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[ police radio chatter ]

I'm the one and only
Big Freedia the Queen Diva,

represented right here,

from New Orleans, Louisiana.

* You already know *

[ siren blares ]

Newscaster: The death of
Big Freedia's brother Adam Ross

marks the second
fatal shooting

in Central City this month.

Ross was found shot
multiple times

on Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard

near Magnolia in Central City.

I love you so much.

We know
we have guardian angels.

My mother and my brother,

they're looking down upon us.

[ police radio chatter ]

When is it gonna stop?

When they gonna stop
hurting our own people?

When are they gonna
wake up and realize

they're not the givers
or the takers of life?

5, 4, 3, 2...

[ siren blares ]

Chorus: * Freedom *

Man: There's a lot
of dynamics to gun violence.

Like, ain't nobody
just jumping up

saying "Oh, I'm gonna
just be a killer."

* Freedom *

The young guys
that I see come to jail,

they--it's getting younger,

younger and younger.

* Freedom *

* Freedom *

Ashonta Wyatt:
You shall be sick and tired,

sick and tired
of our babies being buried.

Young man got gunned down
in a car,

and y'all tell me
it ain't time to pray?

* Freedom *

Ashonta: We have to stand
against a culture of murder,

a culture of vengeance,

a culture of destruction,

so we can stop putting
beautiful Black men

in the ground.

* Freedom *

* Say it with a smile,
say it with a smile *

Freedia:
New Orleans have to change.

It has to wake up.

The violence must stop.

* Freedom *

* Oh, well, well *

* Don't be uneasy *

* Well *

* Don't be uneasy *

* Well, well *

* Don't be uneasy *

* Jesus gon' make up
the dying bed *

* He's a dying bed maker *

* Well, well *

* He's a dying bed maker *

* Jesus gonna make up
the dying bed *

We want to remember Adam
on tonight.

Let us bow our heads
on a word of prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father,

tonight we ask You to bless us

and keep Your loving arms
of protection around us.

Ask You to fill these streets
with happiness and love, God.

Heavenly Father, ask You

to watch over
the city of New Orleans

and stop the violence, God.

So many family members
lose loved ones,

and tonight
we're remembering ours.

We ask you to have mercy
on this family, God.

Continue to be our strength.

Continue...

to give me strength.

Man: Take your time.

...to be there for my family
when they need me the most.

We're a strong little family,
and we will not give up.

We are motivated,
and we are inspired by this.

We thank You right now

in the name of the Father,

in the name of the Son,

in the name of the Holy Ghost.

Let all God's children
say "Amen."

Amen.

We love You as well.

The death of Big Freedia's
brother Adam Ross

marks the second fatal shooting
in Central City this month.

Freedia: Knowing the type
of life that Adam lived

and the people
that he ran with,

I never not expected it.

I was actually laying
right there on the sofa,

and I got a phone call.

Adam been shot uptown
on Martin Luther King.

And I couldn't
pull myself together

to even get in the car
at the time, you know,

for probably about 5,
10 minutes.

I pulled up...

I pulled up, and I knew

that it was more
than him being shot

when I saw the yellow tape.

And my sister Crystal
was already there

'cause she stay
closer than I do.

She was like, "He's dead."

The keys was still
in the ignition.

The car was still running.

He was just gonna be there
for a few minutes.

[ police radio chatter ]

I don't know if he stopped

and, like, wanted
to talk to somebody.

Did he get into it
with somebody?

My baby brother was gone,

and it just was so unreal.

When my mom died,

she told me to look after
my brother and my sister.

I just lost my baby brother,

and I was feeling
all type of emotions.

I was sad. I was angry.

I wanted to hurt somebody.
I wanted to know who did it.

I did have a few people
who reached out to me

and wanted to retaliate.

It was just like
"Say the word."

I was just like "Thank you,
but no, thank you."

That's not the route
that I'm taking.

I don't want to have that
on my conscience.

No one deserves
to get their lives taken,

no matter what lifestyle
they lived,

no matter what they do.

They are not the givers
and the takers of life.

There's only the Man up above.

I want justice,

but I want it done
the legal and the right way.

Newscaster: The police say
one man is responsible

for a crime spree

across New Orleans
yesterday evening,

shooting at people
and stealing cars.

25-year-old Charles Williams
was arrested last night.

Police also believe
he's responsible

for the death
of 38-year-old Ricky Goins.

Freedia: There's a story
of gun violence in America

that people are not
talking about,

but we're living in it.

In my 36 years,
I can tell you

I've done hundreds
and hundreds of these things,

and every time
I open my mouth,

I plead with my people
to look at each other

and love each other
with the same vengeance

that we choose to pick up guns
and slaughter each other.

This is cultural genocide.
We're killing everything

that's beautiful
about our people.

A lot of people don't talk
about things that they see

because they fear retaliation,

but my only reply to them

is "Fear isn't keeping us
safe anyway," you know,

so I could be afraid
and not say anything,

and the people around me
are still dying.

Death and destruction
belong to all of us.

This is a manmade problem.

Or I can stand up
and let my life mean something

and let my voice
mean something.

If we take a stand
against gun violence

as a collective,

we can put this to rest.

This has to be a city where
children can go to the park

and not worry
about gun violence,

just shots ringing out
and they're ducking and hiding.

This has to be a city

where I can lay down
in a bed at night

and stop worrying about bullets
coming through my window.

We do not live
in third world countries.

We do not live in war zones.

But we're living in war zones.

And we're killing for sport.

I'm waiting on y'all
to raise the white flag

so we can stop putting
beautiful Black men

in the ground.

I've seen people murdered.

I've known people
who were murdered.

I've known people
who have murdered people.

I'm also
an assistant principal

at one of the middle schools
in the city.

You know, my kids carry guns,
and they're in middle school.

[ bell rings ]

As much as I know

it's not the right thing to do,

in some circumstances,

that's all they know.

That is their protection.

They think if they have it,
they're safe,

but they don't know having it

brings a whole bunch
of circumstances

that I don't think
they're ready to face.

How has gun violence,

how does it affect you?

Boy: Too many people died
that's young.

Ashonta: Mm-hmm.

We got people shooting babies
for nothing.

I remember
when me and my friend

were sitting on the porch
and a car just pulled up

and they just started
shooting at us.

And, like, once you--
you think you're about to die,

it all click.

Why can't we have fun
where we live?

Why are we, like,
living with shootings

and violence
and police chases?

And, like,
y'all are literally...

stuck in Grand Theft Auto.

It's N--It's New Orleans.

- It's New Orleans.
- Yeah.

Mm-kay.
What about you, Lionel?

Mm-hmm.

Has violence personally
affected you

in any sort of way?

Like what?

- Your mama was shot?
- Yeah.

- Is your mom living now?
- Mm-mm.

How old were you?

7.

- Yes, Mr. Walker?
- Yeah.

Police radio:
1415 St. Anthony.

Supposed to be a Black male.

Gunshot wound to the chest
in a burgundy car.

- What is our perp information?
- No perp information.

After that...

If you...

born me into a world
where I don't have a daddy,

you know, because
the same community

that's raising me killed him.

So I already have a attitude

about the environment
in which I live.

I have a chip on my shoulder
that nobody understands

because they don't think
that,

because he died
when I was a child,

I'm not traumatized.

That's trauma,

and it's unaddressed trauma,

so the fact that his father
was murdered

in the same community

that his mother is now
raising him in,

he can be walking
amongst his father's killer.

Do you know
what that does to a person?

- You are so young--
- Yeah.

...to be carrying a gun,

- to be having charges.
- Mm-hmm.

You know, to be even
in those situations.

You--Y'all are still
in middle school.

