Kody Scott was born and raised in
w ar-to rn South C entral Los A ngeles,
a place that, after the Rodney K ing
in cid en t and the riots last year, has
becom e a symbol o f the decay an d
d esp air that is perm eating ou r inner
cities. At age eleven, gun in hand,
Kody w as initiated into the L A. gang,
the C rips, and from that day on all his
energy, am bition and vitality w ent
into g ang life. It is an existence u n b e­
lievable and unfathom able to anyone
outside this world.
M onster: T he A utobiography o f
an L A. G an g m e m b er (A tla n tic
M onthly Press: June 28, 1993) is the
first-h an d account o f Kody S co tt’s
life. A s he says in the preface:
“I have pushed people violently
out o f this existence and have fathered
three children 1 have felt com pletely
free an d have set in total solitary c o n ­
finem ent in San Q uentin state prison.
1 have shot num erous people an d have
been shot seven tim es myself. I have
been in gunfights in South C entral
and knife fights in Folsom State Prison.
T oday, 1 languish at the bottom o f one
o f the strictest m axim um security state
prisons in this country.”
M onster chronicles this life w ith
; >
P age A3
T he P ortland O bserver • A ugust 18, 1993
F o rm e r LA G a n g M e m b e r K o d y S c o tt
probationary cam p, and Y outh A u­
thority. Even in ja il, w here Kody has
spent alm ost o ne-half o f his life, the
gang lifestyle still prevails A nd it is
from ja il-s o lita ry confinem ent—th at
he has w ritten this riveting look at his
v iv id -o fte n dangerously violent--de­
tail. C overed w ith tatoos an d bullet
holes, Kody tells o f how he earned his
nam e "M o n ster,” how he existed and
su rv iv e d on th e stre e ts b etw e en
c a rja c k in g s a n d b e a tin g s, su b se­
quently ending up in ju v en ile hall.
life
B u t th is b o o k g o e s b ey o n d
simply portraying the g ang lifestyle.
Self-educated, mostly in prison, Kody
stu d ied th e w ritin g s o f E ld rid g e
Cleaver an d M alcolm X. am ong o th­
ers and discovered a new world for
him self--a redem ption that has taken
him w av beyond the rough and tumble
o f South C entral Los Angeles. He
says, "W ritin g has been my spear
a n d in te lli g e n c e h a s b e e n my
shield W here I com e from, I ’ m very
old W hile I still have w ind, I decided
to chronicle my life in hopes o f reach­
ing a receptive ea r.’’Now, tw enty-
nine years old, he has given us one o f
the most rem arkable an d im portant
docum ents about th is highly visible
but little understood aspect o f the
b la c k
g h e tto
experience today. W ritten w ith a
keen eye an d a razor-sharp narrativ e,
M onster prom ises to linger w ith all
w ho read it for quite som e time. If we
are ever going to solve the problem s
o f the ram pant violence an d decay
afflictin g A m e ric a ’s in n e r cities,
we must first understand them. And
to understand we m ust listen to the
v oices com ing out o f this inner city
experience
Award Luncheon
For At-Risk Youth
Sum m ertim e for ch ild ren can be
a three-m onth excuse for sleeping in,
unsuperv ised play an d a lot o f “h an g ­
ing out” w ith nothing to do
So why are hundreds o f inner-
city, a t-n sk youth spending h a lf o f
each sum m er day attendi ng academ ic
classes, researching positive career
opportunities and learn in g the true
m eaning o f com m unity pride an d
em pow erm ent?
W h a t: F ifth a n n u a l su m m er
aw ards luncheon recognizing S elf
E nhancem ent, Inc students for a c a­
dem ic achiev em ent an d particip atio n
in SEI sum m er cam ps A w ards in ­
clude cash bonuses an d the m uch-
coveted S elf E nhancem ent jackets
W h o : R ay L eary a n d T ony
* . • •.
S ': - A ’z,
1
1993, N oon-1:30 p m
W h e re : Red Lion H otel/Lloyd
C enter, First floor ballroom , 1000 NE
V» I- i-
?
-
H opson, SEI co-founders, o th er co m ­
m unity leaders, and h und red s o f SEI
students an d their fam ilies
W h e n : T hursday, A ugust 12,
'i«
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» *
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’i:
•
M ultnom ah
W h y : All P ortland-area resi­
d e n ts c a n ta k e p r id e in th is
nationally-recognized local program
dedicated to helping inner-city, at
risk youth avoid drugs g an g s an d
violence A source o f hope for m ore
th an 700 inner-city P o rtland youth
and th eir fam ilies, SEI is currently
raising funds to build and operate the
new C enter for S elf E nhancem ent in
north/northeast Portland.
