What Crips founder Stan Tookie Williams told me shortly before his execution.

Everything Williams said in 2005 goes against what BLM, or the Biden Totalitarian Regime (BTR) is telling us today. Ironically, he would now be called a “white supremacist".

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Today I have determined that I will take a pause from all the crazy current events and tell you about Stan Tookie Williams, co-founder of the Crips. In 2005, I had the honor of securing one of the last interviews with Williams shortly before his execution. Williams knew his life was about to end and he wanted to offer some words of wisdom to the young people in InsideOUT Writers, the creative writing program I had cofounded for incarcerated youth in Los Angeles.

Ironically, everything that this revolutionary black man had to say goes against what BLM, or the stooge Biden Totalitarian Regime (BTR) is telling us today. In fact, Williams would probably be labeled a “white supremacist”.

In 1971, Williams joined forces with Raymond Washington and established Crips as Los Angeles' first major African-American street gang. During the 1970s, Williams was the de facto leader of the Crips, arguably the world’s deadliest street gang, and the prominent crime boss in South Los Angeles.

That all ended when in 1979 he was arrested for the murder of four people during two robberies. Convicted of the murders in 1981 and sentenced to death, he spent over two decades on death row until he was executed by lethal injection in 2005.

Evidence was raised pointing to Williams’ innocence and that perhaps he was a political pawn. On December 12, 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger denied clemency for Williams.

On the same day that Schwarzenegger denied Williams’ clemency:

Jonathan Harris, a New York counsel with Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, filed a response summarizing new evidence of innocence. It included reference to an affidavit by Gordon Bradbury von Ellerman attesting to belief in Williams' innocence. Dated December 10, it states that he called the NAACP on December 8 after reading in the Daily Breeze that his cellmate, George Oglesby, had testified against Williams. He states that he had observed Oglesby receive police reports on Williams and others. Mr. Oglesby told Von Ellerman that he was using the documents to testify against Williams and others ‘to gain a reduction or eliminate charges against him.’ Von Ellerman also observed Oglesby copying from samples of Williams' handwriting to ‘create incriminating documents that would appear to be written by Mr. Williams.’ Prosecutors had cited handwritten notes written by Williams about an escape plan that involved the killing of a bus driver and another accomplice.

At that time, I was still president of InsideOUT Writers, the creative writing program for incarcerated youth in Los Angeles that I had co-founded with Sister Janet Harris. One of my big dreams had been to start a magazine of the writings of the youth in our program. In 2005, I was contacted by a foundation who wanted to donate the funds to make that happen. And so, it came about that I was able to secure one of the last interviews with Williams for the magazine.

A lot was happening at that time. I was in a battle with the elites on the board of IOW, resulting in my ousting. A story for another day. By the time this second issue of the magazine came out, my fate had been sealed. And because the board wanted to silence me, this magazine and the important interview it held in such a timely fashion, was kept from being circulated. After my ousting, no other issue of the magazine was ever published. So, it means a lot to me to share what Williams said now.

But first, I want to make clear for those who have little sympathy for gangsters that the world inner city kids grow up in is often cruel and unforgiving in ways you cannot begin to understand unless you have experienced it. I don’t say this to in any way condone the bad choices the youth in juvenile hall have made. We all must learn to accept responsibility for our actions. It’s the only way to find redemption. I say it so that we can better understand one another—there but for the grace of God go I. I learned this first-hand when I went into Central Juvenile Hall in the mid 1990s and sat down face to face with the youth and started to hear their stories.

The thing is, sitting down face to face with those who are perceived as monsters or racist or fascist or xenophobic or anti-vax, or any of the terms we have come to identify our enemies with, is the last thing those in power want us to do. In fact, the most dangerous thing we can do according to the elites is share our stories with one another. They know how enlightening such experiences can be. They know that when we share our stories, we come together rather than divide. We realize we are brothers and sisters with the same hopes and fears. Most people are not extremists. But we can see how people are being manipulated into becoming extremists.

I always remember a friend of mine telling me how he grew up in a prominent Latino gang. It was his world; he didn’t know anything else. When he was just a kid of maybe ten years old, when the police were bored, they used to pick him up and drop him off in enemy territory just for fun. He would have to find his way home, and that journey meant avoiding getting attacked, perhaps even killed. As a result, he hated the police, why wouldn’t he? But he overcame that hate as he grew up. He was proud when his sons joined the military. He was an elite security guard. When I met him, he was a bodyguard for Dr. Dre.

My dear friend Silvia Sanchez, who spent 25 years in prison, convicted at the age of 18 for a murder committed by her older abusive boyfriend, told me how as a teenager she wanted to go to school but eventually she gave up. The school was in enemy territory and walking there meant getting beat up by rival gangs. Of course, the staff at the school didn’t understand this and they had little sympathy for her “excuses” of not showing up for school.

We are all going to know what it feels like to be stuck in our neighborhoods, not able to get out. We will get punished if we dare step outside the borders confining us. What they are doing now is an extension of what they have always done to those they identify as “lower class”.