I was thinking
about carrying a gun

when my daddy died,

but I didn't,

but when somebody
try to shoot him,

they I just felt
that I needed protection

'cause you can't always
run from a bullet.

I just think
New Orleans will never change.

We're in one of the most
dangerous cities,

other than Charlotte.

Growing up on Josephine,

you know,
right in the 3rd Ward,

I saw it all.

My cousin was killed
over a 10-speed bike.

So I saw all of this
growing up as a kid as well.

If I come from seeing
all the same things

that y'all see now

and doing something different
and making a change,

You can do it as well.

It's really sad.

Things have not got better.

Things have gotten much worse.

It was like they were
numb to the situation

and they was expecting it.

I probably saw that
a little bit more

in my high school days,

but these kids are seeing it

in elementary
and in middle school.

[ Erica Falls singing
"3rd Ward Bounce" ]

Freedia:
* Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh *

I grew up uptown
on Josephine Street,

where we saw a lot.
We heard a lot.

* Ain't no place
like New Orleans *

* It goes up
when we go down *

It was a struggle growing up

in the neighborhood
that I rolled up in.

We saw poverty.
We saw drugs.

We saw killings.

We also had some fun times.

* Uptown, 3rd Ward,
Josephine *

* Then we head on down
to the Melpomene *

* Then we dip on
through that Calliope *

My old spot.

* For that wild man gnome *

Hello!

- Hey. How's it going?
- Pretty good.

This is my old house.
I grew up in this house.

Want to come,
just take a look in here.

Do a little reminiscing.

Probably looks
a little different.

It looks a lot different.

- [ chuckles ]
- Mm-mm.

We had a shotgun house,
a two-bedroom,

and me, Adam, and Crystal
stayed in the same room,

so we were very close.

I can remember
we had bunkbeds in here

and a twin bed.

It was tight.

We all played together.

You know, we all went
to Sunday school and church

on Sunday together.

Yeah, we were very close
growing up.

I was 5 when Adam was born.

I was very protective,
you know.

I wanted to be
the big brother.

I felt like it was
my responsibility

when I got older, especially,

to look after my little brother
and my little sister.

You know, I looked after them

while we were outside
riding our bikes

or whatever we were doing

'cause my mom was always
at work

and my dad would get off late

'cause he drove for Coca-Cola.

We'll be fighting
while my mama at work,

and she'll have to come home

because one of them
probably locked me out

or I'll break the door.

She'd come home
and whoop all three of our ass

and then go back to work.

I always knew that Freddie
was special from birth.

I used to call him
my special child.

I saw something special,

but I didn't know
what that special was

at that time.

Being a young Black gay kid
growing up in my neighborhood,

I would be picked on.

I would be called
the fat sissy, you know,

and I had to fight.

Mom would go,

"You better be a man
and stand up

and go out there
and show them who you are."

Let go, let's go.

* N.O. bounce, N.O. bounce *

* I'm that queen
gonna make you bounce *

* N.O. bounce, N.O. bounce *

* I'm that queen
gonna make you bounce *

[ rapping ]

Cali, Cali, Cali,
Cali, Cali, Cali-yo.

All the projects
sing my songs.

I would get a lot of attention
'cause I was this fat sissy

going through the projects
and hollering and making noise,

so people knew me
from my sound.

They would say
"Quiet, girl, quiet, girl,"

and I'd go * Whoa-oh-oh *

You know, I would have
the whole projects jumping.

And most projects
were very scary.

If you wasn't born
and raised in them,

you'll be terrified to go in.

it was always
a territory thing where,

if you was from
another project,

you probably couldn't come
in this project.

* Uptown, 3rd Ward,
Josephine *

You know, some of the projects,
when you would go in them,

the boys would pick on you
and be like,

"Bitch, you ain't welcome
back here, you're a sissy,"

or whatever, even though
they had sissies

that stayed in the projects,

but they only wanted
their sissies

that grew up back there

to be in their projects.

I was the sissy
off of Josephine,

so I was protected
by Josephine.

So when I would go
outside of Josephine,

it was like,
"Girl, you got to be careful.

You're messing
with the Calio boys"

or the Magnolia boys

or whatever project
that I went in.

* Make them hos count *

[ echoing ]

This is where
a lot of magic happened

and a lot of bad things
as well,

but this is what helped us

to create the sounds
of bounce music--

beating in these hallways,
beating on the walls,

hurting our hands.

Yeah.
I miss those good old days.

Music has been very
important to my life.

Music has kept me
out of trouble.

It's the one and only
Big Freedia the Queen Diva!

I thought he was gonna be
a gospel singer at first.

Where you from?
Where you from?

[ drum roll ]

Where you from?
Where you from?

But when he started
doing the bounce music,

I'm like, "You know
how you're feeling

with direction the Lord
see fit for you to take."

I'm still gonna back him,
and I'm proud of him.

- I love you, Mama.
- Love you, baby.

I love you more than anything
in the world.

I love you.

My first performance
was at a block party

off of Broad Street.

***

Jumped on a mic.

Started, you know,
throwing out a few lyrics.

Everybody sing.

* I got passion,
and I sing songs *

Crowd: * Somebody hold me,
and I'll sing songs *

People started
losing their mind

and started chanting
the lyrics.

It was very much
a new experience

and a new beginning for me.

[ scat singing ]

Uh-huh!

[ air horn blows ]

I'm the one and only
Big Freedia the Queen Diva,

represented right here
from New Orleans, Louisiana.

* You already know *

You know, Adam was
our little hood guy

in the family.

I've heard different stories
of, you know,

things that he's been
involved in--

you know,
shooting at somebody before,

wanting to sell drugs.

Adam definitely had a gun,
and it was not legal.

He had a gun
to protect himself,

no telling from what or who.

He wanted to be
a big dog in the neighborhood.

He wanted people
to respect him

like they respected
the other guys.

Adam got stuck
in that mind frame

of the Boyz in the Hood.

They would get respect

from people being
scared of them.

You know, like,
a lot of times,

they'll say to the police,

"You wouldn't be
so big and bad

if you didn't have that gun
and that badge."

Same thing
with the hood boys--

"You wouldn't be
so big and bad

if you didn't have that gun."

* Danger *

That's what you call
stars and stripes.

They want to get their stars
and their stripes

from killing someone.

And they're gonna say,
"Oh," you know,

"I got two or three
under my belt,"

like they're a big man

or they're sticking
their chest out.

Most of the time,
they're the coward.

* Everywhere we go
is dangerous *

* I'm so dangerous *

Not knowing what people
are saying in the backdrop,

like "Oh, this pussy
have to kill somebody"

or "They're not a man
without a gun."

We smother these boys
to death

with our expectations

of what a man can be.

We keep telling them

to be the crudest,
manliest madman

ever to exist
in the planet ever.

I've never lost anybody
to violence,

and I keep trying
to wrap my head around

somebody getting to the point
that you would kill someone

and that that's part of life.

I try to talk
to a lot of young people,

try to get them
on the right path

and change their mind
about, you know,

just the nonsense that they'll
be wanting to go off on.

But at the base of it,
is it like--

is this, like, hopelessness?

Like--Because if you believe
that you're gonna--

your life is gonna be great,

you believe
you're gonna be successful,

you believe you're gonna
have your dreams in life,

this is not the path you take.

They want to say
that there's something broken

about Blackness,

and there's a deficiency

in that culture.

It's not. It's how human beings
behave when they're hurting.

There's this whole other story

that keeps ripping at the fabric
of Black families,

ripping at the fabric
of Black communities.

These young men
in New Orleans,

most of them only have
their mom in their lives,

and the mom only can do
so much,

but she's out working,

provide for all the children,

she's trying
to take care of them.

