Gang Handshake : There May Be No Truce, but in Get-Together There Is Hope

Three days of talks between rival South Los Angeles street gangs did not forge a truce, but did produce a symbolic testament to the possibility of peaceful coexistence when gang members emerged from behind closed doors Thursday.

Several gang members spoke movingly about their amazement at being able to sit across the table from a sworn enemy. And they made a desperate plea to businesses to offer more jobs, emphasizing how easy it is for bored young men to get into trouble.

Rev. Charles Mims, pastor of Tabernacle of Faith Baptist Church in Watts, who organized the talks, said the parties are calling for “seven days of prayer, during which time every individual in our communities is asked to refrain from any type of violence.” He said future rounds of talks are planned.

A Dozen Participants

The nature of what was discussed in the negotiations at a Carson motel and the identity of the participants remained a secret. Mims would say only that 12 gang members were involved. He said they were divided between Bloods and Crips, the two loose affiliations that all black gangs claim.

Mims would not disclose which of about 260 independent “sets” the gang members came from. Without that information, it will be impossible for the public to judge the potential effectiveness of the talks, since “sets” range in membership from 50 to more than 1,000.

“The victory was bringing them together,” Mims said. “As far as a truce, we haven’t gotten there yet. . . . But we took the first step. . . . These young men have pledged to be ambassadors to their gangs. . . . These young people are not vicious. They want to find solutions.”

Negotiations between rival gangs have been conducted at various times in the last two decades, usually without the publicity Mims sought for this effort. Some of these efforts have been successful, particularly in East Los Angeles, where Latino gang violence has tapered off dramatically since the 1970s. However, there is little precedent for success in South Los Angeles, where gangs are more fragmented and the violence is most intense.

There were at least 174 killings by gang members in the first half of this year in Los Angeles County. In 1987, there were 387, the highest number ever.

Most of the gang members who participated in the latest talks, held in a room at the Ramada Inn across from the Carson Mall, declined to attend a press conference that followed.

One of those who did, a high school student nicknamed “Twilight,” who wore sunglasses and a red bandanna and red baseball cap identifying him as a Blood, said he was going to try to convert his “homeys” to his belief that rival gangs can end hostilities.

“Man, it was beautiful to sit there with a Crip and not have to worry about getting shot,” Twilight said solemnly to a room jammed with nearly 20 reporters. He stretched his hand across his body and clasped the hand of a Crip, nicknamed “Twelve,” who stood next to him.

‘Great Accomplishment’

“We did make a great accomplishment,” Twilight said. “I never thought I would see the day I would sit face to face with a Crip, with people who shot other people in my neighborhood. . . . But there is no difference between us.”

Mims said the negotiations underscored the desire among gang members to find jobs that will give them a reason to stop hanging around the streets and falling into disputes that lead to violence. He said his church and those of several other ministers who participated in the talks will attempt to function as job banks, soliciting employers to provide more opportunities.

“You got to give us something to look forward to,” said Twilight. “Once we (rival gang members) come together, we are not gonna break down again.

“We want to live, man,” said the gang member, who said he continues to attend high school because he wants to graduate and become a radiologist. “We don’t want to die, but we don’t got nothing to do but sit there and drink cheap liquor, and it’s just like you at your cocktail parties. You drink enough, you start to act differently.”

Twilight took pains to say that he does not consider himself a leader of his “set,” which he said has about 75 members. “I’m not speaking for all the gang members. What I’m saying is that I’m going to start in my neighborhood. I don’t care what Crip walks up to me, I’m going to say I’m not into that (gang warfare) anymore, and I hope you’ll stop being into it, too.”