By Jacky Gerzema
It didn't matter that Kennedy Park was gang territory, as teens and children from all over Nassau County participated in boxing matches, played basketball, ate hot dogs and drank soda at the all-day event, hosted by the Rising Star program, a group of local District Attorneys who run programs to keep kids out of gangs and other violent situations.
Gang activity is not isolated to New York City and gangs like the Bloods, Crips and the MS 13s are becoming more visible on Long Island, according to Nassau County police.
Rising Star Chief and Assistant District Attorney Rene Fiechter, who lives in Baldwin, organized the event in the hopes of reaching out to high-risk youth who could fall into the gang life. "I asked some people, what would attract them to this speech, and they said, 'boxing, basketball and food!'"
When Joseph Jennings stepped out onto the gymnasium floor, the auditorium fell silent. Tall and hefty, Jennings glared menacingly at his audience. The hardened expression spoke volumes about his life experience -- this was a man that once ran with some of the most feared gang leaders in recent history, had been shot 13 times and stabbed on top of that.
Jennings spoke of working his way up through the ranks in his gang, to the extreme violence that he was on the receiving end of and
that he inflicted upon countless others, to the drugs he used and the parties he hosted at his huge home, acquired from drug money.
With the booming voice of an evangelical preacher, Jennings commanded them to not follow in his footsteps. Audience
members shouted out their agreement with a chorus of "Amens."
"You have to change," Jennings shouted. "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always be what you've always been. You can say you will change until you're blue in the face, but the real question is WHEN will you change?"
Jennings told teens they should do three key things in their young lives to lead them in the right direction to a successful life: get religion, honor and respect your parents, and get an education. Only with an education, can you be armed to face the real world and able to handle what challenges life throws your way, Jennings said.
After the speech, Jennings hung around to sign autographs of his new book, "Prisoner of the American Dream: Joseph Jennings' Life Story."
Kids milled around the rec center and talked about how the speech affected them. A Hempstead High School Senior named Reiner, who is from El Salvador and would not reveal his last name, said that Jennings' words hit home for him, and he decided to accept religion into his life after listening to Jennings' speech the previous day at his high school.
Reiner said he almost fell into gangs himself but got out "just
in time."
"I was helping to form the Latin Kings at school," he said. "I didn't stay long enough for anything to happen, so they didn't care that I
got out."
Reiner said the MS 13 is a big presence on Long Island, and that Kennedy Park is one of their many "turfs" in Hempstead. He said Latin Kings, MS 13, Bloods, Crips and SWP (Salvadorians with Pride) are just a few of the gangs in Hempstead and other surrounding areas like Roosevelt, Uniondale, Westbury and Freeport.
Other kids were not so moved. Katherine, a Freeport High School sophomore, came to the part proudly decked out in head-to-toe red, including her sneakers, and said she is a member of "TOP," (Thugged Out Playerz) a gang affiliated with the Bloods. The Crips and MS-13, she said, are her rivals.
"The speech was good, but I ain't gettin' out," she said nonchalantly about her gang.
Katherine said she was "jumped" into her gang, but "wasn't hurt." Being jumped in is an initiation rite, she explained, where gang members beat up on a new member.
Katherine's cousin, who would not give her name, said that she brought Katherine to Jennings' speech along with her and her church group.
"I worry about her," said the cousin. "I try to bring her along to different church things with me."
One Nassau Community College freshman from Hempstead had a tattoo that read: "The Woman of My Life, Denise."
"It's my mom," Frankel Mathurin explained.
He showed off his biceps, which featured two more tattoos, both crosses with the names "Smallz" for his brother older brother, who died in a car accident a couple of years ago, and "Pops" for his father, who died of a stroke and massive heart attack.
Despite his losses, Mathurin said he has stayed strong and didn't succumb to peer pressures in school to be "tough, or get into a gang."
"When I was growing up, I used to be a little wild, kind of a
troublemaker," he said. "When I got to high school, I told myself I wasn't
going to disappoint my mother and I was going to do something with my life."
Mathurio is now majoring in criminal justice at Nassau Community College and wants to be a youth defendant. He also keeps a close eye on his brother who is in junior high right now.
"I'm watching him [younger brother]," he said. "I keep telling him that your reputation follows you. I'm going to make sure he stays out of trouble."
