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How do different backgrounds shape different people?

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"Out of frustration and hopelessness our young people have reached the point of no return. We no longer endorse patience and turning the other cheek. We assert the right of self-defense by whatever means necessary, and reserve the right of maximum retaliation against our racist oppressors, no matter what the odds against us are.”

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"NO. 1: CRYING

Don't.
No matter what.
Don't.

NO. 2: SNITCHING

Don't.
No matter what.
Don't.

NO. 3: REVENGE

If someone you love gets killed,
find the person who killed them
and kill them."

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"THE INVENTION OF THE RULES

ain't come from my

brother,
his friends,
my dad,
my uncle,
the guys outside,
the hustlers and shooters,

and definitely not from me."

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"ANOTHER THING ABOUT THE RULES

They weren't meant to be broken.
They were meant for the broken

to follow."

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Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member

Summary: Monster is a memoir written by Kody Scott while he was in solitary confinement.  The book talks about his story and path of becoming one of the most notorious crip combat soldiers.  His background paved the way for him joining this style of life as he was initiated when he was only 12.  He earned the name monster by committing obscene acts of violence against opposing gang members.  The book gives insight into the black ghetto experience today.

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“Under the guise of being a showpiece for the world where prosperity is as easily found as water in a stream, America, for all her ostensible beauty, has an ugly scar across her belly that she has tried repeatedly to suppress and keep hidden from curious onlookers. More than a few times she has almost been exposed, and this ugliness brought to light, but always another garment would quickly be thrown over the rough spot and all the turmoil and ugliness again blanketed. But not this time.”

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I've felt nothing but a sense of duty. I have seen five funerals in the previous two years and had been steeled by seeing people whom I had laughed with, played and eaten with, dead in a casket

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Summary of A long way down by Jason Reynolds

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Summary of A long way down by Jason Reynolds

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A long way down by Jason Reynolds follows a boy named Will Holloman, whose brother was fatally shot and killed. In Will's neighborhood, everyone follows “rules” that have been followed in his neighborhood for generations. Nobody knows who made them, but they are passed from person to person. The rules only applied to a specific part of life that his neighborhood had adapted to. Murder. These rules had been a part of the neighborhood for so long that they became a part of the culture there. This shaped Will's thoughts when he decided he would go after the man he believed had killed his brother Shawn, who was out buying cream for his mother's eczema when he was fatally shot. There were only three rules: no crying, no snitching, and revenge. Will had known about his brother's gun that he had kept jammed in a drawer. And decided to act upon the third rule of the neighborhood. As Will tucks the gun in his waistband and gets on an elevator to descend from his apartment to the ground floor, the elevator stops. A man steps on he feels he knows until he realizes its Buck, who was like a big brother to Shawn. The only problem was that he was dead. The elevator continues to stop at each level, as more and more people he knew that had died got on. Each questioned him about his ability to carry out the shooting, which made him question himself as well. The rules, which were part of his neighborhood's legacy, part of his background were now being questioned. Finally, right before the ground floor, Shawn steps on. He does not talk, but he cries. He doesn’t talk to Will at all until they hit the ground and all of them step out. He turns to Will and asks if he's coming. The reader can now see that even though Will’s background revolved around these rules, those who perished while trying to follow them or those that were killed by them knew that by following what he had been taught to do, only would get him killed.

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Greg Wright

My name is called out.
Heavy and defeated
I walk over to the desk where the
Guard stands.
“What’s your booking number man”?
I get the word out
With much effort.
My hands are bound,
My legs shackled.
I am only wearing these chains,
And the hatred in my heart
Is evident in my actions.
I am heading for the hole,
Me and four others
Who’ve survived
Our battle against them.
Our fight, just or not,
Doesn’t matter.
“Do you have a statement to make”?
“Nope.”
“You are okay then”?
“Yep”

Of course I am not all right.

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The author of dressed in chains, Greg Wright, spent 8 years in prison for gang related crimes in his hometown.  He was raised around violence and gangs which shaped him to be who he was and do what he did.  This poem illustrates how he is now not only shackled physically but also mentally due to his past.

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How our Experiences Shape Us | Nathan Mizell | TEDxYouth@MVHS

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In this TED talk, a freshman in high school named Nathan Mizell talks about opportunity based on your background.  Throughout the video he explains how black Americans are at a severe disadvantage to white Americans when it comes to education, money, and in the average household.  Nathan explains that depending on where and how you are raised, you will have a better or worse chance to find educational opportunities.  As the video continues he also highlights that opportunity is not evenly spread out.  He was raised in a peaceful suburban neighborhood, attends a good school, and has a two parent household.  This upbringing gives him an advantage over someone who might be raised in a violent neighborhood, has bad access to education, and lives in a one parent household.  This video illustrates the importance of having a good background in order to support you throughout your life, most importantly in your youth.

