Former foes become brothers in effort to make peace

By Starla Muhammad -Staff Writer- | Last updated: Apr 8, 2013 - 3:02:25 PM

There is a better way Pt. 2. New lives after leaving gangs, street life, joining the Nation

There is a better way -Part 1 (FCN, 03-24-2013)

“Don’t disgrace your ancestors by killing each other. Let’s form a brotherhood, no matter what gang you belong to, because all of us are one family. If we unite with each other and learn to love one another, it makes it hard for the enemy to do what he does when the community is united in love.” –Minister Louis Farrakhan - Justifiable Homicide, Black Youth in Peril

D’Ron X (L) and James Muhammad (R) changed their lives and are working to change the lives of others through the Nation of Islam. Photo: Charlene Muhammad

(FinalCall.com) - Perhaps no gang war is more notorious and symbolic of the tragic fratricidal violence taking the lives of Black youth in America than the bitter Bloods-Crips rivalry of the West Coast. The height of the disputes took place in the 1980s through the early 90s and efforts were spearheaded by dedicated grassroots activists to bring about a truce between the two and various splinter groups.

Wearing the wrong color, throwing up the wrong sign or being in the wrong neighborhood often resulted in tragic and deadly outcomes.

Today two men once on opposing sides of this long, storied, bitter and bloody feud soldier side by side as brothers and allies in the ranks of the Fruit of Islam (F.O.I.), the male members of the Nation of Islam at Muhammad Mosque No. 27 in Los Angeles.

D’Ron X and James Muhammad know all too well the price that comes with gang life.

No longer armed with guns, they are armed with a truth, and enjoy a different way of life dedicated to bringing peace to streets where they once wreaked havoc.

Caught up

Born and raised in the heart of South Central L.A., James says in gang life there are two types of people, “those that were sworn in it and those that were born in it.” James was born in it.

“I was born into a legacy or a family of the East Side Rollin’ 20 Bloods. My daddy was affiliated, my mother was affiliated, my sisters were affiliated, my cousins were affiliated. We were all members of this particular neighborhood,” says James who has a twin brother.

“Being a gang member was more of a family structure. You really didn’t even look at it as gangbangin’ because it was so common place, it was so normal,” he explains.

James adds for he and his family, the gang structure originally was a means of protecting and securing the neighborhood.

He experienced the all too common realities of street life, having been shot, the bullet narrowly missing his heart.

D’Ron also, from South Central, was the youngest of five boys, raised by a single mom in an area that was a heavy Hoover Crip neighborhood. His mother did her best to instill positive values in her children, but the pull of the streets was strong.

“The street life appealed to me based on things that my brothers gravitated toward and not having any guidance in terms of a male figure. My mother worked two jobs, two and a half jobs sometimes, so it was a lot of opportunity for us to gravitate toward that life style,” says D’Ron.

“Your mother teaches you how to be nice and do unto others as you do unto you but in the streets its swing or be swung on, kill or be killed. It was an oxymoron, I couldn’t apply the values that was instilled with my mom and still go to school and turn my other cheek and do all of that,” he adds.

The result was constant in and out of juvenile detention as a teenager and ultimately landing in federal prison. “There is nothing that you could talk about gangbangin’ that I have not done,” says D’Ron.

An awakening

While growing up, James says there were times adversaries did interact with one another for a common goal, and that was through sports.

“We played sports. On our team we had Crips and Bloods and we had to have some type of teamwork to try to win a few games. So we all got along well on the football field,” he says. James and his brother graduated high school and were both accepted to Cal State Northridge College, where they were introduced to the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Minister Louis Farrakhan. They began reading the books and articles by both men. James officially joined the Nation in 1997.

In 1987 D’Ron’s brother was killed in a drive-by shooting. The tragedy began to wake him up, but it also sent him into a tailspin. Another brother is currently serving life in prison and yet another of his brothers was recently released after serving 24 1/2 years. The effect of gang life has ravaged families, he says.

