Black Horizons; 3813; No Gang

What kind of fire, step across all that yellow tape and you scared of me, I don't know what's going on. Welcome to Black Horizons, I'm Chris Moore. Tonight we're going to hear from the Pittsburgh Police Detective who's trying to keep kids out of gangs. We'll also learn about a great new play by a local theater company, plus a local soldier in Iraq who has been following sending us letters

has sent us another one and we'll read it to you just a second. But first, statistics indicate that the younger a person is introduced to a life of crime, the more likely they are to continue on that path of crime all the way to adulthood. Joining me now to talk about a program aimed at keeping kids out of gangs is Mildred Jenkins, a Pittsburgh police officer, with a crime unit and Deborah Pamplin, a family support specialist with community connection for families. That's an organization that cares for families and their children who have serious emotional problems. Now, you two have been friends for a long time, is that right Mildred? And you knew through her work, her lifelong work with the police department that she needed to talk to some of your kids, is that right Deborah? And tell me how do you knew that? What was it about Mildred that you knew that about? Well, I know that she's been a police officer in the different things that she has had to undergo with her job. And I know that in her heart, she was always wanting to do something for the youth because of the things that she was,

how she would see all the youth at the crime scenes and it was bother in her. Now, Mildred, tell me what that's like. I can only imagine you've been in an office for 20 years now? Correct. Okay. And part of the crime unit, I guess you're stepping across yellow tape, you see people who look like the three of us all the time lying face down somewhere, it must be hard breaking because you're a mother and a grandmother too, right? That's correct. Well, how hard is it to do that to keep continually going to those scenes? It's difficult. It's difficult when I go to a homicide scene and I see a young male or young female deceased lying on the street or in a house, it's bothersome. I'm sure it is. And for the life of me, I admire that you can continue to do this and investigate and maybe solve it. Now, you wrote a book, My Life in a Street Gang where you used a number of people that you talked to and we have a picture of the cover of it right there on the screen right now. A number of young people that

you talked to as a composite character to go through this. How does the book begin and what kind of issues do these young people, this young character deal with? Okay. The reason why I wrote the book is because I want to educate young people, young children and teenagers about the realities that are associated with street gangs. I came about writing the book. I have a character, his name is G, and he tells his story on his life in a street gang. He's hard, right? Initially, he's not. Yeah. He's every mother's son. He tells his story of how it all started that he became a gang member and once he becomes a gang member, how his life changes. Now in the book, G becomes a victim of a homicide and once he dies, he speaks to the kids in spirit and he encourages them to stay in

school, to get in education, to not make the choices that he's made in life and to make positive life choices. In fact, in the book, you always talk about how G had to look around and how his friends advised him being in a gang was stupid. I'm sure these young people have heard the same thing, but they still make a decision to get into the gangs. Yes, they do. It's a decision that a person is going to make. I can talk to a person and tell them from my job, from my perspective, just how bad it is to be a gang member despite the things that I see, but a person in the end is going to make their own minds up which way they're going to go. Who did the artwork? I think the pictures are really compelling to tell you the truth. This one phrase, I'll just turn around, I might be shot, I might be paralyzed or crippled or die and we see the coffin right here, we see someone, a young person in the wheelchair with their head on backwards. It looks

like this artwork would really speak to young people. Do you find it that'd be the case when they read the book? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Sometimes, just to interject, that was one of the things that caught my children's eye is the different pictures. And the book itself, a lot of children don't like to read. So here they had this book, that didn't have a lot of words in it and then had pictures to go along with it. And my children were really attentive. I was really surprised at my boys because a lot of times we have a hard time. What age range are you talking about? Seven to fourteen. And a lot of times when we bring different facilitators in we have a hard time with them. But I was really impressed. Mildred, she really did get to call out the kids attention. They went through the book and they loved it. They actually was reading the book. And that's the first time that I have ever seen them. Did you find that they identified with

the book and gene the character in it? Yes, they did. They already know somebody who could have been a gene. You know what? And they didn't really express it in words, but you seen it in body language. You know, you seen a lot of which are his goes down, especially when they were talking about how they get into the gangs, lack of not having money or parents not having the money to wear, the up -to -date tennis shoes, the clothing, and how they even get into the gang. But my boys were really, really impressed with Mildred and the book. Mildred, I understand you're also a good playwright. Yes, sir. Okay. What plays have you in? I've wrote three plays for McGee Women's Hospital Domestic Balance Unit and two skits. And next month, I'm going to write another skit for their performance eights and women. And is this based on all of your experience in 20 -year history as a police officer? Not all of it personal and my

