"Black and White" by Richard Williams (2014)

I only took this book out of the library because I was interested in Richard Williams’ early life growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana in the 1950’s. He was born there in 1942 and by his teen aged years was a justifiably angry young black man with very little hope for a secure future. At least that’s the way it would’ve worked out if not for two things; a strong mother and a commitment to break away from the expected outcome of his life.

On that level the book delivered beautifully, living up to my every expectation. But the real surprise of this book was that it was able to hold my attention all the way through his daughters winning their celebrated championships.

But the meat of this book is in the fact that Mr. Williams; no relation to me; had the idea of creating the award winning sisters before they were even born. He was married at the time to the woman he loved and was raising 3 step children with her. Life was perfect. Many people do not realize that Mr. Williams was already a very successful businessman before his daughters became champions. He owned a cleaning service, a car wash and some real estate. Before he was 30 he had amassed around $800,000 before giving it all away.

Watching TV one day with his adopted daughters he saw a young woman winning $20,000 for a tennis match. He was instantly seized with the vision of raising 2 girls to become champion players. His adopted children were too old at the time to train adequately. So he proposed the idea of having 2 more daughters to his wife. Whether she believed in the idea, or was just enthusiastic about “trying” we will never know for sure.

 

Shortly after the girls were born, about a year and a half apart, Mr. Williams moved his family from a comfortable home in Long Beach to the crack infested neighborhood of Compton in Los Angeles. He wanted his daughters to be strong and independent, and to that end he showed them the prostitutes, the drug slingers, the gangs hanging on the corners; all in an effort to show them what they should aspire not to be.

He literally fought the street gangs to regain control of the local park tennis courts; which were on the “turf” of the gangs. He lost 10 teeth and had countless ribs cracked; and he even chased them down with a shotgun before finally winning.

In short; this is a book which will surprise you. If you think you know enough about Venus and Serena Williams from reading the headlines and the magazines; think again. Until you have gotten to know their father, you haven’t even scratched the surface.

"Vice" by Sgt. John R. Baker

If you are a fan of the TV series "The Shield" with Mike Chiklis, then you will love this book. This is the true life story of the Compton California Police Department in the years leading up to, and including, the rise of gang violence in Compton. The book also examines the role that economics and race, along with the growing drug trade, have played in the devolution of a city.

John Baker was born to a multi-cultural family, and raised in the Compton area in the 1950's during a unique time of change, both socially, and economically. This perspective gives him a very different approach to law enforcement. He has all the sensitivies and knowledge required to deal with the different cultures that make up Compton.

One of the most interesting parts of this book is the way it chronicles the rise of gang violence after World War Two. The how's and why's of the turf wars, along with the graffiti known as tagging, are all carefully explained to the reader, in order to provide a better understanding of the war that rages in the streets of most American cities today.

When the end of the 1950's rolled around, and with it the Fair Housing Act, "white flight" became the driving force behind the deterioration of once vivrant neighborhoods. As the real estate agents took advantage of the fear in these areas, the racial balance of whole sections of the city was changed forever. On some levels this was a good thing, and fair. But on other levels it would prove to be disastrous.

The 1960's brought even greater social change, and upheaval, to Compton. The Black Panthers and other politically motivated groups moved in. With them came the drug trade, and soon the various gangs were waging war upon one another in the streets. This brought about the return of the "drive by shooting", which had been absent from the streets since the days of Prohibition.

But politics makes strange bedfellows, and sometimes the threat of violence has united the police and the gangs. The Watts riot was actually kept at bay by a group of Latino gangs that formed a blockcade at the edge of Compton.

Sergeant Baker also regales the reader with some of the finest anecdotal stories of police work that I have ever read. The cast of characters, and villians, is as long, and varied, as the author's career in law enforcement. This book will take you to the highest rooftops in Compton, as well as deliver you to the depths of depravity that the average Police Officer sees every day on the job. A riveting and informative read, this book looks beyond the headlines and TV shows which purport to portray life in the streets. Compared to Sgt. Baker's action packed memoir, they are all pretenders to the throne.