[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 4, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E987-E988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ANDREA JAQUITH ON GANGS AND STREET VIOLENCE

                                 ______


                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 4, 1996

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of my colleagues I would 
like to have printed in the Record this statement by Andrea Jaquith, a 
high school student from Brattleboro, VT, who was speaking at my recent 
town meeting on issues facing young people.

       The phenomenon of gangs and gang violence is widespread 
     throughout this country, and is spreading rapidly and fast 
     becoming a societal problem of great magnitude. Some people 
     blame the gang problems on the poverty that this country is 
     struggling with. With the possible exception of some states 
     in the Northeast, every state now has some sort of gang 
     problem. In 1961, there were about 23 cities in the U.S. with 
     known street gangs. Today, there are at least 187 different 
     cities with known street gangs. In 1992, there were an 
     estimated 4,881 gangs in the U.S.
       L.A. County in California is the gang capital of the 
     nation. In 1991, there were 150,000 persons in 1,000 gangs in 
     L.A. County. John Pole of Emerge Magazine said, ``If you 
     could eliminate the narcotics problem tomorrow, you would 
     still have a significant gang problem. If the next day you 
     eliminated the gang problem, you'd still have a significant 
     crack problem.''
       Guns, ``gas traps'' or ``toolies''--whatever you choose to 
     call them--firearms are a major part of gangs and violence, 
     in general, today with American youths. Gunshot wounds are 
     the leading cause of death for all teenage boys in America. 
     Guns kill 14 kids in America every day. It is estimated that 
     one out of 25 African-American male children now in 
     kindergarten will be murdered with a gun by the age of 18. In 
     a recent survey conducted, it was found that one in five H.S. 
     students carry a weapon with them. The vast majority of 
     juveniles get guns from their own homes, and the majority of 
     accidental shootings occur in homes where kids can easily get 
     guns. In a 1989 poll, nearly three out of five Americans own 
     a gun.
       So many youths have firearms because of the perceived 
     absence of any other kind of power necessary to attain status 
     and wealth. 5,000 kids are killed by a gun every year in the 
     U.S. There's a trend that appears to be a weak economy and 
     scarcity of legitimate jobs for these young minority men--
     that's why they tend to join gangs. Basic needs that kids get 
     by joining gangs are: structure, nurturing, economic 
     opportunity and a sense of belonging. Most kids join gangs 
     because that's what there is to join where they live--there 
     aren't sports teams that they can join,

[[Page E988]]

     and there aren't jobs that they can get because of the weak 
     economy--so that's why they turn to gangs.
       There are two well-known gangs in Western U.S.; they're 
     known as the ``Crips'' and the ``Bloods;'' the Crips and the 
     Bloods are rivals in the Western U.S.--the Crips wear blue 
     and the Bloods wear red. There is a lot hatred between these 
     two gangs; a Blood will not ask for a cigarette because the 
     word begins with a c,' as in Crips. Instead, they ask for a 
     figarette.'' Parents are very fearful for their children's 
     lives when they go out to play or go to school; if they are 
     caught wearing the wrong colors, they could be misinterpreted 
     for belonging to a gang, and get hurt or killed. Parents 
     dress their children carefully in brown, yellow or other 
     neutral colors, and they avoid buying British Nike's brand 
     sneakers, because the initials have come to mean 
     ``bloodkiller,'' a sign of disrespect in a Blood 
     neighborhood. Nearly 50% of the Black male population age 21 
     through 24 is involved in some sort of gang activity. More 
     than 200,000 people live in South Central L.A., and most have 
     turned their homes into what look like jails: heavy metal-
     grid bars across the windows and doors, their yards turned 
     into military compounds with wrought-iron fences, etc. They 
     do this to protect their property, their family and 
     themselves from gangs involvement.
       Solutions to ending the gang problems of the U.S. are 
     difficult to come up with. Trying to attract the interest of 
     teenagers is also hard to do. Some suggestions have been: 
     recreational activities for the students to participate in 
     after school so they can stay off the streets. A way to bring 
     teenagers into the picture of helping out is by way of 
     teacher training. They need training to recognize gang 
     members (signal), and discourage their activities. Other than 
     recreational activities, there should be also an alternative 
     for those nonathletic students. There should be tighter 
     security--security officers at schools to deal with 
     troublesome students; increased discipline would mean 
     stricter enforcement of existing disciplinary rules. Metal 
     detectors are also a way of weeding out weapons, and in some 
     schools there's a truancy court that deals with people with 
     high absenteeism. There is also . . . alternative schools 
     with programs for disciplinary problem children. Former gang 
     members participate in community awareness campaigns. And one 
     last solution would be to control the unemployment by making 
     . . . more jobs available for students and young people.
       Congressman Sanders: Andrea, thank you very much; that was 
     excellent. I'd like to ask you a very brief question, one 
     question: in your judgment, has the government or other 
     interests done a good job of controlling or eliminating youth 
     gangs in America?
       Answer. I don't think so, because there's a lot of 
     unemployment out there, and that's why these teens are 
     turning to gangs, because they don't have anything to do. So 
     I think that the government should create more jobs for the 
     students to get involved with.
       Congressman Sanders: Are you familiar with the Summer Youth 
     Employment Program?
       Answer. A little bit.
       Congressman Sanders: The Summer Youth Employment Program is 
     a Federal program which allows low- and middle-income 
     students to have summer jobs. It's a very important program, 
     in districts such as you were speaking about in Los Angeles, 
     where unemployment is very high. One of the things that I 
     should tell you, a little bit sadly, is we were fighting this 
     fight, but we think that the leadership in Congress is going 
     to eliminate the funding for the Summer Youth Employment 
     Program, which I think addresses some of the concerns that 
     you've raised.

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