experience as a police officer. Okay. It just makes me wonder what else are you doing? And when you see a young person listening, how can you tell that you've really made a difference that they're going, you know, that's right, that could be me and I don't want that to be me. How do you know that they're going to make the right decisions? Well, whenever I do the presentations, like Deborah says, there are some kids that I will have their attention immediately. And there will be something that will have their head down, you'll hear them say statements like, oh, here we go again, not another one. What we do, excuse me, what I do after the presentation is that I have a questionnaire for the audience, the children to fill out. And that way I know if I got through to them. Also, after the presentation, we have like a talk session where they can ask me questions and I can ask them questions. Do you find that they're responsive based on reading the book that they understand what

you're trying to say to them? Yes, because initially going in the presentations that I have done, the kids are usually at risk. They're around the balance, it's part of their life. The other thing that Mildred was able to introduce to the children is to actually see a police officer on a positive note. Most of the time that they see police officers, there's always something negative, you know, but they had a chance to see someone with nurturing kind. Somebody liked their own mom. Someone liked their own mom and they were really impressed with that. And also, Mildred does a print. She takes prints of their hand prints and showed them how it was done at a crime scene and they were really impressed with that. Oh, you mean just like fingerprints, that kind of thing. When I do a presentation, I size up the group and especially if they're younger kids, what I like to do is kind of break the ice. And what I do is just show them one part of what I do on the job.

So I'll take the fingerprints and then we'll go into the presentation. Are you making a difference? Yes, I am. I can honestly say that because I did a presentation at Helen Face on Arts Academy out in home with this past summer. And there were about maybe 20 students involved. And I read three valuations and yes, it's making a difference. When you go in, are you dressed like you dress now? Do you have your weapon and that sort of stuff in signature? Or are you wearing a uniform, that kind of thing? They can tell, looking at the weapon and the cuffs and everything else that you are a police officer. Yes, I wear my uniform because it adds to credibility and what I'm about to present. They still ask to see her badge, though. They see the gun and they see everything they see the gun or want to see the badge. But they want to see the badge. Let me see your badge. Deborah, what does this mean to you as an aid to

talk to these young children that you're dealing with? I imagine it's invaluable. Right. Well, first of all, like I was saying earlier, I think, you know, sometimes it's best to get to the kids at a young age. And this is more like a prevention. You know, I think with Mildred coming up, at least this will give them some information. I think a lot of times, children get into things out of lack of information. And with Mildred coming up, at least this will give them some information and they'll think twice. You know, before they get involved. And not only that, they know someone now that could maybe they could come and talk to rather than if they see a friend or themselves. Maybe there's an open door for them to say, well, you know, I could always go to Deborah Land. Mildred, have you had young people come up to you later who recognize you and say, oh, you talked to us at our school? Anything like that? Yes, I have. They remember me. What I do also with the presentations, this is one of not a PowerPoint, I can project it on to a screen,

projectable on to a screen. We do the presentation. We have our talk sessions, they do the evaluations. And because of district attorney, students of power and assist deputing district attorney, Tom Swann. They were supportive. Exactly. They printed up 500 copies of my book for me. So at the end of the presentations, I'm able to give each child a copy of the book. I think that's a great thing. Who did the artwork? A friend of mine's, Anna Webb. Did it. It's great. I love it. She did an excellent job. Yes, she did. And you're available to make presentations at other places? Yes, sir. OK, all right. We'll give the website in just a second. I can't tell you how much this means to me because you know, as someone who covers in public affairs programs, all the untoward things, host radio shows that talk about what's happening to our young people and that sort of stuff. It's good to know that a police officer out there is putting a human face on this and making a difference. Melder, thank you very much for your work. We sure appreciate it.

Thank you for happening. God bless you. All right, thank you for being here too, Debra. Thank you. If you would like more information on what Detective Jenkins is doing or how she might speak to a group of kids about staying out of gangs, you can simply contact her via email at Mildred Jenkins at msn .com. Again, that's Mildred Jenkins at msn .com. Don't let the cold weather keep you indoors during Black History Month. We have a lot of great events offered in the community calendar that we call on the horizon. Thank you.