Dad’s Oil Servici
r.
>
•
•* :*<»*•• ■
heating oils
Best Cash Prices
104 N E R ussell
Portland, O R 97212
282-5111
Speedy
Service
Friendly
Call for Qucte!
Firem en Join Ranks Of Drug Marshals
Wigland
O n e o f th e N o r th w e s t L argest W ig D isp la y s
W ig s a n d H a irpieces For all N a tio n a litie s
E va G abor
N aomi S ims
R enee of P aris
Synthetic & Human I lair
For Braiding & Weeving
Mon - Fr. 10 a.in. - 6 p.m
Saturday 10 - 5:30 pm
Near Lloyd Center
282-1664
1105
N .E . B r o a d w a y
T í”
Starting Your
Business Basics
T he "S ta rtin g Y our B usiness
Basics” sem inar w ill be presented
T uesday, A ugust 31, from 6 to 8pm at
the Sm all B usiness D evelopm ent
C enter, 123 NW 2nd Ave, Suite 321,
Wanted
Kids
2Ö1-4276
Implementing Education
Reform In Oregon
such funding does not constitute or
express an im plied endorsem ent o f
any o f the co-sponsor(s) or partici­
p an ts’ opinions, products or services.
Special arrangem ents for handicapped
indiv iduals will be m ade if requested
in advance. C ontact the SBDC, 222
N W Davis, Suite 321, in Portland at
event.
Senator Bradbury, fresh from a
record-long session in Salem , will
explain how the tax package referred
to v oters w ill affect education an d the
273-2828.
Gov ernor B arbara Roberts a n ­
nounced $1.7 m illion in grants to
com bat gang activ ity in the Portland
m etropolitan area. T h e federally-
funded grants go to eight different
efforts that work to help youth avoid
becom ing involved in gangs, or to
rebuild their lives after their gang
T his w eekend’s G rant Park 1 raf­
fle Safety Fair, a special day o f
educational events and gam es,
has been postponed until the fall.
O riginally scheduled for S atur­
day, A ugust 7, the event instead
will be held during the academ ic
year in order to encourage in­
volvem ent by local school chil­
dren. It is sponsored by P ortland’s
Bureau o f T raffic M anagem ent
and the G rant Park N eighbor­
hood A ssociation.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
O ffice: (503) 200-0033
F a x # : (503)200-0015
problem .
Call Today
in Portland.
T his free tw o-hour class is an
introduction to the fundam entals of
T he City Club o f P o rtla n d ’s O r­
going into business. It is a m ust for
egon
at R isk series continues w ith a
every new entrepreneur. T his class is
discussion
o f education reform fea­
a prerequisite to the five hour Starting
turing
P
ortland
Public Schools Su­
Y our Business W orkshop and to the
p
erintendent
Jack
B icrw irth, O regon
free B usiness Adv ising for first-tim e
State
Senate
P
resident
B ill Bradbury,
business ow ners
an
d
O
regon
State
B
oard
o f E ducation
T o register or for additional in­
C
h
a
ir
Jcana
W
oolley.
T
h
is panel d is­
form ation. please call the Small Busi­
cussion
w
ill
take
place
at
the C lu b ’s
ness D evelopm ent C enter at 273-
w eekly Friday program on A ugust
2828.
The Small Business Dev elopment 20, at 12:15pnt, in the Rose B allroom
C enter is partially funded by the U S. o f the H ilton Hotel, 921 SW Sixth
Sm all Business A dm inistration. The A venue, Portland. M em bers o f the
support given by the SBA through press and public are w elcom e at this
Grant Park
Traffic
Safety Fair
Postponed
M e m b e rs o f th e P o r tla n d
F ireD epartm ent pledged th eir sup­
port o f a drug-free com m unity by
jo in in g the ranks o f the D rug-Free
M arshals th is week.
