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Part 16: Skipp Townsend: The 2nd Homicide Showed Why Tay-K Should Be Locked Up
Part 14: Skipp Townsend on Big U Charged with RICO, Working with Big U on Empowering Community
Part 1: Skipp Townsend on Crips Co-Founder Tookie: Soon As We Saw Him Coming, We Were Gone
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Skipp Townsend discussed the challenges of guiding his children away from gang life, despite his own past affiliations. Townsend reflected on the evolution of gang culture, predicting a shift away from traditional gangs like the Crips and Bloods, towards smaller cliques that serve as familial connections. Highlighting the absence of strong leadership within modern gangs, Townsend indicated that while names and structure may change, the underlying behavior remains consistent.
He shared personal experiences of his family's struggles with gang influence, revealing that one of his sons, ironically dubbed "Lil Skipp," served time in the same prison as Suge Knight, embracing a lifestyle Townsend had hoped to protect him from. Even more disheartening for Townsend, his two youngest sons, raised amid his positive initiatives like "2nd Call," have chosen to become Crips despite exposure to various anti-gang role models. Townsend uses these personal stories to emphasize the pervasive influence of street life and the complexities of breaking such cycles.