Thank you. If you have an event that you'd like folks to know about, send it a month in advance to Black Horizons on the horizon, WQED Multimedia 4802 -5th Avenue Pittsburgh PA -15213. Many of you who are regular viewers know that we've been following a local soldier during his tour of duty in Iraq. He was home on leave for the Christmas holidays, but now he's back in country in Iraq, and he sent us this note and these photographs. It was great to talk to you for a while over the holidays, Chris. I enjoyed my time home with my family and friends. I now have about eight months ago before I return back to Pittsburgh, which should be sometime in September if things work out as planned over here. So far, the weather has been cold at night,

and in the 60s during the days, as far as what's going on over here right now, we are still moving fuel, and there have been a few more deaths. Things are changing very quickly over here, and now with more troops coming over, I'm not sure how it will affect us. One thing for sure is that the Iraqi Army is a joke. They are poorly trained and have worn out equipment. Not to mention the fact that there is no real leadership among the Iraqi troops that I can see. There is a lot of corruption among them, and I can't tell the good ones from the bad ones. There are some who act as scouts for us or lookouts, but there are those who turn on us some actually firing on us as we drive past them. All you see in the news is about Baghdad, but up here in northern Iraq, things are getting really bad around the city of myself. There have been a lot of attacks on U .S. troops. Just a few days ago, four U .S. soldiers were killed by an ID blast, and one was hit by

sniper fire while walking on the base. Things will probably get worse here, and I have no idea why we're here. All I know is that I have five more years for my 20, and I will be finished with this stuff. As long as we stay here, we're just moving targets. I would like to see the President and some members of Congress come and take a ride with us and see how they like it. I understand the steel is hard, a blackhead coach, and that the new casino will be black -owned. What's going on back in Pittsburgh? Have we decided to join the 21st century? Well, got to run Chris. Here are a few more photos. Take care, Chas Bert. This is the third letter that we've been able to share with you, and will continue to do so as long as Chas sends them. Changing direction a bit right now, a new play about the power of sisterhood will soon be performed by New Horizons Theatre, and joining me now to talk about the play as artistic director, Ernest McCarty, and actress Kim Mail. I talk about Ernest enough, how talented he is. I want to tell you, you are one bad sister.

Thank you. When I see you act, you seem to embrace the character and just swallow it whole. You bring all the emotion of that character out. You move me to tears. You are just one bad sister, and I want you to know that. Thank you. Alright, what's it like stepping into this role in this play? This play is very powerful as well. It's another, I guess, of a track. You might have to grab this one too. It's about sisterhood. The title is Sisters. It's written by Marsha Jackson, and it deals with sisters that are not sisters. You walk down the street and you see another woman and you say, I don't know her, so I'm not going to speak. Well, you do that? No, never. But this play embraces differences, class differences, color differences, life differences. Among sisters. And not to give it all away, but there. Yes, this is true. But there are two women that are put in a situation where they get a

chance to discover each other. There are differences. And it's powerful in the sense that when you think there's a big difference, when you're stuck in a room with someone for a long time, you see the similarities. No matter what you're achieving or how high you've gone professionally, or what job you might be working at, there's still a whole lot of similarities between these two. Right, right. Okay, our artist is artistic director. Why did you pick this play? Well, it dealt with some very serious female issues, but there are also African -American issues, the glass ceiling, trading, what you really feel inside for a plaque on the door. I mean, you give up listening to Miles, Miles Davis, and listen to Montevante. You know what I mean? That kind of thing. So this play also, this play, you really have to give up. You have to give up where you are and where you came from sometimes. Yes, some of us elect to forget, because we want to assimilate into the society

and to the corporate structure. And it is either that we think, or it's poverty. So a lot of us will sell our souls for something that we think is secure, and that's no such thing as a security and as well. So you don't really have to sell your soul, you might be a self. It's no matter how much you achieve, right? Yeah, you might as well be yourself. You're the chief insisted in this role. I am achieving. Oh, okay. Yes, I'm the ad exact. I have the basis of the story is based on a woman who has achieved. She has several degrees under her belt. She's a well -known, powerful ad exact, and the other character is a cleaning woman. And so one thing she's better than the other. And it's something that makes us think because there's a self -discovery of what is better. It's having a lot of material things better than having a lot of family and love. And this is all brought out against the backdrop of a blackout in Atlanta and a