T he D rug-Free M arshals ca m ­
p aign was originally launched in Los
A ngeles in A pril w here m ore than
500 attendees w atched as the FBI
sw ore in over 200 kids as D rug-Free
M arshals. T o becom e a M arshal, kids
ages 5 to 12 had to qualify' in a M ar­
shal contest, subm itting a picture,
song, essay, etc., on how they w ould
create a drug-free com m unity. T he
cam paign w as brought to P ortland
w ith a sim ilar kick-off event earlier
this sum m er w here 32 contest w in ­
ners w ere sw orn in as M arshals
T he D rug-Free M arshal pledge
has kids prom ise to live a drug-free
life, show th eir friends that a drug-
free life is m ore fund, help th eir fel­
low D rug Free M arshals, learn m ore
about how drugs really h arm people,
tell people the tru th about the harm ful
effects o f drugs, help th eir fam ily and
friends be drug-free an d set a good
exam ple to all children by leading the
w ay to a drug free USA. As p art of
upholding this pledge, the new M a r­
shals are touring Portland, d ep u tiz­
ing com m unity leaders an d learn in g
m ore ways to com bat society’s drug
future o f education reform in O reg o n ;
W oolley will discuss how other school
d istricts statew ide are d ealin g w ith
the funding crisis an d looking for
w ays to im plem ent reform ; B icrw irth
w ill c e n te r h is d is c u s s io n o n
P o rtlan d ’s plans for reform in this
clim ate o f low funding an d h igh ex ­
pectations. T h e sp eak ers’ p resen ta­
tions w ill be follow ed by a question
an d an sw er session for City Club
m em bers.
P rogram 1 2 :1 5 - 1;15. L uncheon
reservations an d cancellations, call
222-2582 by 2pm T hursday, A ugust
19. Coffee tickets available at the
door; free, open seating in back avail­
able on a first-com e first-serv ed basis.
•' • * ;
•4 ;
-
.
• * ’S
t-
- -
T he D rug-Free M arshals cam ­
paign is sponsored an d supported by
several P ortland churches, schools
and businesses an d coordinated by
the C hurch o f S cie n to lo g y sL e ad The
Way to a D rug-Free U SA program .
A ngie M ann, spokesperson for
the Lead the Way to a D rug Free USA
program , com m ented, "W h ile the
C hurch was the m ain catalyst behind
this program , it is the drive o f the kids
that keeps the program al ive and grow ­
ing. They take th eir jo b s quite seri­
ously and w ork to find different ways
to act out th e D rug-F ree M arshals
pledge.”
Enjoy ing a 100% drug-free co n ­
gregation them selves, the C hurch o f
Scientology is know n for its support
o f drug-free solutions an d w orking
w ith a w ide variety o f organizations
that are leading the w ay to handle
society’’s drug and crim e problem s
Local sponsors and supporters intend
to hold a second D rug-Free M arshals
contest later this year.
For more inform ation about the
contest, how your group can p artici­
pate in the D rug Free M arshal pro­
g ram o r how you can becom e a
D rug-free M arshal, contact A ngie
M ann at the C hurch o f Scientology’
at 228-0116.
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W
I ■f o r t e '
B»
Bogle Re-elected President Of Black
Newspaper Publishers Group
At its recent an n u al conference
in Los A ngeles, the m em bers o f the
N atio n al N ew spaper P ublishers A s­
sociation (N N PA ), th e trade asso­
ciation th a t represents 205 A frican-
A m eric an new spapers across the
co u n try , re-elected Robert W. Bogle
to serv e a second consecutiv e two-
year term as the o rg an iz atio n ’s n a­
tional president.
Bogle, w ho has serv ed as m em ­
ber o f th e N N PA board for the past
20 years, is president o f the P h ila­
d elp h ia T ribune, the oldest A fri-
NNPA President, Robert W. Bogle
can-A m erican ow ned new spaper in
the country.
Al so elected to serve w ith Bogle
as officers o f the N N PA , w ere
M clvynJ. W illiams. Esq . publisher-
editor. T he M acon Courier. M acon
G eorgia (1st v ice president); John
Sm ith, publisher-C EO , A tlanta In
quirer, Atlanta, G eorgia (2nd vice
president); Floyd Adam s, publisher,
Sav annah Herald. Sav an n ah , G eor­
g ia (S e c r e ta ry ) ; a n d D o ro th y
Leavell. publisher, G ary C rusader,
Gary Indiana (Treasurer).
•»»k-«.-.’**';?
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CW
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$1.2 Million Awarded To Metro Anti-Gang Programs
activity
G o v e rn o r R o b erts m ad e th e
grant announcem ent at Em m anuel
T em ple in N orth P ortland, a site
w here two program s receiving grants
provide services: d n ig treatm ent for
youth and a range o f services to
young w om en involved in gangs.