Essentially, the government wants all of us in gangs. Black gangs, white gangs, liberal gangs, conservative gangs. If we can understand what they are doing; see that the gangs of the street are no different than the gangs of acceptable society, just as the drugs of the street are no different from the drugs of Big Pharma—the packaging is just different—then we will not be fooled by their indoctrination attempts.

Williams said, “The message is simple: don’t join a gang. All you will find is trouble, pain and sadness. I know. I did.”

Refuse these gangs. Embrace one another with love and acceptance. Love is the most dangerous weapon we have. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. This goes against what we are taught that it means to be “strong”. But it is the greatest strength of all. Love will always overcome hate. Always.

During his years on death row, Williams wrote nine anti-gang books for teenagers, launched the Internet Project for Street Peace and mentored countless schoolchildren. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He received more than 50,000 emails from young people, parents, teachers and law enforcement officers from around the world testifying that his writings changed and saved lives.

He was still executed. I don’t believe in the death penalty, and my dearest friend Casey Cohen, a private investigator who worked on some of the most notorious death penalty cases in the US with one of the most famous attorneys, Leslie Abramson, and who was considered to be one of the foremost authorities on the death penalty phase, is a big reason why I don’t. You can read about my friendship with Casey in The Three Faces of Evil, Part II.

We’ve forgotten what it means to have compassion for our fellow man. The compassion Williams advocated for in his interview would be considered racist talk by BLM, by the elites, by the Biden Totalitarian Regime. His words expose the absurdity of what they are trying to impose on us.

I credit Susan Shields, the wonderful editor of our magazine, for conducting the interview with Williams. Here are some excerpts from her interview.

HOW HAS YOUR IDENTITY CHANGED THROUGH THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF YOUR LIFE?
Throughout most of my life, I never had a real identity. After educating myself intellectually, culturally and spiritually, I discovered who I am today: a thinking Black man, not a gangster or an animal.

Williams educated himself. The corrupt school system didn’t do it. ChatGPT didn’t do it. He realized he was not a gangster or an animal. He was a man. Williams would be appalled at what they are telling children they can be now. Certainly, not a man. Or a woman. They want our children to think of themselves as anything but men or women. They can be animals. They can be genderless. Anything but human.

WHAT WOULD HAVE MADE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE FOR YOU AS A CHILD AND TEEN THAT WOULD HAVE KEPT YOU FROM GETTING INTO TROUBLE?
Among other things, I believe that had I had the consistent presence of a responsible, educated, hard-working, spiritual, and caring father, it would have made a tremendous difference.

Wow. The last thing the BTR wants our children to believe is that they need a “responsible, educated, hard-working, spiritual, and caring father”. Indeed, they want to eradicate the terms father and mother. These terms are now associated with White Supremacy. Williams formed the most notorious black gang in the world, and yet at the end of his days, sitting in a prison cell, he came back to the most basic of moral values.

YOU WROTE IN Gangs and Your Neighborhood: "When you're truly tough, you don't worry about what other kids think about you. You care about what you think about yourself." HOW CAN KIDS TODAY GET "TRULY TOUGH" WITHOUT RESORTING TO VIOLENCE?
There are simple ways to be tough without resorting to violence. Here's a brief list of true toughness:
1. True toughness is to attend school, graduate, and then enroll in college.
2. True toughness is to avoid gangs, drugs, weapons, crime, illiteracy, and violence.
3. True toughness is to believe in your ability to succeed.
4. True toughness is to ignore people who say you're dumb and worthless.
5. True toughness is being strong mentally, physically, culturally, and spiritually.
6. True toughness is being able and willing to help other people, regardless of their color, race, creed, or socioeconomic status.
7. True toughness is acknowledging right from wrong and behaving in a manner that will not harm you or other people.

Dangerous talk nowadays. This month, Al Jazeera published an opinion piece:

Why ‘white’ supremacists are not always white: Black and brown men committing white supremacist crimes in America should not surprise anyone.

Enrique Tarrio, the Cuban-American leader of far-right group the Proud Boys interacts with supporters during a 'Latinos for Trump' demonstration, at Tamiami Park in Miami, Florida, USA, on October 18, 2020 [Mario Cruz/EPA-EFE]

If you’re black these days, you are only free if you parrot the views of the BTR. Otherwise, you are a white supremacist. Of course, what this is doing is pushing more and more people towards extremism. In prison, if you are white, it doesn’t matter if you are not a white supremacist, if you want to survive, you will identify with that gang. The same with Blacks, Asians and Latinos. The prison system does this on purpose, to keep inmates weak and divided.

Today, I was in my car about to get out to go to a spin class. A group of five teenage boys passed me, talking among themselves. Every sentence out of their mouths included “f*ck”. They were acting tough while talking about nothing of importance. My heart went out to them. They appeared so unhappy, so lost. They had no standard upon which to navigate through the awkward teenage years. Their language was base. Unintelligent. It was as if they had lost the ability to communicate in any way except with aggressive animal grunts.