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Reality - Stuck in the Hood ( Official Video)

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Stuck in the hood by Reality is a song about how he is trying to make it out but is struggling to.  The song first starts by talking about how it really is in the hood, what goes on and how it affects him everyday.  The chorus focuses on how he’s stuck and can’t make it out while talking about how he has a plan to make it out.  He then switches it up to talk about his family.  He tells us that most of his family has been or is locked up, including his dad who is still in prison.  He doesn’t want to end up like them but he is struggling to get away from the crime.  This song shows an example of how someones background can make them someone they don’t want to be with no other option.  It also explains what life might be like for Will Holloman, who lives in a similar situation.

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Blindspotting Movie Clip - Don't Shoot (2018) | Movieclips Indie

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In this clip from Blindspotting, a little boy hands a man a bottle of juice.  He thanks him for it, and the kid starts to play fighting with him.  He tells him to stop but the kid keeps hitting him playfully and won't stop.  After repeatedly asking him to stop, he loses his cool, and yells at the kid.  The kid throws his hands up in the air telling him not to shoot.  The man realizes how little he is and is taken back by the little kid yelling not to shoot.  A woman pops out of a window, explaining that they are teaching him early to say that.  This explains that this kid is raised in a place where violence is common and he needs to know how to respond to it, while most kids would not do this.  The background of this child is shaping him to become diligent of certain violence that occurs in his neighborhood. Will is taught the three rules at a young age, similar to what this kid is being taught.

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10 ways your parents' behaviors shaped who you are today

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10 ways your parents' behaviors shaped who you are today

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In this Business Insider article by Allana Akhtar and Caroline Hroncich, the authors illustrate 10 different ways you could have been you could have been raised and how it may have impacted you in your adult life. By conducting various studies and consulting with multiple doctors and psychiatrists they are able to outline some different ways that you were affected by your upbringing.  Whether it is being more independent or outgoing, your personality stems from your parents.  Your parents, to say the least, are a large part of your background.  They bring you into the world, raise you in a certain environment, and teach your values and life lessons that you will believe the rest of your life.  This article illustrates the ideas of how your parents and the environment they put you in molds you into the person you are as an adult.  This relates to how Will is raised, since he is only raised by his mother for most of his life it only makes sense he is confused when it comes to who's ideas he should follow.

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This recent storey covers gang violence in Chicago.  CNN reporters stayed with a special gang violence police unit and during this time numerous arrests were made.  This was following the shooting of a little girl.  In Long Way Down, gang violence is a reason why Sean was killed.  Will explains that turf is a big issue and this is the same way in Chicago.  Lots of gang violence occurs across the United States, not much different then how it occurs in the book.  Will being in the heart of it is forced to abide to the rules of the gangs along with his brother.  However his brother broke the rules and ended up dead.  This video gives us more information about gang violence and how it is in real life compared to the book, which is not that much different at all.  This also highlights the importance of Will not killing the suspected murderer of Shawn, due to retaliation which is talked about in the clip.

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Childish Gambino - This Is America (Official Video)

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The song, This Is America By Donald Glover is widely popular not just because of the song and its meaningful lyrics, but also its dance.  The goal of the dance was to “take Afro dance and Afro culture to the world and then take the world to Africa," and this video gave him the platform to achieve that.  The protagonist in Long way down is as well African American.  While Glover was trying to represent the shooting of 9 in a Charleston church, the dance represents culture.  The mix of the two can represent Will’s background and culture perfectly.  Will is dealing with shootings like this all for the time.  Maybe not for the same reasons, but he still is a black American who deals with violence.    This dance is able to show the viewer that culture influences decisions, much like how it influences him to try and shoot his brothers killer.

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Grand Theft Auto 5 has been a popular game since its release in 2014.  One of the main characters, Franklin, shares a similar lifestyle as someone would in Will’s type of neighborhood.  He robs people, preforms violent crimes, and can do anything else within the freedom of a game.  He only does this because its his only option.  His mother passed away after him already living in a single parent household (like Will) and he was expelled from school for assaulting a teacher.  One reason that this may of happened is because the teacher brought harm to his mom, but nothing was proven.  The reason this relates to Long Way Down is because he represents what Will is expected to be.  His background in a tough neighborhood made him who he was, which was also beginning to happen to Will.  this is why Franklin is similar to Will and shows what a future for Will if he commits a murder and gets away with it would look like.