These dudes trying
to help their mama,

so they're trying to hustle,
whatever they need to do

to try to bring some money in.

If that means
having to rob somebody

or kill somebody.

No one is responding

to the gun violence issue

- like it's an epidemic.
- No, they're not.

Nobody.

You know, one time
I had to sit down

and really ask myself,

"How many people do you know

killed by gun violence?"

It was between 60 to 70 people.

Wow. So what does that do
to you?

I mean, just spiritually,
on a personal level,

what does that do to you?

It makes me go
through a lot of emotions.

You know, I've cried
a lot of times.

It's such a repetitive thing
going here in New Orleans.

That people don't
even pay attention to.

- They don't.
- They only get excited

when it is a mass shooting,

which is generally happening
not to us, you know.

Some kid walks
into a high school.

- Of course.
- They--

And that's all over the news
for a week and a half.

Every day, this is happening,

and nobody says
very much about it

other than to beat up
on Black people,

to say, "Well, you guys
can't handle your community"

and Black people saying
"No, just help us."

We have allowed
the Black community

to be abused to such a degree.

They're in constant
state of trauma,

and they're--
they're human beings.

They're responding to trauma.

Society has to take
responsibility.

When we had an AIDS crisis,

when the government
wasn't responding,

- people went in the streets.
- Yes.

People harassed,

people went
into government buildings.

They were like,
"No, you will respond to this

because I'm losing friend
after friend after friend."

- Yes.
- Those were,

at that time, mostly
creative white men.

- Right.
- Who--

And liberals in general

did respond that way.

That community mobilized
and said, "No,

we won't have this.
Something has to be done."

Yes.

People like you
have the same story

as those people
were having with ACT UP--

"I'm losing friend
after friend after friend."

- Yes.
- But the people most affected,

they're not donating
to nobody campaign.

- Right.
- They don't have money

to do that.

You have
these vulnerable people

with no power,

yelling to power,
"Help us,"

And power keeps saying
"But you don't count."

[ Dixieland playing ]

When I first met Devin
at the school,

he reminded me of Adam.

His story was really
touching to me.

I really wanted
to try to save Devin

from losing him to the street

'cause that's the direction
that he's headed in,

wither in jail or dead.

There's just a lot of beef
in New Orleans.

I don't feel safe,
but at the same time,

I don't want--like, I don't want
to move nowhere else

from out of New Orleans.

Like, I want to stay
in New Orleans.

I don't know why.

I'm just reckless right now.

[ knock on door ]

- Hi.
- Hey.

What's up, Devin?

- You've been all right?
- Yeah.

So it's been rough.

I've been hearing
some really rough stuff.

Tell me what's going on.

A lot of trouble.

What's the reasons
that you're doing these things?

Ashonta: How so?

Is the stolen car associated

with the Christmas Day
incident?

So why was there a shooting,

and why were you
the intended target?

Why are y'all beefing?

So it all started with a fight

and kind of just snowballed
into a beef.

You don't have to be cool
with him.

Y'all don't have to speak
ever again.

We just want the beef to stop
and squash it

so neither one of y'all
are hurt.

I really don't know.

You can change your life
around,

and we're here to help you.

We're here to help your mom.

We're here
to help your family.

But Devin has to want it.

In his mind it's
"I have to get you

before you get me"
mentality,

and that's not
just exclusive to Devin.

It's not just exclusive
to New Orleans.

It's exclusive to anybody
that has to survive.

By and large, 14-year-olds
are not ducking gunshots

and stealing cars
and running for their lives.

That is not the kind of life
we want you to have.

We surely want to see you
make it to 18--

- We're not sure about you.
- ...and 28 and 38

and 48. We want you
to see children.

We want you
to see grandchildren.

Is that the way
you want your mama to live,

worrying about your safety
every day?

So you have to open up
your mind.

You're too young
to be in all this.

You have so much potential.

Your mom don't want to see you
lost to these streets.

You understand
what I'm saying?

Yeah, I understand
what you're saying.

So can we come
to that resolution?

Can we come to a point

where we can throw in
the white flag

and there's no death?

You stay on your side,
I stay on mine.

We don't have to be friendly,

but we don't have to be
fatal enemies, either.

I don't know.

I'm not worried
about the dude.

Okay. We know you're not
worried about the dude,

but will you give it
some thought?

Can you agree to that?

That's the very least
we're asking you to do.

- Just think about it?
- Yeah, I agree to that.

- I can think about it.
- Hmm?

Yeah, I can think about it.

- We appreciate it.
- That's your word?

- Hmm?
- Yeah, that's my word.

This is bigger than Devin.

This is about every child
that looks like Devin.

Devin is almost the blueprint

for what happens
when you starve a child

of the necessary things
that help them to grow.

Like, it's like a plant.
If you don't water it,

if you don't give it
the nourishment that it needs,

it will eventually
wither away and die.

Charles Blow:
We failed our boys.

So yes, tell that boy
this is not the answer.

Violence is not the answer.

Taking a life
is not the answer.

But he does not exist
on an island.

He does not exist
in a bubble.

He exists
in a cultural context

that you created, America.

Your responsibility.

[ police radio chatter ]

Bryan: We have built
the country's largest

high definition
network crime camera program

in the United States.

It's all powered 100%
by citizens.

The cameras--
we provide loaners--

are in people's homes
and businesses.

We've been involved
in pretty much

anything you can imagine--

shootings, stabbings,
home invasions,

rapes, robberies,
thefts, burglaries,

hit-and-runs--
and the cameras are so good,

we're able to, a lot of times,

blow up the camera video

and tell the difference

between crack, heroin,
marijuana.

Freedia: Oh, wow.

This is a typical shooting,

so you have a intended
target right here.

You have another
intended target over there.

You have a person
with an AR15 machine pistol,

and then you had two people

on the opposite side
of the vehicle with pistols.

And, as he drove
down the street...

there's children nearby.

Now, we had cameras
around the corner,

and we were actually
watching these children.

They were getting off the bus.
They were happy.

And the next thing you know...

[ children screaming ]

...automatic gunfire.

We can tell
from the muzzle flash,

like a trigger pull,

that was fully automatic.

They basically
opened up that person

at point blank range.

Unbelievable.

Over here we have the murder
of Brayanta Ketchens,

21-year-old early childhood
development student.

One day, while she was taking
a shower in her bathroom,

five people went,
kicked in her window,

and...they shot her dead.

And not only did we
help prove who did it,

the five people
who were involved in that,

well, you can tell,

and this is gonna be
State Exhibit "A,"

this is the smile
on their faces as they left.

That's just after
they killed Brayanta.

Wow. I sure would like to know

if you can pull up
a certain day

when my brother was killed.

So we didn't have any cameras
in the immediate area.

We had some a distance away,

but we went for what we call
a needle in a haystack.

Sometimes it works.

On that day,
we just couldn't find anything

that we could possibly use
to help the detectives,

and that's what frustrates us
to no end

is when the bad things happen
and we cannot assist.

Right.

We are a city,
we are a country

that is drunk on violence.

Newscaster: Police responded

to an initial call
of shots fired

at the intersection
of Felicity and Sophie Wright.

15 minutes later,

Will Smith
was pronounced dead.

Newscaster #2:
Police claiming

that 28-year-old Hayes
shot Smith several times.

Newscaster #3: Cardell Hayes
was found guilty

of manslaughter

for the shooting death
of Smith

in a road rage incident
in New Orleans.

Hayes said
it was self-defense,

but the jury rejected that.

In the heart of our city,

Will Smith was shot and killed.

His death leaves a wife alone,

three children
without a father.

On the other side of the gun
is Cardell Hayes.

He's in jail,
but he has a family, too.

