Anthony McDuffie and Jesse Maroney
Recorded
April 26, 2021
Archived
April 26, 2021
41:27 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id:
ddv000712
Description
Anthony "Bomani" McDuffie (34) shares with his friend Jesse Maroney (37) about his life growing up in South Los Angeles, the impact of the loss of his father, and how hyper-policing and trauma from his childhood lent itself to his involvement with gangs at an early age. He talks about his time in prison and what led him to begin practicing Islam.Subject Log / Time Code
AM talks about growing up in south Los Angeles.
AM remembers the death of his father and the long term impacts that had on his family.
AM talks about the hyper-policing in his neighborhood growing up. He remembers getting baseball cards from police officers from the D.A.R.E. program, but asking police officers for a baseball card one day and instead being shown a photograph of two lynched slaves.
AM remembers the abuse and neglect he experienced at home as a child, which eventually led to him running away and joining a gang at age 11.
AM explains what his role was in the gang he joined and talks about how committing acts of violence allows you to advance your role.
AM talks about his first experiences getting caught for crimes. He discusses the "graduation system" of different levels of prison, comparing it to levels of school like elementary school and middle school.
AM reflects on how he shifted his mentality inward once he was serving a 15 year prison sentence, and his decision to learn and practice Islam. He shares about the difficulty of transitioning from a gang mentality into a community of other Muslims within the prison.
AM talks about how he has integrated himself into the Muslim community after prison.
Participants
- Anthony McDuffie
- Jesse Maroney