Beyond the Block Ep.4 - 6205 Warren Ave

00:00 Hello. I'm gonna let y'all know where I'm from outside the village. Begin here in a part of south Dallas that unfortunately is no stranger to shootings. Police say the victims of mass shooting at a weekend party in south Dallas were not the intended targets. Ten people were shot in what police say was a shootout. The youngest victim, 15 years old. Another victim, an 18 year old, is in critical condition. Police say there were. What can you tell the people about this neighborhood? I mean, get some good size out this neighborhood, you can get some bad size about this neighborhood. It all depends on you, you know what I'm saying?

00:41 But the neighborhood ain't nothing.

00:42 It's a bad neighborhood. Get out there and do what you gotta do to get what you gotta get. Welcome my neighbor with number. Crackhead, dope dealer, prostitute. Imprint. Still gotta get the people to understand we is not violent, though. Yo, man, we not know. If you were described as someone who had never been to Dallas before, what would you say? I put it to you like this. It's the closest thing you can get to heaven without dying. We're talking about Malcolm X Boulevard in Hatcher street and a convenience store called Little World, where last night a woman was shot in the head. A man also shot in the side. I'm playing the game on my phone. I just feel the Wall street. He could hear the gunfire from his home blocks away. I was like, God, Lee. Like, it's not even so much a frustration. It's just like sort of getting to the point of being overwhelmed. It's just like, damn, man. Another one. This call recorded.

01:58 Hello?

02:00 Hello?

02:01 All right. Can you hear me?

02:04 Yeah. How you doing, baby?

02:05 I'm doing good. How about yourself?

02:08 I'm fine.

02:10 Okay, start the interview. To start the interview, if you could describe your childhood home, how would you describe it?

02:17 Well, I loved it. My childhood home, I loved it, man. I can't, you know, I won't be ashamed of it a bit, you know. It taught me a lot. It taught me a lot about people, man. Just growing up. Yeah. I mean, just learning different things, you know, remarkable moment and stuff like that, man. But, yeah, I love it. It was great.

02:41 Okay, so starting an interview, if you can state your name, your age, what part of Dallas are you from, and how long have you been there?

02:51 Okay, well, you start off, my name is Anthony Evans. I'm 36 years old. I've been living in south Dallas 36 years of my life.

03:02 Okay, what life lessons have you learned living in south Dallas?

03:09 Life lessons I've learned living in south Dallas. The main thing is be yourself. Don't follow nobody. Be yourself, man. And, you know, it's easy to slip up just to just being around the wrong crowd, man. But, you know, you know, you live and learn, you know, majority of part being like, in a private neighborhood like that. You'll learn a lot just. Just by seeing, seeing things and you experience, man. You'll see a lot.

03:43 Okay, if someone was to move to South Dallas, what advice would you give them?

03:54 Once again, be yourself. It's easy to slip up. It's easy to slip up, man. It's very easy to slip up because a lot of things that goes around, you know, that. That take place around in that area, it's a lot of negative things. And sometimes it be positive, you know, you know, positive things going on as well. But, you know, for the most is be yourself. Don't hang around crowd easily influenced to do the wrong thing. Yeah, but other than that is, I advise people just to be yourself, mandy, man.

04:32 Okay. Has living in self doula shaped your mindset? If so, how?

04:41 Yeah, it has. It have. For the most part, it happened. You know, you learn all different things, man, from, from. From con, from scammers, from drug dealers, from robbers and all, you know, it prepares you. It pushes shield up to where you. It's not so much to where it prepares you to be ready for the things that can, you know, can happen, but it also. It keep you aware, keep you, man. Is this main point? Yeah.

05:17 Okay.

05:17 The most part, it has shaped my mind, man, cuz a lot of things could have been worse, but I. At the same time, it shaped it out shaped my mind. That was a good question.

05:31 Okay, to go back to talking about your childhood home, is there a memory that you carry? Carry with you?

05:41 Well, yeah, it is. You know, is. It's reflecting on. On the house or it's just mainly south Dallas?

05:51 No, just. Just reflect on the house. Just your memory that you carry with you. Like just living there.

05:58 Yeah, the memory moment, man. Just being together, man, just being, you know, growing up, you see how being family oriented and gatherings and you mainly experience a lot of love. A lot of love. Know. Yeah, I, you know, stuff like that.

06:16 Okay. Do you think South Dallas is dangerous?

06:24 Do I think it's dangerous? Well, for the most part, you just. Well, we just can't just say South Dallas is basically anywhere, but it just makes it. I just feel like at any part, in any, any area, you know, it is how you conduct yourself. But for the most part, if you're not from around there you know, you know, from that area. And basically, if you not, how can I say? Accustomed to being around at a vibe. I believe it would be dangerous for, you know, for a person just. Just to move in and just thinking they could just an adapt to it. But yeah, it's pretty dangerous because you'd be up against, you know, robbers, scammers, drug users and all, you know, all type of. So, you know, they come at y'all at once. But yeah, you ask me, it's pretty dangerous for the most part.

07:13 Okay. What do you love about.

07:19 I love about South Dallas. What I love about it, it's a lot of black owned businesses. You know, I'm a big fan of food, you know, and it's the culture. Just living out, you know, not just saying all of know, trying to sound all wrong, you know, things, but it is, you know, I'm just up to say, I'm from South Dallas, you know, born and raised. I gotta believe I'm used to it. Yeah, I love mister food. The food laughed. A lot of laughter. You know, that the atmosphere, what I mean by that, it's a lot of bars and sports ball and things like that. Yeah, I love it.

08:04 Okay. All right. Until the end of interview, I would like to do a check over all my people. I interview it. So how are you doing in life now?

08:15 Oh, life is great. Sometimes it can get hard, but for the most part, man, I keep my head high, man. I have two beautiful kids on my own. I also have three other step kids, but, you know, I say they my kids, but, you know, everything's going well. Everything's going well. Pretty fair. Everybody is doing good. I got a son in college. He was state. And I also have a younger son that played basketball, you know, but far as, you know, far as my girls, they growing up, they have a great mother. So pretty much, you know, everything is, you know, pretty well for boys. For me as a person, I'm still trying to get myself together, and it's a lot of things that I still need to learn as a man on doing that. But for the most part, I'm healthy. I'm out of prison, and I'm here, here for the most part with my kids, with my family. Just can't say the family. And also I'm here hearing you give a conversation to him. Yeah. So for the most part, everything is going good.

09:25 Okay. You did good. I'm going to hang up and call you regular call.