My cousin Cardell,

we call him Bear

because he's like a big, soft,
cuddly teddy bear--

he's a real sweet.

He was always there for me.

Growing up as a child,

he was the sweetest young man.

I lost my brother
and my cousin

to senseless violence.

They were like brothers.

Dawn: Adam always
used to call Cardell

his little big brother

because Cardell was
so much bigger than him,

so he would say
his little big brother.

And they were real close.

It was lots of police
that shot him down

right after the trial.

Anthony Hayes,
armed with a knife

on St. Charles Avenue,

was surrounded
by 16 officers

to keep him from hurting
nearby onlookers.

He had a breakdown,

and he was killed
by the policemen.

Once officers arrived,

the situation lasted
just over three minutes.

Officers tried
to talk him down,

used pepper spray,

and at one point
contemplated tackling him.

Mr. Hayes raised a knife

in an attempt to stab
one of the officers,

at which time
three other officers fired.

There is a question
on whether officers

could have shot
and wounded Hayes,

but Riley says officers are
no longer trained to do that.

It really hurt Cardell

because he loved his daddy,
you know.

Even though
we wasn't together,

his daddy was active
in his life.

Even with his illness
that he was going through,

he still was very active
in his life.

I believe that the trauma

to the collective Black body

is born in this country
in enslavement

and has never stopped.

As soon as you get
the civil rights,

when you think
we're in a new era,

you start to see
mass incarceration creep up.

And everything Jim Crow did

mass incarceration just does
under a different name.

All the lynching the happened,

the death penalty just brings
the killing inside.

We know that mass incarceration
is vastly disproportionately

affected by people.

For the same crime,

the Black person's getting
a much longer sentence

on average
than the white person.

That's a system problem.

My name is Darren Hayes,

but my friends and associates
call me Combray.

I'm the Lifers Association
President here at Elayn Hunt...

where I've been incarcerated
for the last 25 years.

I'm here on a homicide,

so that's second degree murder,

and that eventually led
to a life sentence.

We have some young offenders.

Look like the younger, they're
coming in off the street.

They're coming off the street
with these problems.

So we came up with the idea,
why not bring some people in

who maybe can tell these guys
some things

and make them look
at their self in the mirror.

Good afternoon.
How's everybody doing?

- [ murmuring ]
- Good.

My name is Charles Pattman.

I'm from the Wilson-Wooddale
Funeral Home.

I just want
to take a few minutes

just to share with you
what actually goes on

after you have gone out there
and you've OD'd on drugs,

when your homeboy decides
to shoot someone.

So I just want to share
a perspective with you

that is real.

I've seen a bullet
straight through the heart.

I've seen a bullet

straight through
one side of your head

and come out the other one.

I've seen them when they put
that gun under your chin

and just blew
half of your face off.

We've seen it.

So now we got to deal with it.

Darren:
And it's another animal,

the young guys that I see
come to jail today.

Back when I came,
we had reasons, we thought.

Even though they was
wrong reasons to do things,

we had reasons.

But young guys that I see
come to jail today,

they don't know.
They're just doing things

because peer pressure,

just wanting to be down.

What you did it for?
"I don't know.

I don't know why I did it."

Just because
he got away with it,

you think you can
get away with it.

It don't work that way.

You got to free yourself,

each and every one of you.

You get out of here
this afternoon,

you find the nearest mirror,
and you look in it.

And you say to yourself,
"I am where I am

because of the decision
that I made."

And once you can look
in that mirror

and say "I am where I am
because of the decision I made,"

you are free
because at that point

you can start moving
in the right direction.

Darren:
You got some good guys here.

You got some guys
that just slipped one time.

You know, there's a thin line

between where I'm
sitting at today

and where you're at right now.

Personally, me, myself,

I was selfish.

I hurt a lot of people,

and...right now,

I never been as high
as when you help somebody.

And there's nothing
like looking at somebody

you just helped
or you just saved his life

from making a bad decision,

and...

it looks like
the more you do that,

the more you want to do that.

Our next speaker

keep the party jumping.

Bounce music live

from the Party Bus,

from the Splash,
from the Picnic,

even before I got busted.

I'm gonna bring you
Freddie Ross,

known as Big Freedia,

to come enlighten us

about how he living his life.

Make it plain.

Good evening.

How are y'all doing today?

[ murmuring ]

You all know me
as Big Freedia the Queen Diva.

You best believe her.

[ laughter ]

Thank y'all so much.

Thank you, Warden Stagg,
for having me.

Thank you, my cousin Cardell,
for calling me.

So I've been going around
talking to many, many people,

and I say, "You know what?
I have a platform,

and I need to use it
as much as I can."

[ applause ]

God gave me a gift
to be able to touch people

and reach people
through music,

but I also have a voice.

I speak for a lot
of different people

who can't speak up.

The most important thing is

touching this young generation.

These children are really
a lost generation,

and it's gonna take
one person at a time

to help change that.

And you gentlemen out here,

y'all can help
make a difference

'cause they're looking
at y'all.

They're looking
at their brothers.

They're looking at their uncles.

They're looking at their--
their cousins

and saying, "You know,
yeah, my cousin in jail.

He did such-and-such.
My cousin known for this."

They think it's a game.
They think it's--

it's--it's something
to, like, live off

and feel good about.

How many people y'all think
be affected

by the things that y'all do?

Your whole family.

We don't want to see y'all
in here,

especially it's too many
brothers gone off the street.

And so many women out there.

It's like five women
to every man.

Don't y'all want to see
all them beautiful women?

[ murmuring ]

Y'all got to get out of here,
then.

Man: All right.

Y'all got to get out of here.

They're waiting
for a Black, strong brother

to get out of here

and do something different
with themselves.

I want to know
what y'all have learned

while y'all been in this place

and what are you gonna do
to change when you get out.

- Good evening.
- How are you?

I notice that most of us
dance around the problem.

It's the slave mentality.

[ one man claps ]

That's the problem.
That's the heart of the problem.

We are inclined to do
the things that we do.

We don't feel like there's
anything else we can do.

There's a lot of us
that are afraid to change

because they think
it makes them weaker.

Man: Right.

How you doing?
My name is Kenneth West.

I started using heroin
when I was 16 years old.

I watch young men come in now
into the system

who have been sold
into a misconception of life.

Identification is lost.

You've been mistaught.

You're undertrained,
undergirded.

But here's where I'm at,
Ms. Freedia.

What we can do is we can try
to re-facilitate to them

what the role of masculinity
really is

and what is our role
in family,

relationship, community,
and church.

I'm asking you to grow up,

grow up into a mentality
that becomes men.

God bless you.

Yes, sir.

Thank you to all of the people
that made it possible

for me to be here today.

I'm the one and only
Big Freedia the Queen Diva.

* You already know *

Choir: * Ain't nobody *

* Do me like Jesus *

* There ain't nobody *

* Do me like the Lord *

* There ain't nobody *

* Do me like Jesus *

* He's my friend *

There ain't nobody. Let's go!

* There ain't nobody *

* Do me like Jesus *

* There ain't nobody *

* Do me like the Lord *

* There ain't nobody *

* Do me like Jesus *

* He's my friend *

I never thought I would be
carrying a gun.

I was, you know,
I grew up in a church.

I was a choir girl.

* Suddenly you are no more *

* Suddenly... *

I went to Sunday school
every Sunday.

* ...ore *

* Suddenly you are... *

But I also didn't ever think
that I would be shot

and have to protect myself.

* ...you are no more *

Things happen in your life

that make you change
your whole outlook on life.

It was late night.

Bringing one of the girls
that I was cool with

home from the club.

As we were turning right here
onto Orleans Avenue,

the police had a car
pulled over right here.

So I remember that
because the lights was on.

