Last night, the Discovery Channel aired a new episode of Gang Wars. This episode hit close to home: Oakland.
Some folks see this stuff as a badge of honor, while others see it as source of shame. Either way, for another image of what's happening on the streets of Oakland, watch this docu-drama.
After reading the Chip Johnson's piece in the San Francisco Chronicle -- admittedly before getting hold of these You Tube clips -- here were my initial thoughts that I shared with my folks Charles Johnson with Wake Yo Game Up:
Police always trying to get that gang enhancement--so the distinction between 'crews' as they call them and 'gangs' is important.
As for 10,000? (The show alleges that Oakland has 10,000 gang members) that's hella people man. They just criminalized hella blocks. Compare that with the population. Or really, 10,000 or 400,000 roughly equals like 2 percent of the population or more. That's 1/40 people in ALL of Oakland. Then if you break it down to ethnicity -- since whites weren't included (neither were our Chin/Viet/Cambo/Lao folks either) so...that is a great popo profiling opportunity"
Here's the description:
Oakland is a city made up of thousands of gang members who own the streets and enforce their rules with guns and violence. It's all part of what everyone calls "The Game" - a world of drugs, money, and retaliation.Gangwars: Oakland I (Part 1)
Watch Part 1
Gangwars: Oakland I (Part 2)
Watch Part 2
Gangwars: Oakland I (Part 3)
Watch Part 3
Gangwars: Oakland I (Part 4)
Watch Part 4
Gangwars: Oakland I (Part 5)
Watch Part 5
The show features Oakland rapper Philthy Rich. A quick glance at the credits shows that Kevin Epps of Mastamind Productions also supplied some footage for the show. Be sure to check out the Discovery Channel or follow The Black Hour on Twitter for the airing of Part II.
