Gang Comeback Not Just a Big City Problem

Sept. 19, 2004 — -- Durham, N.C., is home to Duke University and its world-class medical center. Most residents consider it a good place to live.

But in some neighborhoods, it's easy to find drugs, guns and young men who carry the harsh souvenirs of gang life.

One gang member, who goes by the street name Brooks, raised his shirt to show a long, nasty scar running from his sternum to his waist.

"I got shot here twice and I couldn't even go to the bathroom," he says.

Gang violence is a growing problem across the country. According to a recent study for the group "Fight Crime: Invest in Kids," a coalition of big-city police chiefs, it's up more than 50 percent since 1991. That's almost as high as during the crack epidemic 15 years ago.

And it's up not just in the big cities like Los Angeles and Chicago, famous for their gangs; it's also surging in smaller cities like Durham.

Brooks is featured in Welcome to Durham, a new film made by three young, black men who run a local hip-hop record label. Their job gave them unique access to the gangs.

Mike Wilson, the executive producer of the film, says he was surprised by what they found — "just the amount of rage that they had for not being able to survive and live comfortable lives."

Wilson says being in a gang is about survival.

"They're trying to put some pork and beans on the table, some rice, or something to drink," he says, "or [to afford] a roof or a clean shirt on their back."

Standing behind Brooks in the film is C.C. He says he's not a gang member, but on the street the distinction is not so clear. Like many gang members, he is the product of a broken home. C.C.'s mother died of AIDS.

"I lost my mom when I was 13; you know what I'm saying?" he asks. "I got a tattoo of her right here on my arm. … I knew my father, but as far as being a father figure in my life he wasn't there for me."

The Rev. Jimmie Lee Hawkins, pastor of Durham's Covenant Presbyterian Church, says C.C. is typical.