snowstorm. New Year's Eve. So they're forced to be trapped and trapped. The only two left in this building. So they have to deal with each other. They were trying to get out of the situation. And it's during this situation that we find out about what each one feels, what the similarities are. All right, you brought us a couple of pictures of some of the rehearsal. Let's take a look at them. Now, funny, that doesn't look like you, Kim. Is that just standing in there? Actually, no, I'm her standing. That's really a Gregory. She's also a very powerful actress. They're splitting a role. We're splitting the role of Olivia. And the other character is Brenda. Brenda Dukes. Well, they look like they're going in. It looks like she's really getting on our case about something. Yeah. So the one and the white is the Olivia, the executive. And the other character is Cassie, who is the cleaning woman who's stuck with her, who doesn't want to be with her. It does look like she wants to be with her right now. Now, she doesn't want to be with her. What do you think

audiences, Kim, will take away from this performance? What I think they will take away is that there is a little... All of us are the same in some sort. We hide that. We hide behind desk and we hide behind mops. We hide behind our children. And I'm hoping that... Sometimes we hide behind our material possession. Yes, we do. Cars and big TV, large TVs. I know of people that don't have a large amount of money, but they have a big TV, because they want to appear large. And I think this character, Olivia, appears large. And so your hope is that I cut you off? Oh, I hope that. They will leave thinking that what's more important is that the love, Marsha, Jackson, the playwright, mentions in the prologue that it's important to have ties that bind. And there's a tie that binds with the two women. And I hope that the audience knows that there's something that will make us connect. Ernest, we talk about this all the time. Theater is a vehicle to do what Kim just said. Make people think. Make people act. Make people change their minds. What do you hope people

always leave a new horizon performance with? Oh, that was great. I love that. What do you hope they leave with? My sincere hope is that they're bad ticket to the next production on the way out. That's me real. That's my sincere hope. Well, in order for that to happen, they will have to enjoy what they have seen. They will have to have gotten something from that and appreciate the quality of the production as well. To know that we're not just sloughing something off on you. That it is worth it to come and see yourself reflected. And in a way that you can deal with it. Deal with the truth without being slapped too hard about it. How important is that to you as an artistic director? It's very important because it's a civic duty, I think, that I present a positive image of what we're about. You know, I think that it is my duty to

at least show the right path or what I think to be the right path, hoping that someone will pick up on it and get something from it. You know, in the first segment, as we were talking to Detective Jenkins, I remember when you all did zoom in and assign. And they had a group of young kids who always described it, and risk coming in and they were knocked out by that kind of performance because they could identify with it. And I think it left them with that same kind of feeling, too. Yeah, I think so. I think zoom in and assign was a good play to show the reality of what young people go through in neighborhoods. In certain neighborhoods. But if that's all that we see, we don't see the corporate side of African -Americanism, we don't see the artistic side or the political side. So it's good to do zoom in and assign. But it shouldn't be a steady diet of that particular image. We need to show that there is an alternative to that.

And even Kim, I imagine, with showing the corporate side in this particular play sisters, it's not that that's a bad thing, even though this person may have gotten a little bit haughty and look down the nose at other people who look just like her. Right. And it's true that we want to promote advancement in elevating yourself and to not look down on those who cannot advance. And I think that's what the main thing is, to know that there's a difference but let's respect each other's differences. That's important. And what would you leave us with, Mr. McCarty? I will leave you with, I'm very happy to be here. And the production is going to be wonderful. You're going to really enjoy this. And I hope that New Horizons can continue to produce plays that are quality. And by taking it on the way. And by taking it on the way in. We hope everyone comes to the main event. And we have in May and get the season ticket. And all

of that, right? Support community theater right here. Support community theater. All right. Thank you both for being here. Thank you very much. Thank you. I look forward to it. Yes. Okay. Now, if you're interested in catching the play Sisters, it's being performed by New Horizons Theatre. It will run February 9th through the 25th at 5941 Penn Avenue in East Liberty. For more information, simply call them at 412 -431 -0773. Again, that number is 412 -431 -0773. Well, not about doing it for today's edition of Black Horizons. Be sure to join us next week. And every Friday in most Sundays right here on WQED TV 13. For more interesting tip -chat, I'm Chris Moore. And for all of us here at Black Horizons, have a good evening. Bye. Set Bees is provided by the History Store Craig Street in Oakland. And Chris Moore's wardrobe provided by Laira Moore's of Pittsburgh. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.