No way do I plug books stories on this site but this is one book that got me interested. You know how I feel about gang activity on the streets and it's relationship to hip-hop as the mainstream media whom I work for thinks. Toronto and Vancouver, Canada have huge gang problems. Many rap groups up to recently Bone Thugs n'Harmony have been denied entry into Canada. We all know what happened last summer as Nas lost his venue and the concert had to be cancelled. Canadian authorities don't play with violent gang lyrics and more. 50 Cent can't come in and Murder Inc. You will remember these stories on Toronto's streets! Now comes a book from a former gang member who wants our youth to move into a positive future.By the time Dashaun "Jiwe" Morris www.JiweEra.com moved to Phoenix in the third grade, his childhood had been pushed to the margins. Already a victim of poverty and neglect, he found acceptance and, most importantly, protection, in a network of older neighborhood boys. What he lacked at home -his mother addicted to drugs and severely depressed and his big brother detached from him- he found with the Bloods, a notorious street gang.
Unfortunately, the vision first dreamed up by T. Rodgers, Bloods co-founder and Godfather/guardian to Dashaun, in which gangs served to protect and encourage members of the community, had given way to a darker purpose. Concepts of unity and solidarity had long given way to fear, hate, destruction and violence. It was War in the streets, and as a member of the Bloods, you participated on the front lines, even at the early age of ten and eleven.
Unfortunately, the vision first dreamed up by T. Rodgers, Bloods co-founder and Godfather/guardian to Dashaun, in which gangs served to protect and encourage members of the community, had given way to a darker purpose. Concepts of unity and solidarity had long given way to fear, hate, destruction and violence. It was War in the streets, and as a member of the Bloods, you participated on the front lines, even at the early age of ten and eleven.
In War of the Bloods in My Veins - A Street Soldier's March Toward Redemption from Scribner/Simon and Schuster, 27 year-old Dashaun "Jiwe" Morris chronicles his life, from early childhood to present as a foot soldier in the war on the streets. A Blood gang member from the east coast, his story is dark, riveting, poignant and yes, necessary. For within his tale is a cry out to his fellow brother and sisters to check themselves for change. For only change will bring about redemption and only redemption will allow life, and only life will allow love.
Not since 1994 when bestselling author, "Monster" Kody Scott, scripted from prison Monster, The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member has gang life been so vividly chronicled by one of its own. War of the Bloods in My Veins, also initially penned from a jail cell, examines a life wrought with a despair unknown to most. Dashaun's transition from a child full of promise to the boy who commits his first drive-by at age 11 is a tragic tale of modern childhood. It is this pivotal moment when the reader knows that his relationship with the Bloods is no fleeting romance, but a long-term commitment. Neither the passing of friends, fears for his own safely, nor the guilt which plagues Dashaun, are enough to extricate him from the grip.
It is later, through a high school football coach, that Dashaun finds a substitute father; one of a few adults looking after his best interests. When he is recruited by Delaware State University on a football scholarship, he has every reason to look forward to a future in the NFL. Things are even looking up on the personal front, as he has found true love and is awaiting the birth of his first child. However, his past catches up with him and he is charged with attempted murder.
Prison time, though lonely, allows Dashaun time to reflect on the true purpose of a gang, which is to protect and support the community through positive measures. Now, he looks to reform the very concept of "gang culture." War of the Bloods in My Veins is a revelation to many, including those familiar with urban communities as well as those who see themselves as separate. What Dashaun wants readers to know is that no one is separate or removed from the bleak truth related in his book and that, if ignored, the current definition of gang culture will claim many more victims.
For CANADA residents: May 21st 2008, PBS TV documentary "Out of the Shadows" airs w/ Terrie Williams (check your local PBS station)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dashaun Morris spent most of his childhood in different towns in New Jersey, but attended third grade in Phoenix, Arizona, where he became a member of the Bloods gang. As a young adolescent, he rose through the ranks and would later participate in the peace agreement between the Bloods and Crips in Newark. Morris attended Delaware State University on a football scholarship, but was charged with attempted murder and, consequently, went to prison. In prison, he wrote a letter to Terrie M. Williams, who had a monthly column in FEDS magazine. She brought his writing to the attention of her publisher, Scribner, who began working with Morris and bought his memoir seven months later. Today, Morris lectures frequently and works with Bloods sets worldwide to change the organization from within. He lives in New Jersey. Dashaun "Jiwe" Morris is committed to impacting change in the streets and in the community. Visit him online at www.JiweEra.com
Thanks to Makeda Smith at Jazzmyne PR in California for sending me this.
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