[X]PRESSONLINE

by Dan Verel

Last May, for my reporting class, I authored a story on the possibility of a gang injunction in the Western Addition, which was my neighborhood beat. I knew it was an important issue, but at the time I would never have guessed it would become an obsessive quest of mine.

Instead of abandoning the beat after the semester ended, I dutifully went to Fillmore Street, where one of my most reliable sources could usually be found. I wanted to see if there were any worthy stories to pursue, and I found one. Two days before I went to Fillmore to see Minister Regnaldo Woods at his non-profit, Up From Darkness, seven people had been shot in a hale of gunfire at the Friendship Village housing complex and nearby Plaza East. I couldn’t just walk away from the neighborhood that welcomed me with open arms, especially now.

The shootings were a result of a dispute between youths from Friendship and Eddy Rock, from Plaza East just five blocks away. Eddy Rock, I had learned, was one of the more menacing gangs in the area, and I knew they were likely to be named in the looming injunction. Sure enough, when City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced in July that he would seek injunctions in the Western Addition and in the Mission, Eddy Rock was on the list, along with its rivals, Chopper City and Knock Out Posse.

Woods told me in June that he and a few others had a grand plan: reach out to the gang members and convince them to attend a summit, where they would call a truce. Once there, they would receive access to mental health services, employment guidance, and hear from inspiring African-American men. I wanted to write about that, and knew if I hung out long enough, I would likely be able to get exclusive access to the event. In other words, I would be able to interview the most elusive of sources – gang members.

The summit never happened. So I -- in a bit of a panic -- asked Woods if I could interview the gang members anyway, and tie it into a story about the injunction. He agreed to take me down to Plaza East, where I would be able to sit down with a few of the “shot callers” and just, you know, chat.

I can’t say exactly why I was so eager to talk to reputed gang members. Perhaps it was morbid curiosity, perhaps just innocent intrigue -- a hope to gain insight into a world that I’ve never experienced. One thing I decided early on, though, was that I wouldn’t just use this opportunity to further my own agenda to get published. Sure, it would help; but I realized that was the wrong mindset.

I’ve interviewed grieving mothers, multiple sclerosis patients, and anti-social pack rats in the past, but these interviews would easily be the most challenging.

After interviewing four of the guys, I was in a bit of a daze and had to finish up so I could digest what had been discussed. The matter-of-fact tone in which they explained what it was like to have six of their friends killed less than a block away was a bit mind-numbing. But they all sounded a common theme: They wanted to change -- really. They just didn’t know how and needed the guidance of Woods and other elders. They seemed sincere.

But was I simply going to be an apologist for these guys? Could I just ignore the thousands of pages of evidence stacked against them? No, I couldn’t. And I realized what I had gotten myself into – a neglected community about to be caught up in the middle of ambitious political policy.

I went back to Plaza East four more times despite my personal reservations. I was curious to see how things were evolving with Eddy Rock -- and evolve they did. They no longer call themselves Eddy Rock. They were now calling themselves Open Arms, named after a non-profit they started with the help of Woods and others. Whether or not their Arms will remain open remains to be seen. For the sake of the neighborhood, let’s hope so.

See xpress.sfsu.edu for a reprint of the full San Francisco Bay Guardian story.