“What began to wake me up is to see the F.O.I. and when I would see the F.O.I., I would marvel at seeing the brothers out pushing and selling bean pies and standing out there selling papers,” says D’Ron. His first brush with Islam came while locked up in a juvenile center and he began to read the history of the Black Panthers, Malcolm X and ultimately, Elijah Muhammad.

The change was not easy. D’Ron says was still in the gang lifestyle but anytime he would see an F.O.I out with The Final Call or pies, he would buy them all.

Then, D’Ron would give the papers to his customers—customers buying illegal substances.

“If you bought narcotics from me, I would give you a paper, but I didn’t know … now I understand that to be that Allah was calling me but it was gradually. And so I knew that, that was the truth but I was so submerged in filth and that lifestyle that it took an iron grip to come and get me,” he explains.

That grip was in the early 1990s when Min. Farrakhan spoke to L.A. gangs. D’Ron said he got to shake the Muslim leader’s hand and was inspired. He told a friend he was going to give away the rest of the drugs, donate money to the Minister and was going to live in the F.O.I. house.

The sentiment lasted only a few moments, he admits, but the impact of the Minister’s words and the experience of shaking his hand never left. D’Ron continued to visit the mosque, bringing his homeboys, while still gangbanging. He had cars, money, women and property from drug selling but seeing the F.O.I in the community continued to resonate with him.

“I fell in love with the brotherhood and I remember I used to always look and I’d be in one of my cars and I’d say if I ever get heart that, that’s what I’m going to be. Everybody would look at me like ‘what do you mean get heart, you done did everything under the sun and you’re not a punk.’ But I knew that is what I was being called to,” D’Ron explains.

In 1998 he was again jailed but was released in 2003 and has been full-fledged with both feet in the Nation of Islam since then.

When asked what type of reaction he received from former foes, the first time they spotted him in the trademark suit and tie F.O.I are known for, James doesn’t mince words.

“Allah is my witness. There is no feeling in the world to be in a suit and a bowtie, have a bean pie in your hand, to have a Final Call in your other hand and you see one of your rival enemies that you haven’t seen in years and with the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, you’re able to convince that brother to get a pie from you, to get a paper from you and to stand with peace with you, embrace with a hug, exchange phone numbers and help keep the community safe and at peace.”

Brother’s keeper

The Nation introduced James to a type of brotherhood that transcended neighborhood or geographic location, he says. He recalls the first few visits to the mosque with deep reflection.

“When I was introduced to many brothers, ‘this is brother such and such,’ you know he may have been an ex-Blood, he may have been an ex-Crip. This is the first time of my life that I’ve seen Bloods and Crips co-existing together in harmony with no problem. It was the most miraculous thing that I can bear witness to in all the days of my life. I just had to be a part of this and I had to put my foot in it. I had to make this my home,” he says.

Everything D’Ron does today is “mosque-related.” He receives immense gratification from the work he does in the community.

“The money that I made in the streets, the feeling that I had, the elation, the power, the prestige, everything that I’ve done in being of the foremost group in that world, I remember the Minister saying that you don’t stop becoming who you were but you clean yourself up and Allah will use you in that manner in the mosque. Since I’ve been in the ranks, pretty much I’ve been of the foremost group,” says D’Ron.

Both James and D’Ron have not forgotten the struggles of their journey toward Islam. Both men, give back through community outreach. Going out into the streets and talking to young people and others.

“I travel my whole region and we go into the community. I deal with hardcore gang members. I’ve been allowed to go back into the prisons and juvenile halls and speak. I’ve been used by probation officers to come in and be a speaker and be used as an example as someone who has corrected their life,” says D’Ron.

“I represent the Nation of Islam on every facet. I just had a meeting today with some brothers and I understand that since they won’t come into the mosque that we’re taking the mosque to them and we’re following the example of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and making ourselves known, making his connection known not just to the world but to the fallen brothers that are asleep.”

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There is a better way -Part 1 (FCN, 03-24-2013)

The Final Call