My Father Was an American Gangster
Francine Lucas is helping to support children of incarcerated parents.
Nov. 27, 2007— -- For over three decades, Francine Lucas lived in shame, hiding a secret even from her closest friends.
Nothing about this Atlanta-based mortgage broker and mother of two stood out. But last month, thanks to the blockbuster movie "American Gangster," that facade came tumbling down, revealing Lucas' traumatic past as the daughter of famed drug lord Frank Lucas.
Now she faces her past head on.
Lucas is using the movie's success to draw attention to her latest project: Yellow Brick Roads, an organization designed to help and support the children of incarcerated parents.
As the daughter of the man once known as the American gangster, Lucas describes her formative years as "very stressful" and filled with "shame." She had no idea what her father really did when the police came knocking on her family's door early one morning in 1975.
"What I remember about my father, growing up, was that he was just like any other father — I never saw the other side of him, what he did on the street or what his line of work was," Lucas said in an interview with ABC News.
"He was a regular father that came home every day. He cooked breakfast for me. He would play with me. And he taught me. It was just like a normal relationship."
Lucas also remembers the chaos that engulfed her family following her parents' arrest.
Her father was sentenced to 70 years in prison for his offenses. Her mother, Eva, spent six months in prison for throwing a suitcase, filled with tens of thousands of dollars, out their apartment window during that morning raid in 1975.
To protect her from retaliation, Lucas was placed in the federal witness protection program for a year. Her family moved to New Mexico, where she was given a different last name and told never to speak about her past.
"Being the daughter of Frank Lucas has been somewhat stressful throughout my life," she said, "I had to constantly disguise who I was."
Like many children of incarcerated parents, Lucas grew up shy and reserved, afraid to let go of relationships, always fearing the worst around every corner.
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