And what I did was
I turned here on this street.

I dropped her off to her house
which was on this side.

And as I'm going
around the curb,

there's a dude standing
in the middle of the driveway

just in front of my car.

I'm like, "What is this?
What is he tripping out?"

His eyes were, like,
super big.

I waited for a moment.

When he moved to the side...

all I heard was gunshots.

When the window shattered,

I got hit with my first bullet.

And when I realized,
I started ducking.

I put my hand up like this
to cover the back of my head,

and thank God I did.

Bullet got, you know,

jammed right here in my wrist.

So thank God
for putting up my hand

because if I hadn't
have put up my hand,

I would have been shot
in the back of my head.

I can remember
driving off real fast,

and I slammed into another car,

and I turned out the driveway.

I went right back
down the street

to the same police
that had the vehicle stopped

two blocks up the street,

and I pulled up to the police,

and I said, "I've been shot."

I remember blacking out
after I told him I got shot.

I was very terrified.

This person was still
out on the streets.

You know,
I remembered his face.

Why did he do this to me?

Was he trying to rob me?

Or was he trying to make
a name for his self?

Was he trying
to put one under his belt?

And my mom was like,

"You're not gonna be
captivated in your own city

in your own house."

The only way for me to feel
safe to get out of the house

was to carry a gun.

I went, and I had to fill out
all type of paperwork,

and they did
the background check.

That's the only way
that I felt safe--

that I had something
to protect myself now.

I was never out
to harm anybody.

I was out
to just protect myself

if push came to shove.

And, um--

Still didn't get it.
All right.

A lot of New Orleans
bounce artists

died too early,

and their legacy become
"They're dead,"

and I never wanted that
to be me.

Magnolia Shorty
was my friend.

We were like the two
hottest bounce artists

at the time.

She was like
the female version of me,

and I was like
the female version of her,

so it was just like
we were on that same path,

repping New Orleans

and putting New Orleans
back on the map

through bounce music.

New Orleans police

are investigating
three deadly shootings

in a span of just two hours.

The latest incident happened
around 12:30 this afternoon.

Freedia:
She was brutally killed and shot

because of the guy
she was hanging out with.

There were actually,
you know, hearsay

they were actually
looking to kill him,

and she was in the car
with him at the same time.

Newscaster: So far, there
are no suspects or a motive.

Can't have any witnesses.

So she was killed
on a funny style.

Make that ass
sound like a car.

5, 4, 3...

Messy Mya was also
another local artist

who was on a rise.

Beyoncé used both of our voices

as a voiceover
in the "Formation" remix.

What happened
at the New Orleans?

Messy Mya was killed,
unfortunately,

at a block party
that I had just left at

and finished performing at.

And that particular day,
I felt something strange

was gonna happen
at the block party

'cause a lot of times

it's usually shooting
at the block party.

I've had to, like,
duck under cars

and behind trucks
and hide behind trash cans.

And that particular day,

I was, like, "I'm gonna rap
and I'm gonna leave.

I'm not gonna hang around."

And 10, 15 minutes later,
they called me

and said
that Messy Mya was dead.

We're out here.
We're making a stand

because we feel like
enough is enough.

One of the bounce legends--

Big Freedia's gonna say
a few works for us.

I am very saddened about our
loss to the bounce community

and to the bounce family.

Messy Mya--We all knew Mya
for telling jokes

and making us all laugh.

Instead of this being
something sad,

we can celebrate his life.

Now it's time for us
to stick together

more than anything.

And let this be an experience
that we all can learn from

to love each other more.

Thank you all so much.

Woman: One love.

- What's going on?
- Hey, what's going on, Freedia?

- I'm chillin'. How you doing?
- Wonderful. Wonderful.

So this my neighborhood.
I grew up here.

Come around here,
trying to educate people

of gun violence

that we can, um, be able to live
in this community together

without killing one another.
- Hell, yeah.

Lost a lot of people
in this neighborhood

to gun violence.
- I can imagine.

A lot of cousins
and good friends of mine

and, unfortunately,
by the hands of one another.

I would never admit
to killing no one.

Right? Even if I have.

But I went to jail for it,
and I went to trial for it.

Right?

I was in the wrong place
at the wrong time.

There's a lot of dynamics
to gun violence.

Like, ain't nobody
just jumping up saying

"Oh, I'm gonna
just be a killer."

That is not how that started.

I grew up. We were very poor.

Lot of things
I was dealing with.

My stepfather
was really abusive.

And because of that,

I had a lot of, um,
psychological problems.

The way I acted out landed me
in different institutions.

I probably was
the youngest person in there.

I was definitely the smallest.

We used to go
to the 7-Eleven down the street

and steal alcohol, and,
you know, we would drink it.

And before you know it,

you know,
I was snorting cocaine.

I think I was 10, 11 years old.

What's up, soldier?

Oh, yeah, it's a good day.

- How you feeling?
- What's up?

You good?

I was known in my part of town
as a jack artist

'cause, you know, I would
rob people to support my habit.

You know, breaking in cars
and breaking in houses.

that had guns in there.

So I've always had a gun.

I almost lost my life about
three times on this corner.

Yeah, so you got a lot of pain
in this neighborhood.

Right. So this is
the spot right here

where I actually got shot.

They had so many bullets
coming at me.

You know,
I had ran out of bullets.

I only had a handgun,
and I was shot in my arm,

and I was shot in my leg.

The guy ran over.
He stood up over me,

and he was shooting.

He was shooting.
I just thought I was dead.

You know, for some reason,

he just turned around
and jumped in the car and ran.

I was 19 years old,
and I should've been dead.

What's up, brother?
How you been?

- Your world.
- You been all right?

- Yes, indeed, man.
- That's what I'm talking about.

It's Freedia right here, bruh.
- What's happening?

- How you doing?
- I'm good.

This Lamont. Me and Lamont used
to run the street together.

How long you been
in that chair, bruh?

Since '90.
I got shot at a young age,

you know, in the projects.

Somebody tried to...rob me.

I wouldn't give up the money.
Young at the time.

Living that life.

Rebellious.

- You know I was.
- Right, right.

You know, stubborn.

The first desire of man
is to survive.

And when our survival is
threatened,

then we will do anything.

There's my other cousin
out here in this wheelchair.

He been in that chair
for about 30 years.

- How you doing, brother?
- Good.

What's up? How you doing?

If you wanted to survive
on the street,

you have to hold yourself down.

You know, you got to be a man.

If not, then everybody
gonna mess with you.

I did a lot of destructive
things around here,

but right now I'm just trying
to keep young Black men alive.

Can you tell him
that you love him

just one last time?

Say "I love you, Daddy."

I--I love you, Daddy.

Words from a young boy
to his father

who was shot and killed
last night in Algiers.

Woman: An emotional day
for family members

of Ryan Massey.

The 25-year-old was shot
multiple times

at the Garden Oaks
Apartment Complex in Algiers.

NOPD say a verbal argument
turned physical.

Earlier today, his family
started a memorial

in his honor,

where they say
the hardest part about this

is having to explain his death
to his 4-year-old son.

Celebrating the life
of Ryan Massey--

sunrise October 10, 1992,

sunset April 5, 2018.

This is the third nephew
I've lost to the street.

If my family don't see
what I see,

something wrong.

Father God, we thank You today

for all the ministers,

for the Massey families,

all the friends, God,
that came from near and far.

I remember when I was
becoming a man,

we used to fist fight.

That was our guns.

Now when you fight,
you ain't shaking it off,

scared of whooping,

scared of--
scared of beat-down.

You go and get a gun.

What that gonna solve?

You kill me.

Either you're gonna get caught,

or somebody gonna kill you.

