Summary(0:00) Non-profit work -- (0:10) Growing up in East Flatbush with Caribbean immigrants -- (0:42) Being surrounded by gang life -- (1:01) High school classmates and their affiliation with the Crips -- (2:06) Difficulty of not joining a gang -- (4:00) Distancing himself from gang culture -- (4:21) Reasons for joining a gang -- (5:00) Negative consequences with the police -- (5:13) Difficulty going to other neighborhoods -- (6:18) Neighborhood acquaintances being arrested for gang-related crimes -- (7:30) Life changes or lack thereof for former gang members -- (8:04) Grandma as a positive and grounding force -- (8:14) Desire to avoid drama related to gangs -- (8:26) Wanting to provide community mentorship and opportunities -- (9:01) The desires that gangs fill in young people -- (9:50) Keeping an open line of communication with his son.
NoteAudio interview conducted on October 19, 2016, by Carmen Lopez in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Collected through Our Streets, Our Stories, an oral history project of Brooklyn Public Library. This project is a partnership with Services for Older Adults and the Brooklyn Collection.
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TitleOral history interview conducted with Ashton Francis on 2016 October 19.