If anyone should speak with such bravado, swearing in every sentence, Williams should. But he doesn’t. He speaks eloquently and those young men should listen but sadly they won’t. I hope if any parents are reading this, they will share it with their children. Here’s more from Williams’ interview.

YOU WROTE in Gangs and Your Friends: "When I was a boy, there were times when I knew that something I was going to do was bad. Just before I did it, my stomach felt strange. A voice inside my head said 'Don't.' But I would do it anyway.... You can learn from my mistakes. Trust yourself."

DOES THAT STRANGE FEELING AND VOICE IN YOUR HEAD GO AWAY EVENTUALLY IF YOU KEEP DISOBEYING IT?
No. It never leaves! If that inner voice disappeared from every human being, all of us would be human automatons, robots. The feeling in the stomach is a reaction to disobeying the voice. The voice itself is the voice of reason, the higher or better part of us. As long as we exist that voice will be our conscience, warning us to do what is right.

What has happened to that inner voice? Williams warns that “If that inner voice disappeared from every human being, all of us would be human automatons, robots.”

That is what is happening! We are losing that inner voice, our conscience, as we meld ourselves with machines.

LOOKING BACK, IF YOU COULD, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THE 7-YEAR OLD TOOKIE, THE 17-YEAR OLD TOOKIE, THE 24-YEAR OLD TOOKIE?
I would tell the 7-year old Tookie to not be in a hurry to become an adult. I would tell him to enjoy his childhood; listen to his parent--or parents--because they have the experience; study hard and obtain the highest education possible, and then use that education to help resolve social problems.

I would tell the 17-year old Tookie that every choice in life begins with him. I would warn him about the perils of gangs, drugs, violence, incarceration, death row, and death itself. I would say, "Don't follow in my footsteps. However, the choice is yours."I would explain to him that it's all about him making positive choices that will prevent him from ending up in Juvenile Hall, California Youth Authority, prison, death row, hurt or killed! I would remind him that change begins with him. I would ask him not to become a victim of self-pity or a victim of the negative social conditions that surround him, like thousands of others have done. I would say, "Be a consistent survivor. Picture your seuccess and then work towards achieving it."

For the 24-year old Tookie I would say, "Look, you're wasting your life. The only people benefiting from your gang-thug-criminal lifestyle are the police, judges, prosecutors, jails, prisons, death rows and morgues. You, Tookie, are becoming a modern-day slave. Though you might feel offended and are likely to deny being a slave, I can prove it.

Here are the recognizable signs:
1. A modern-day slave will neglect to educate himself or herselfor to develop a legitimate trade.
2. A modern-day slave will commit robbery, theft, burglary, and other crimes against his own people--and others.
3. A modern-day slave will perpetuate self-hate, chaos, violence and senseless murder against his own people--and others.
4. A modern-day slave will buy, use and/or sell street drugs, causing his own people and others to becomes slave addicts to drugs, slaves to crime, slaves to misery and slaves to death.
5. A modern-day slave will hustle, degrade, abuse, disrespect, rape and/or prostitute women.
6. A modern-day slave will deprive his or her children of financial and/or emotional support, as well as abandon them.
7. A modern-day slave will inevitably end up incarcerated and will make no attempt to break the chains of his or her mental and physical bondage.
"Now, Tookie, I challenge you to rise above your present situation, a circumstance that can destroy your life. I challenge you to become a better 'you' and work to resolve your community's social ills."

IF YOU WERE OUT OF PRISON, HOW WOULD YOU SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?
I would spend it promoting peace and helping youths as well as adults throughout America and around the world.
Amani--that's Swahili for peace.

In an interview on WBAI Pacifica radio hours before Williams’ execution, he stated:

My lack of fear of this barbaric methodology of death, I rely upon my faith. It has nothing to do with machismo, with manhood, or with some pseudo former gang street code. This is pure faith, and predicated on my redemption. So, therefore, I just stand strong and continue to tell you, your audience, and the world that I am innocent and, yes, I have been a wretched person, but I have redeemed myself. And I say to you and all those who can listen and will listen that redemption is tailor-made for the wretched, and that's what I used to be ... That's what I would like the world to remember me. That's how I would like my legacy to be remembered as: a redemptive transition, something that I believe is not exclusive just for the so-called sanctimonious, the elitists. And it doesn't—is not predicated on color or race or social stratum or one's religious background. It's accessible for everybody. That's the beauty about it. And whether others choose to believe that I have redeemed myself or not, I worry not, because I know and God knows, and you can believe that all of the youths that I continue to help, they know, too. So with that, I am grateful ... I say to you and everyone else, God bless. So take care.

What does it take for us to realize the importance of these very basic truths? For Williams:

“It didn’t happen overnight. There was no epiphany. It took seven years of solitary confinement of soul-searching, to realize what I had become and that I didn’t want to be that person anymore.”

Solitary confinement. Soul-searching. We could all do with a little bit more of that.