Graphic: MGNOnline

CHICAGO(FinalCall.com)--A turning point for Mike was when his friend was killed by the gang they both were affiliated with. Expressing his pain, he said, "I lost my buddy two months ago. He got killed by our own gang. It’s rough, man. I put in 18 years, he put in 18 years, and that was the payback."

Now, concern for the future of his children is the major reason Mike has decided to give up the streets.

Dr. Sampson Davis was on his own many times at ages 12 and 13. Raised on welfare in a fatherless home with seven siblings, he had to hustle the streets to make ends meet.

"I remember going through some of my struggles and I would say, "God, just make me strong, give me strength." In essence, that’s what he was doing. He was making me strong by giving me those obstacles to overcome," he said.

Dr. Davis now serves as a role model for other disadvantaged children.

In an effort to combat negative influences on children, Mike and Dr. Davis recently gathered here with over 300 area teens and more than 400 community leaders from across the United States to address a "Symposium on Youth Gangs and Delinquency." Sponsored by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), many success stories and personal testimonies were shared by the youth and adults, providing proof that change can—and is—taking place.

Losses mount

Why do children join gangs? How do some avoid them? These were the pressing issues that came from a discussion among youths about the issue.

"I just stay to myself. I don’t mess with anybody, and nobody messes with me. I wear my (school) uniform and go home," said 13-year-old Kelton Madden, who said wearing the wrong colors, or colors that represent another gang, is a major cause of gang violence.

Ennis Saddler, 14, said young people join gangs because "they think they cool, but they ain’t. They are messing up their life. They think they got they back, but they really don’t."

Angel Torres, 13, realizes the consequences. She explained, "If they didn’t want to be in a gang, they wouldn’t. Now all of the people that’s in a gang want to get out the gang, but now they can’t. They know everybody’s going to jail and they’re doing a lot of time."

According to Jennifer Rivera, 11, girls join gangs because "they think they are bad and they always want to fight other girls that they see in the streets. They do a lot of bad stuff and I would never want to be in a gang."

Yvonne Pointer-Triplett has heard all of these discussions before. Co-founder of Parents Against Child Killing (P.A.C.K.) and author of "Behind the Death of a Child," she shared her story about the still-unsolved 1984 death of her daughter, Gloria, and challenged the youth to reflect on the consequences of delinquent activities.

Ms. Pointer-Triplett said children must value the life God gave them and appealed to them to "stay alive. So as long as there is life, young people, there is hope."

She urged youths to build self-esteem, telling them that they are unique and original creations and that they were too great to be involved in things unrelated to their purpose in life, such as gangs, drugs and violence.

Ms. Triplett told children to get out of their neighborhoods and see the world. "I used to tell my daughter, ‘You are not limited to Cleveland, Ohio. You can go anywhere in the world. We are no longer in bondage,’" she said.

Proper education

The U.S. education system has been designed to fail its Black male students, sending them out of the classrooms and into the streets, according to Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, a symposium participant.

Dr. Kunjufu, a noted Chicago author and educator, explained that many youth don’t see school as a viable option for advancement in life because education is based on long-term gratification.

"One gang member said to me, I’m 17, I’ve lived my life.’ The assumption is there’s going to be rainbow, a job, a career at the end of the tunnel. But many of our youth, they don’t believe they’re going to see their 21st birthday."

According to Dr. Kunjufu, one percent of Black males are elementary school teachers and only six percent of teachers are Black, which puts Black students at a disadvantage.

"Eighty-three percent of all elementary school teachers in America are White and female, and many of them never took a course in Black English, in Black culture, in Black History," he said.

"Now they have the right to label our children with learning disorders. It’s tragic. So White girls are placed in Special Ed (classes) the least and Black males the greatest," he explained.

Special Ed and other tracking systems do a disservice to students with learning challenges because, while students with the most difficulties should receive the most experienced teachers and the greatest resources, it’s the opposite. Those in honors and gifted classes receive the most experienced teachers and the greatest resources, he said.

Historically speaking, Dr. Kunjufu said that there’s been a 66 percent decline in Black teachers since the 1954 court ruling of Brown vs. Topeka Kan., and desegregation. "That was the year when we got what we wanted and we lost what we had. Before ’54, our best Black minds were in the classroom," he said.

The best teachers, he said, are those who show love, respect, and have an understanding of the culture of their students. He pointed out that Black students need to be taught a curriculum that reflects them and incorporates Afrocentric values.

Leading by example

Drs. Davis, Rameck Hunt and George Jenkins, serve as shining examples to the youth that they can accomplish what they will. Making a pact as children in the ghettos of Newark, N.J., to become doctors, they encouraged each other with positive peer pressure toward this goal and persisted through trials to finish medical school.

Now, better known as "The Three Doctors", they have proven that children can rise out of disadvantaged circumstances to make their dreams reality.

"What we’re trying to do, ultimately, is the same thing as sports figures have done for sports, what musicians have done for music, and what actors have done for acting. We’re trying to put a face to health and education so that we can have concrete images for the kids to aim at," said Dr. Davis.

When Dr. Davis was looking for concrete images to model after, what he saw was "how to steal a car, how to bottle up drugs, how to rob people." So The Three Doctors serve as the role models that weren’t there for them to model after. That’s their way of giving back to other children out there "screaming for help" just like they were.

Gang members reformed

Based on results from a survey, 772,500 gang members were active in 2000. This represents a significant drop from the 1998 figure of 820,000.

In a powerful moment, six former gang members shared their personal stories about why they joined gangs and how they were able to turn their lives around. Names have been changed for protection.

Thirteen was the age in which each of them started engaging in gang activity. Poverty, family, peer pressure, fatherless and dysfunctional homes, community acceptance and needs for security were motivating factors given for joining gangs.

"Being in a gang was natural, it was normal. All my brothers before me were gang members. It was something that I thought was o.k. I didn’t know any better," said Rob.

Mike explained, "I was rebellious, peer pressure. It was a phase that became a lifestyle."

"I saw the money, cars and the jewelry and I started wanting that stuff for myself," said John. "I started making my own money. I started helping my mom pay bills. It just seemed like the thing to do at the time."

The threat of jail time is what changed Rob’s mind about gang life. After being arrested for auto theft and a DUI, he realized that there were serious consequences involved in his actions. At the police station, being given a choice to either go to jail or join the BGCA, he chose the Club. He explained, "At that time I would have joined just about anything, except another gang."

The Club provided a safe haven for Rob to do something positive with his time and experience self-improvement.

But, getting shot was not enough to transform John’s thinking. It made him worse. "I started to get real crazy. I wanted to retaliate," he said.

John’s suspicion of the loyalty of his associates is what caused him to reconsider his ways. He explained, "They retaliated a little bit, but I wasn’t satisfied with it. That kind of made me have a different feeling toward the gang itself."

Two years down the line, after losing a close friend to street violence and becoming a father, John decided to change his life.

With the help of an ally from a rival gang, Ralph began to dedicate his life to Christianity, which, he said, "gave me a purpose in life."

"I was able to see the difference," he said. "I realized that all this stuff I had put my faith in was backfiring and was never true. It was corrupted. It really impacted me because I put down my flag and everything that I had trusted in. I started walking a different path. This supernatural experience changed my heart."

Mike’s starting a new chapter in life. "I’m here to raise my kids now," he said. "That’s my main purpose in life. To make sure they don’t go through the things I went through, because it’s nonsense. It’s stuff that could be avoided. They don’t have to go out there and die."