I had the intent today

to preach on the sermon
"I Fought a Good Fight,"

but when I got ready
to come across the bridge,

God changed the message.

See, where I come from--

I come from oppression,

I come from the brickyard,

and when you fight
the good fight,

you get up and you shake hands.

But somebody don't know
how to fight a good fight.

[ cheering ]

A good fight is a clean fight.

A good fight mean
I can walk away

and say
"We can still be friends.

We can still be homies.
We can still be buddies."

I'm talking about a good fight.

[ cheering ]

The right words came
out of his mouth to me

that "Unc, I love you."

That's some powerful words.

It hurt me
once I got by myself

'cause I can't let nobody
see me crying,

let nobody see me break.

Can't let my emotion
take the best of me.

Why couldn't you let anyone
see you break down or...

You feel normal emotions
from losing a...

My mother asked
that same question

that you asked me.

And she said, "Let it out.

"Maybe it's good for somebody
to be there with you

when you let it out."

I just went off on my own
and just...

went...on the levy.

I just went on the levy
and just let it out.

There is something
that I need to say,

and I need you to hear it.

Once upon a time,
you would hear the sentiment

"It takes a village
to raise a child."

Now we live
in fear of the village

because our babies
are being slaughtered

at the hands of our babies.

We've lost sight
of the village.

I grew up in the Fisher
Housing Development.

It is a part
of the Algiers community

on the west bank
of the Mississippi River.

It was...
a housing development--

extreme poverty.

I grew up in the household
without my father.

My grandmother raised me
part time

'cause my mother battled
a drug addiction.

Even though I grew up

in what people would consider
the projects--

we came up
in a very violent area,

but we also came up
with a lot of loving people.

We had what I consider
to be a village.

There was always people around

that could kind of push you
in the right direction.

Even if your parent

or your guardian by blood
wasn't there,

then your neighborhood
grandmother or aunt

could always chastise you

and kind of get you
back on the right track.

All of the neighbors
knew you, knew your parents,

and not just
"Hey, how you doing?"

They knew you by name.
They knew where you lived.

They knew
your mama's phone number,

your mama, your grandmother,
your grandfather,

and of course they got you
in a lot of trouble, too,

because if they saw you
doing something

or thought
you were doing something,

you got in trouble.

The neighbor
would whoop your ass

before you got home,

and then your mom
and your daddy

would whoop your ass.

I wasn't just raised
by my mom and dad.

I was raised by my aunts,
my uncles, my cousins.

Everybody helped to raise us.

So I think that's
the largest change,

that the village
is disappearing

right before our eyes.

Ray Nagin:
Ladies and gentlemen,

this is not a test.

This is the real deal.

There's a major hurricane

that is in the Gulf of Mexico.

This is the storm
of the century.

Freedia: New Orleans
has always had its problems,

but it's just never been
the same since Katrina.

I was about 27
when Katrina hit.

Adam was about 22.

Crystal had just had her baby.

There have been
evacuation orders,

but for the most part,
it seems

like many people are gonna
just take their chance.

We were just like
the typical New Orleans people.

We didn't want to evacuate.

We thought, Oh,
it's just gonna blow over.

Woman:
Quite incredible scene here.

The flooding on the street
has gotten considerably worse.

I've got some skyscrapers
off to my right here,

and we are just watching
them fall apart.

Man: The worst of the storm
has now reached New Orleans.

This is the moment
we've been talking about.

Man #2: If the predictions
come true,

if the predictions are right,

there will be
a lot of dead people

in New Orleans tomorrow,

there's no question about it.

[ helicopter ]

Freedia:
It was the worst storm ever.

It hit, and we were
trapped in my house.

Man: Give me line 5.

Freddie in Lakefront,
Freddie on WWL.

All right,
they're monitoring this.

All I can tell you is do
everything you can to signal

if the helicopters
are passing over you.

Yeah. You're the exc--

And is the water rising
any more?

All right, I got you.

I'll cross my fingers
and say a prayer, Fred.

Good luck to you. Godspeed.

Thank you.

We were stuck there
for two days

before we was rescued
by a boat.

* I shall not *

* I shall not be moved *

* I shall not *

* I shall not be moved *

* Just like a tree *

* That's planted by the Lord *

* Oh, I shall not be moved *

We wound up sleeping
on the bridge for a night,

and then some buses came
and got us the next morning

and brought us
by the Superdome...

where we were turned around
with guns at the Superdome.

And we were told
to go to the Convention Center.

Help! Help! Help! Help!

Help! Help! Help! Help!

Help! Help! Help! Help!

Help! Help! Help! Help!

Help! Help! Help! Help!

I think one of the things
that people want us to do here

is to play a blame game.

I...

We got to solve problems.
We're problem solvers.

What I'm interested
is helping save lives.

That's what I want to do.

That five nights

staying on that ground
by the Convention Center

probably was the worst
five nights of my life.

Aw, baby.

When I left after Katrina--

I was gone
about 10 to 12 months

before I went
back to New Orleans.

It still had a smell

like something was dead
in the whole city.

Oh, my God,
is this really New Orleans?

You could not believe

that a city
that was full of so much life

was just like a dead city.

Now you had neighborhoods

that previously didn't
really jell.

Now they're in the same area.

People feel like they
have to be territorial, right?

So you have young people now

that they grew up
hearing stories

about how their relatives lived
in this housing development

and another one lived
in this neighborhood

or housing development

and these areas
didn't get along.

So now they grow up
hearing this,

and they feel like
"We have to continue

this crazy legacy."

In this city,

people are particular
about areas

and turfs and wards

and neighborhoods,

and when you mix that
all together,

that's not always a recipe
for rose petals and lilies.

The social system for kids
is nonexistent, you know.

My kids can't come out here
and go around the corner

and play with the kids
around the corner

'cause there aren't any kids
around the corner.

Who's worrying about
what type of child

we're gonna have
5 or 10 years up the road?

I am

'cause I don't want
my grandchildren to be the one

that's gonna stick a gun
in somebody's face.

All that has a psychic cost.

Charles: I look at these boys,
and I see pain,

and we don't let them
be vulnerable.

That's not healthy.

If you're never allowed
to express that,

it's going to come out

and likely
in a destructive way.

There's a epidemiologist

that says violence
is a contagion.

It acts like a disease,

that it transfers
to the next person

to the next person.

When I look at the age range

of young people who have
committed gun violence

and who are victims
of gun violence, right?

I think about the age they were
when Hurricane Katrina hit...

and the trauma
that they had to suffer

through that whole ordeal.

One of the things

that people in the community
suffer from

is post-traumatic
stress disorder--PTSD.

People are traumatized.

Some of those kids were 8,
9, 10 years old, right?

And you look
at the age range now,

10, 13 years later,

these are the young people

that's out here now

that's cutting up.

A lot of these young men
out here

is overcompensating
for their manhood.

Something has happened
to them

that threatened their manhood.

- Mm-hmm.
- It doesn't necessarily

have to be sexual abuse,

although that is something
that happens.

- Right.
- We have emotional abuse.

We have physical abuse.

And we have young people
out here

trying to prove to themselves
that they are men.

Mm-hmm.

Talking about mental health

in the Black community
is taboo.

We don't want to talk
about that.

If we are not dealing
with our psychological issues,

then we're gonna always
have our problems.

But I'm saying this
from my own personal experience.

I was a problem child
growing up in this neighborhood.

I've been to institutions
all my young life.

Psychologically,
something was wrong.

- Right.
- Something was happening

with me, right?

So if we don't deal
with the sickness,

then the guns
will always be there

and the dope will
always be there

and we're gonna always
have the problems.

My son was born
March of 1996.

I really knew that I had
to do something, right?

Joined a 12 Step program.

You know, I got a sponsor,

and I've been clean 22 years.

