Teaching the Values of God

Fred Williams was the founder and executive director of the Cross Colors/Common Ground Foundation, an advocacy group based in the Watts section of Los Angeles that worked with young people involved in gangs, when this interview appeared. He was co-coordinator of the Gang Summit, and he was interviewed by Jim Wallis shortly after he returned to LA from Kansas City.

- The Editors

Jim Wallis: How did the Gang Summit come about? Some people think it was precipitated by the Rodney King trial and the Los Angeles rebellion.

Fred Williams: It had absolutely nothing to do with the Rodney King case. It was an idea whose time had just come, and it swelled because the young men were actually tired of killing each other. But even more, they were tired of being victimized by law enforcement and by the same society that claimed to help them. They knew that the only way to change it was to do something for themselves.

Wallis: LA had one of the first gang truce movements, while similar movements were occurring in other cities across the country. How did it all come together?

Williams: It was a natural coming together. LA is the gang capital of the world and when the young men there went public with the gang truce movement, it gave everybody else a sigh of relief. That made some people say, "Look, let's do the same thing here."

Wallis: What was the significance of the Gang Summit to you?

Williams: This country has never had young African Americans and Hispanics come together on the premise that we are not here to shoot each other in the head. Our destinies are tied together; our future depends on each other. That's why the brothers came together. They decided to create their own economic development because our society has simply forgotten how valuable these young people are.

This emerging leadership is going to have to be nurtured and cultivated. They cannot work without resources, and the strategies for getting resources will have to be clear or these new leaders will go back underground.

Wallis: What did you see happening between people at the summit?

Williams: I saw the coming together of a family that had been divided. Although we have experienced the same kinds of degradation across the country, we all knew that coming together would give us a better sense of where we need to go. It was powerful, very powerful.

It had nothing to do with all of us who serve kids. It was a spiritual coming together that was bound to happen.

Wallis: What is the role of the churches in the gang truce movement? What do you hope for from them in terms of relationship or partnership?

Williams: Well, the church might not like all of what I say.

Wallis: That's fine. I want you to tell it like it is.

Williams: We recognize the financial power and the resource strength of the church. The church has to get off its high horse. It's got to be willing to do what no one else is going to do and share its financial and other kinds of resources--immediately. It must be the leader.

Look at what Jesus did. Jesus wasn't concerned about his wealth. His mentality and approach went far beyond just what God could give him. It went to what he could bring his people. And I think if the church is going to be a force, it needs to be true to what God tells us in the scripture.

Wallis: What are the next steps?

Williams: There needs to be a growing interest in what happens to young people. People should start in their own neighborhoods. Most of us need to start in our own families by just being more sensitive to where young people are.

Because every city is different, we've got to deal with our own problems. Each community has to do that first, then we come together and move forward with a national agenda. And once we do that, oh, the power!

Wallis: The truce is holding in LA?

Williams: Yes, it is. But we have to be very clear that the glue has a lot to do with the resources available.

Wallis: There's a lot of cynicism in the media and other places about where the truce movement is going. What do you think are the most difficult questions you'll confront?

Williams: How do you translate a high-profile summit into a grassroots movement? What about the day in and day out, people talking, people organizing--that's critical. You cannot just go into a city and claim to put together mass gang movements. It's going to turn and bite you.

We can't get lost in the interviews. Some of us are starting to believe our own press releases, and that's going to kill us. The question is, How do we make it a real, and I'm talking about R-E-A-L not R-E-E-L, movement?

Wallis: You've been doing this street organizing for 18 years. What is your background?

Williams: I was a gang banger. I shot a boy and killed him when I was 14. I did time for that. Crime was my first, middle, and last name. I was one of the Crips that this society trained to die. But they wanted me to believe that once I was one I would always be one. That's not true. That's the message we are taking to our young folk.

Wallis: What turned things around for you?

Williams: I can only give glory and honor to God. But it's like I was asleep for the first 15 years of doing this work. Three years ago I realized what God wants me to do.

And that is to help young people see God's value for their life and their own self-worth. They need to see that their commitment to this society is tied to their success. We need to stay about the business of organizing for young people instead of around them. If we step out of the organization of young people and into the capitalization of them, we've already lost the battle.