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AMERICA UNDERCOVER: GANG WAR: BANGIN' IN LITTLE ROCK (TV)

Summary

One in this series of documentaries presented by HBO. This program documents the current state of Little Rock, Arkansas, where rampant gang-related crimes in recent years has caused it to have one of the country's highest murder rates. Steve Nawojczyk, the county coroner, narrates the program and interviews local gang members and citizens.

Nawojczyk first meets the racially mixed Hoover Folk gang, a group of young men and women that are allied with the Crips gang. They exhibit how one "signs" (creating graffiti), "stacks" (telling a story with hand signs), how one gets "quoted" (an initiation ritual in which potential members are beaten), and how new gang members get a pitchfork brand. Hoover Folk members also show their vast collection of "straps" (firearms) and discuss the families they've left behind.

Next, Nawojczyk encounters another Little Rock-based gang, the 23rd Street Crips, and meets the man credited with bringing the Crips from Los Angeles to Arkansas in 1987, "L.A." Moe. He also meets the current leader of 23rd Street, Moe's protege, 17-year-old Bobby Banks. He tells why he doesn't fear being the number one target of rival gangs.

Gangsters discuss their gunshots wounds with Nawojczyk as he urges them to stop the violence. He shows them graphic photos of drive-by shooting victims. Later, the Crips attend a gangster funeral, which elicits more threats of future retaliation.

Next, Nawojczyk meets the West Side Bloods, shaken up after one of their members, Robert Tenpenny, Jr., inexplicably committed suicide the previous week at the age of fifteen. O. G. and DeWitt, two of the oldest surviving gangsters in Little Rock, discuss the current state of gang life.

Later, Nawojczyk meets the O.G.C. (Original Gangster Crips) and experiences a drive-by shooting when leaving their headquarters as rivals open fire from their cars. Members explain how such occurrences are part of their daily lives.

The program then shows Reverend H.D. Stewart leading a Gang Task Force meeting to discuss what could lead to a truce. He later presides over a community-wide church service for the families of those who have lost loved ones in gang-related violence. Finally, he meets with gang members to encourage resolution, after which Nawojczyk offers his own conclusions.

Cataloging of this program was made possible by The Marc Haas and Helen Hotze Haas Foundations, 2003/2004.

Details

  • NETWORK: HBO
  • DATE: August 2, 1994 Tuesday 10:15 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:00:40
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: T:40531
  • GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Crime and criminals; Gangs
  • SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 1983-2006
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Sheila Nevins … Executive Producer
  • Alan Levin … Producer
  • Daphne Pinkerson … Producer
  • Marc Levin … Producer, Director
  • Kary Antholis … Associate Producer
  • Steve Nawojczyk … Narrator
  • Bobby Banks
  • H.D. Stewart
  • Robert Tenpenny, Jr.