So that's like my son's
whole lifetime

that, you know,
that I've been clean.

And thank God that my children
never seen me like that.

I'm the person that
even my family members thought

was not gonna be here.

I was supposed to be dead
at 16, 17, 18, 19,

and I'll be 47 in June.

I know people
who have done less than me

that's in penitentiary
for the rest of their life

- or that's dead.
- Right.

So I have to believe

that there is something
for me to do.

- There is a purpose.
- Right.

- You have your purpose.
- That's right.

- God wasn't done with you yet.
- Right.

I like to live my life
as an example.

If I was considered

the worst person
in my neighborhood, right?

Then the Creator says,
"Okay, this is the worst one?

I'll fix him."

So it takes
everybody's excuses away.

[ jazzy marching band
music playing ]

[ gunshot ]

[ siren blares ]

We begin tonight
with breaking news.

New Orleans police
are investigating

a double shooting in the CBD

one block off

the St. Charles Avenue
parade route.

Witnesses tell me that they saw
a group of teenagers

take off down Union,

and then they heard five
to six shots fired.

One unknown male
was struck in the head.

That male is
in critical condition.

When I first heard
of the shooting,

I saw it on the news,

and I didn't know
whose shot it was,

but, you know, I remember
saying a little prayer,

and then, you know,

when we found out
it was actually Sam,

you know, it was like
the world just crashed.

Sam Butler is a kid

who went to the same
high school as me,

was a aspiring athlete

in football and baseball,

and was shot on Mardi Gras day
by a stray bullet

right after Adam was killed.

He didn't look, you know,
anything like his self--

swollen, staples in his head,
drains, and hooked up,

not breathing on his own.

Such a lively young man

just laying there
not responsive,

and you don't know
if he's gonna make it.

It was heartbreaking.

The bullet went in the right,

and it's in the left side,

so he actually have damage
on both sides of his brain.

He had two craniotomies
two days apart.

They told us that,
if he survived that surgery,

that he would have
left side paralysis.

So we didn't know
if he was gonna ever speak

or eat on his own,
breathe on his own.

- Hey.
- Hey.

- How are you?
- Good.

- How are you doing?
- I'm good.

Hey.

- Hey.
- How you doing?

- I'm doing good.
- You're doing good?

He's been doing
really, really good.

He's starting to move his leg.

Just started talking
in November.

I felt ex--

excited, excited.

- Mm-hmm.
- To be able to speak

to whoever you want.
- Mm-hmm.

Like--Like I used to.

He wanted a phone,

and he was writing
on the, um, erase board.

- Uh-huh.
- "I want a iPhone."

And I was like,
"When you start talking,

you can get a iPhone."

Sam started talking.

You got your iPhone,
though, huh?

- Yeah.
- [ laughter ]

- It's a new one.
- Okay.

And he's eating some now.

He wasn't eating.

You see all the feeding tube,

but he's--we don't access it

'cause he's starting
to eat by mouth.

Her had a goal to eat gumbo
for his birthday.

I swear. I swear.

It was like "Mind, come on,
mind, come on,"

- 'cause I got to eat gumbo.
- [ laughs ]

- And all that.

My mind was on that gumbo.

He loved gumbo.

- Come on, man.
- You hold him like that,

and he's doing his leg.

Nice job, sweetheart.

Okay, lock up that left leg.

You're gonna run out of room,
huh, homes?

They look at him
like a miracle now.

They're just amazed
at his progress,

and one of the surgeons

that actually did
his first surgery

when it happened

told me that usually they die

either before he get to them

or right after
he start surgery.

And to see Sam, you know,
has just been amazing,

- Oh, yeah.
- His progress and stuff.

'Cause he worked very hard,
very hard

'cause I told them
"Don't be light"

- 'cause he's a athlete.
- Come on.

- So he got that determination.
- Oh, yeah.

I told them
"Don't go light on him.

Go hard. Push that..."

- Wood.
- Yeah.

Push that wood.

That's the thing in football,
right?

- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah.

So I tell them
Push the wood."

Nothing but the grace of God
got us to this point

in, uh, Sam's fate,

for him knowing the Healer,

you know, and even
when he was having

these little tremors,

I said, "Oh, boy,

look like you're
catching the Holy Ghost."

I said,
"You should say hallelujah."

He would be in the hospital,

and if he caught one,
he'd go up the hallway.

Hallelujah.

[ laughs ]

Thank God for you
because, you know,

just stepping in
and looking after Sam,

you and your husband,

and just being there for him

in this whole time of need,
you know,

is much appreciated.

He know I'm mushy,
so he'll be laughing at me

- when I get teary.
- Yeah.

[ laughs ]
But I appreciate that.

I appreciate that.

Just a touching story
all around,

you know?

Yeah.

***

* Jealousy, baby *

* Won't get you nowhere... *

The city, they come together

for what they want
to come together for.

They talk for when
they want to talk.

They look out for
who they want to look out for.

* Jealousy, baby *

Hi, Mike.

* Won't get you no... *

There's a lack of love
for each other,

and that's what's missing.

As a community,

we have to shoulder up
to everybody...

because when something
happens in New Orleans,

we're all affected by it.

* Jealousy, baby... *

- Welcome, welcome.
- How you doing?

- You get to meet the man.
- [ laughing ] Yes.

- Yes.
- This is Devin.

- Hi, Devin.
- This is Calvin.

How you doing, brother?
What's up, bruh?

- How you feeling?
- Good.

- Good.
- I definitely think

Devin can change his direction,

but Devin has to want
to change it.

We're gonna let y'all talk.

I think Calvin can try
to put him on the right track

because he's been
in the streets.

He know
what the streets is about.

He did some of the things
that Devin's doing now.

So, man, just tell me
some things about you, bruh.

Well, as for me right now,

it ain't looking well
because, um,

it's just a lot of felony
charges right now for me.

So how many charges
you have right now?

Uh, right now I'd say about 14.

What's the worst one?

Uh...grand theft auto,
I think.

Grand theft auto? Okay.

No violent charges.

No carjacking,
no armed robbery.

Nothing like that.

Now I just want you to know
that I understand

because I used to be your age.
I used to go to jail.

I done been shot.
I done been stabbed.

I've been to jail for murder.

First degree murder,

four counts of first degree
attempted murder.

So I want you to know
that we are no different.

The only difference
between you and I

is that I'm doing something
different with my life,

and I would like to show you
how to do the same thing.

When I was 14 years old,

I was sentenced
to juvenile life,

and I spent four years
in that place.

All right?

Four years.

And after I got out of there,

because I didn't
change my mindset,

it wasn't but a year later
that someone shot me.

All this is because
I made a decision

to do some things...

that destroyed my life.

So, man, how do you feel

about some of those things
that I'm telling you?

To me, I think you're saying
that, um...

what goes around comes around.

Absolutely.

That--That--That's definitely
what happens.

What goes around comes around.

So they told me
someone shot at you, right?

Someone tried to kill you.

If you seen him right now,
what would you do?

Fight.

But he shot at you last time.

So now there's some--

this done grew
beyond the fight.

So you're saying
if you see him again

you're gonna want to fight.
He might have a gun.

He don't want to fight.

Do you understand
what I'm saying?

You see where I'm going
with that?

One of the myths
I always try to, uh, dispel

is beef don't die.

Right?

So let me tell you.

The brothers who shot me,

we grew up together, right?

I shot one of them.
He shot me.

And guess what.
We're cool, bruh.

We see each other, we--
we get along

because someone intervened

and said no,
this is not gonna happen.

Like, y'all need
to talk about this.

All of us still alive

because we was able
to talk out a situation.

Do you have any young
brothers and sisters?

Yeah.

