how that would've developed. 25:10 Yeah wow. 25:12 So, not much that I would've changed, 25:15 I'm kind of proud of the fact that I'm a black person. 25:17 Yeah. 25:19 That I came from where I came from, you know, 25:21 I look at what's going on 25:23 with the people in the projects now. 25:25 Okay. 25:26 You know, they don't have a voice, 25:27 you know, so I feel like, you know, 25:29 I can't speak for them, 25:31 you know, because not everybody was really bad. 25:33 Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. 25:36 You said what I wouldn't change? 25:37 Yeah. 25:39 Yeah, that's pretty much. Okay. 25:40 So, now gonna back, you know, there's a lot of young people 25:43 that want to be a part of gangs. 25:44 They see things going on 25:46 whether it's in real life or whether it's on TV. 25:49 What can be done to prevent young people 25:51 from actually wanting to join the gang 25:54 and steer their life in the right direction. 25:56 Well, that's the, 25:57 that's the question Chicago is trying to find out. 25:59 Oh, wow. 26:02 There are so many elements again. 26:03 Okay. 26:04 And it reverse back to the time 26:07 when our ancestors migrated up to the north. 26:09 Okay. 26:10 You know, gangs were formed 26:12 as a haven against police brutality. 26:17 Okay. 26:18 You know, so that's one thing that needs to be rooted out, 26:21 you know, police brutality, or just speaking to the person, 26:25 you know, who is in that right now. 26:27 I mean if I put myself there, 26:29 and I'm looking at one of my sons 26:31 who wants to be in a gang this and then the other. 26:34 I don't know how I will really respond, 26:36 you know, I already told them I'm gonna whip their 26:38 but if I catch them with their pants hanging off. 26:39 Yeah. 26:42 But education, you know, love, 26:45 you got to love, you got to hug. 26:47 You know, you got to teach them that they are somebody, 26:50 you know, you got to help them find 26:52 who God created them to be. 26:53 You know what talents did He instill in them, 26:55 and you try to work at it. 26:57 Okay, okay. 26:58 What I want you to do real quick for about 26:59 the next 30-40 seconds is looking to the camera, 27:02 and I want you to talk to that young person 27:03 that is considering getting into a gang, 27:06 or even doesn't want to have a relationship with Jesus, 27:09 would rather, you know, 27:11 chase fast money, fast women, things like that. 27:13 Talk to that young person right now? 27:16 To the young man, or a young woman, 27:18 that's contemplating joining a gang. 27:21 You may want to reconsider. 27:23 Take it from someone that has been there. 27:26 It's not all good and glamorous it looks. 27:29 Gang members, a lot of gang members, 27:31 a lot of my peers were killed by members of their own gang. 27:36 If anything, you may want to find out 27:37 who God made you to be. 27:39 Find out what talents God has blessed you with, 27:43 and try to develop those talents 27:44 all for the glory of God. 27:46 Amen. Amen. 27:48 Well, Kitrell, we want to thank you 27:49 for being on our program 27:50 and sharing your testimony of how God took you 27:52 from the gang to serving Him. 27:54 Viewers, we want to thank you for tuning in. 27:56 Be sure to tune in next time 27:58 for an exciting program of The New Journey. 27:59 Be blessed. |
Revised 2016-06-09