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J
Before IV s Too Late
By Gay Ojugbana
After viewing the movie, "Boyz N
The Hood," I now understand what all
the hype was about.
This movie tries to examine and
offer solutions to many of the problems
that occur within the inner city, but
particularly within the black
community.
Writer and director John Singleton
renders a successful portrayal of what
it is like to grow up in the gang-ridden
neighborhood of South Central Los
Angeles.
In this movie, there are several
recurring themes.
One of the themes Singleton
stresses is the importance of a strong
father figure for young African-
American males.
In the movie, we literally saw
where this was the difference between
life and death for one young man.
Another theme that Singleton
touches on is gangs.
In the movie, we see that the
character, Doughboy, gravitates toward
a gangster-lifestyle because he is not
able to find the love and acceptance
that he needs in the home.
Here, the message that Singleton
tries to convey is that if we, as
African-Americans, begin to take more
responsibility for the well-being of
ALL our children, then this problem
with gangs possibly could be
eliminated.
"BoyzrN The Hood" also illustrates
some of the destructive forces that
operate on a daily basis in our
communities, such as drugs, alcohol
and black-on-black violence.
If we do not take measures to put
an end to these vices in our
neighborhoods, then we will not have
to worry about racist groups such as
the Ku Klux Klan killing us off,
because we will have ended up
committing genocide upon ourselves.
By Kristal A. Holmes
Everyday I read or hear about a
young boy or girl who was killed
because of gang violence or drugs.
It hurts me that we as a people are
losing young boys and girls who could
have been doctors, lawyers, teachers
and great leaders.
Why is this happening?
Because we are not fighting hard
enough to stop this violence.
We have tried to tackle violence
through teaching in schools, homes,
music, community organizations and
through movies such as John
Singleton’s "Boyz N the Hood" and
Mario Van Peebles’ "New Jack City,"
which showed the dangers of violence
and drugs.
But after all of the teaching and
the movies there seem to be more
violence and death.
What are we doing wrong?
Are we using the wrong approach
to solve the problem?
Or are we just not trying hard
enough to save our young brothers and
sisters?
We must look deep within this
issue and ask ourselves if we are doing
our part because violence affects
everyone; no one is exempt.
We-mdst show' our children that
they are loved and that they are and
can be someone who is great and who
can achieve.
We must take action now in order
to solve the problems of violence and
drugs before another girl or boy is
killed . . . before it is too late.
Success can be
a matter of making
the right
connections.
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