Do you have a brother
younger than you?

- Yeah.
- How old is he?

7. He just turned 7 today.

He like you, huh?
He look up to you?

He like you,
like the way you dress,

like to be around you
and all that, right?

'Cause you know
that he is more likely to do

what he sees y'all doing,
what he see you doing,

'cause he want to be you.
He want to be like you.

"I'm gonna be
like my big brother."

You got any older brothers?

- Uh, yeah.
- Mm-hmm.

- He in jail.
- In jail?

But let me ask you this.
When you were younger,

did you want to be
like your big brother?

Yeah.

And he in jail?
And where you headed now?

Same place.

You understand what I'm
talking about right now?

So what you think your
little brother's gonna be like

if you don't stop that?

Either dead or in jail.

You were not put here
to do what you're doing.

Find your greatness.
Find your purpose.

And do that.

Because the real deal is,

if you don't have a plan
for your life,

the system got a plan
for your life already.

The jail is built already

for people like you
to come into

who don't have a plan
for their life.

They got a room for you
all the time.

They're never gonna
turn you around

and say "We ain't got
no bed for you."

I just want you to know,
brother,

that, whatever it is
you went through in your life,

whatever's going on with you,

you're not by yourself,
you know.

That's where I'm at,
brother Devin,

so, brother, I just hope

that you'll allow me
to be your big brother

and let me help you,
you know,

the way someone helped me.

You know, let me help you

to get through this dark time
in your life

and get you on track
and get you on the right road,

and I'm willing to do that
if you're willing to have me

to do that with you, so...

do I have your permission,
brother?

Yes, you do.

I'm looking forward
to working with you, brother.

[ chorus humming ]

How you doing, my brother?

- Can I give you one of these?
- Yeah.

Man, we're trying to do
our part to stop the violence.

This is the Stop the Beef
Hotline.

- Right.
- Free of charge.

No police involvement,
all right?

- Okay.
- All right, my brother.

The New Orleans Peace Keepers
mission,

it's a violence reduction
initiative.

We started off just walking in,
like, the violent neighborhoods.

We say, like, a hour of power--

one hour of doing something

is better than 24 hours
of doing nothing, right?

You know,
'cause these simple fights

evolve into somebody
getting killed.

Gunplay, so get involved.
Stop it, you know?

- Yeah.
- Say something.

In the Black culture,

if you get involved,
you're a rat.

Hey, baby.

- And we got to stop that.
- Yeah.

You can probably save
somebody's life,

and you're not ratting,

you're just helping
the situation.

We started the Conflict
Resolution Hotline,

which is known
as Squash the Beef Hotline

here in the city
of New Orleans.

How's it going?

Someone will call the hotline,

and we get them to begin
to start doing

what they haven't done
up to that moment,

which is to communicate.

We get them to the table,

and they're going
back and forth,

then we intervene
and say "Yo,

what are y'all beefing about?"

And they stop,
and they're like,

"I don't even know."

Hey, how y'all doing?

Of course we meet people
that say it doesn't work,

but we have been able
to resolve 46.

And two of those mothers
who we've been able to help,

it's like we've saved
the whole world,

so we're just really trying
to change the culture.

- Yeah. We need to.
- Yeah.

It's very important.

People feel

that resolving conflict

without smacking somebody
or punching somebody

is weak.

We're trying to bring attention
to this hotline that we have

trying to stop the violence,
man--Squash the Beef.

I don't know
where they get that from,

and I think it sometimes
stems from

this misunderstanding
of what manhood is,

and some people think
that being a man

is based upon your ability
to invoke fear in another.

Hey, how y'all doing?
Look at--

- Hey.
- Mama, Big Freedia here!

Hey, let me give y'all this

to try to stop the violence
in the--

in the city, all right?

They're so cute.

So adorable.

I haven't been on this block

since my brother was killed
right there.

Wow.

Definitely rough.

Yeah.

Unfortunately, this is where
my brother was killed,

and the little kids
in front of the house,

they planted this tree
in remembrance of my brother.

Damn, man.

- You know.
- How did that make you feel?

It made me feel
really good, you know?

I hadn't been to this spot
since it happened.

- Yeah.
- You know.

I'm getting the strength now

to just spread the word
in courage

so that another family
won't have to go

what we went through,
you know?

I wish I was there

to be able to resolve
whatever was about to happen

or whatever happened.

I know that I could have
found the resolution to fix it

if I was there or knew
what was gonna happen.

- Hey, how's it going?
- Michelle, this is Devin.

Michelle Charles.
Very nice meeting you.

How you doing, brother Devin?

Devin is 14.

He hasn't even begun

to start his journey

of where he can go in life.

I hope we're not losing him
to the jail system.

Not too much talking today,
okay?

All right. So you ready?

Following your lead.

Once you introduce the child
to the system,

one arrest
alters that kid's trajectory.

One arrest.

And now the dominos
start to fall.

- Hey, hey.
- Hey.

- How are you doing?
- Doing all right.

- Good to see you.
- All right.

So we have--The cameras
are going up right now.

One of the cameras will be
facing over here.

Yeah. This is where
my brother got killed,

right in front
of that blue house.

Why I wanted to put
a camera on that block--

to feel the presence
of my brother's spirit

and let him know that he's
gonna look over this block.

This camera that's going up
that you're helping us with

is gonna be the first camera
in the city of New Orleans

that offered
gunshot protection.

- Oh, wow.
- Camera's gonna start to spin.

It's gonna take
a quick assessment

- of the entire area.
- Oh, wow.

We're gonna know in real time
if something bad's happening,

and we're going to be
able to help

with the police response.

Yeah, this is amazing.

Hoping that putting up
these cameras

can, you know,
help the next person

if something like this happens

'cause we still don't have
any closure.

* Oh, well, well *

* Don't be uneasy *

* Don't be uneasy *

* Well, well *

* Don't be uneasy *

* Jesus gon' make up
the dying bed *

- Freedia: Where the lighter?
- No light in your eyes?

We ain't got no lighters
over here?

Where the smokers at?
Where the smokers at?

Here, let me put you--
give me a paper.

- Shawn got a light.
- Thank you.

You got it?

This last year has been
a really rough year for me.

I had to learn
how to control my emotions

and find peace,

and still it's a--
a daily process.

Tonight we want
to remember Adam,

and we're gonna celebrate

'cause you know
he wouldn't want us to be sad.

He'd want us to jam
'cause he was a lively person.

He was full of life
and full of joy.

We remembered our loved ones
by celebrating their lives.

[ Dixieland jazz plays ]

We have a centerline band,
and we come out,

and we act a fool for him.

* Jesus on the mainline *

* Tell Him what you want *

* Jesus on the mainline *

* Tell Him what you want *

It will take us as a community
to end the gun violence,

each and every family,
each and every individual.

That's the only way
that it's gonna happen.

I think it's important to focus
on saving one person at a time

'cause if you can't save one,

you sure can't save
more than one.

Well!

[ laughter ]

* Danger *

* Oh, yes *

- * Danger *
- * Wow *

* Danger *

- * Let's do this *
- * Danger *

* Everywhere we go
is dangerous *

* I'm so dangerous *

* Everywhere we go
is dangerous *

* I just want
to be dangerous *

* Everywhere we go
is dangerous *

* Dangerous *

* Everywhere we go
is dangerous *

* Dangerous *

* Everywhere we go
is dangerous *

- * Dangerous *
- * Dangerous *

* D-A-N-G-E-R *

* Danger, danger *

* D-A-N-G-E-R *

* Danger, danger *

* Everywhere we go
is dangerous *

* Everywhere we go
is dangerous *

* Everywhere we go
is dangerous *

- * Dangerous *
- * Dangerous *