G overnor Roberts toured the p ro ­
gram s before m aking the gant a n ­
nouncem ent
She also planned visits to the
M a in s tr e a m Y o u th P r o g r a m 's
In nervisions P rogram , and to the
Southeast G ang Resource Interven­
tion Team project T he Innervisions
P rogram prov ides drug treatm ent for
A frican-A m erican youth Southeast
nal activity.
G o v e rn o r R o b e rts m a d e th e
aw ards based on recom m endations
from the G o v ern o r's D rug an d Vio­
lent C rim e Policy Board T he grants
announced arc the first o f $4.5 m il­
lion in g ran ts to be distributed this
year, funded by the U S D epartm ent
o f Ju stice's E dw ard Byrne M em orial
State and Local Law E nforcem ent
A ssistance Program
T hese are th e a n ti-g a n g effo rts
fu n d e d b y th e g o v e rn o r's g ra n ts:
Main stream, Innervisions:
S I 55,053. D n ig T reatm ent for A fri­
can-A m erican youth w ho have com ­
m itted g ang-related crim inal activity
or that are at-risk for gang involve­
ment Culturally specific outpatient
d n ig treatm ent services have been
prov ided to 154 youth, o f w hom 112
have continued in treatm ent for six
m onths
Police A ctivities L eag u e, D rug
E d u catio n P ro g ra m : S38.822 Pro­
gram D irector - Lt. G erry Nyberg,
796-3017. T his project provides a
d n ig and gang resistance program for
the Police A ctivities League This
program has distributed 7.000 drug
resistance brochures
Portland House of Umoja:
S I 18,000, Program D irector - Wil­
liam Jennings, 282-3296. T his grant
will fund the O utreach P ro g ram o fth c
H ouseofU m oja The p ro g ram 's main
goal is to reduce the participation of
youth in gangs and related crim e.
O utreach participation has grown to
111 youth and a many youth that
have been involved for at least 3
m onths have no further arrests.
Multnomah County Juvenile
Justice S.E. Gang Resource Inter­
vention Team: $211.077, Program
D irector - Lolenzo Poe. 248-3460.
T he Southeast G R I T unit, is a
sp e cia liz ed in te n siv e su p erv isio n
program that provides a variety o f
‘ f A A É ï* .***•**»*
. A.
Z '
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P o rtla n d fire fig h te rs a fte r sig n in g the Drug-Free marshals pledge.
D oors open 11:30am.
G RIT is a specialized intensive su­
pervision program that div erts ju v e­
nile offenders from g ang an d crim i­
■
•.»•
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se rv ic es to in te rv e n e an d d iv ert
ju v en ile offenders from gang and
crim inal activity . In the past year.
Southeast G R I T has supervised
70 ju v en ile offenders and provid­
ed skill b u ild in g an d counseling
youth to prevent their further involve­
ment with gangs and crim inal activ­
ity In the past year 194 youth have
received em ploym ent train in g . 48
youth hav e been placed in jobs, and
56% hav e been employ ed at least 60
groups
M u ltn o m a h County Ju v en ile
Ju stic e , G a n g in fluenced Fem ale
T ea m : S388,923. Program D irector
- L olenzo Poe. 248-3460. This pro­
gram provides crisis intervention,
m entorship, patenting, em ployment,
and life skills se n ices toyoung women
who arc g ang involved with the goal
o f prevention their further involve­
ment w ith gangs an d crim inal activ­
ity T he program also includes spe­
cialized serv ices for Southeast Asian
days.
young women.
M YCAP Mental Health Initia­
tive: $22,719, Program D irector -
Multnomah County Juvenile
Justice, Youth Employment and
Empowerment: S I 75,000, Program
D irector - L olenzo Poe, 248-3460
T his program prov ides employment
train in g and unsubsidized jobs for
: * M * A. *
Project RODAC: E4CW Care
Center, S60.983 Program Director,
R odney Cook, 281-7564. Provides
drug treatm ent on-site at four ag en ­
cies that w ork w ith gang-involved
youth T h e four ag en cies are the
House o f Umoja, Y aun Y outh Care
Center, Y outh Redirections, and M i­
nority Y outh C oncerns action P ro­
gram In the past y ear. 40 y ouths have
receiv ed treatm ent and over 50% have
rem ained clean an d sober
Tim Holt, 280-1050 T his program
provides m ental health counseling,
conducted by a psy chologist, for gang-
involved youth at the M inority Youth
Concerns Action Program House
M