Movie targets violence
Published 10:12 pm Friday, January 6, 2012
Selma civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a staunch supporter of nonviolence and with the recent shootings in the area, one local resident wants the public to remember King’s message.
Sherrette Spicer and WBFZ radio will hold a showing of the documentary, “To Live and Die in Amerikkka,” by former gang leader Arthur “Silky Slim” Reed Monday, Jan. 16 at 1:30 p.m. The movie, which will be shown inside the Ancient Africa, Enslavement and Civil War museum, will be in conjunction with the “Stop the Violence” march, also to be held that day.
Spicer, who’s been involved with the march for years, said she first met Reed while in Washington D.C. and felt he needed to share his message with Selma residents — especially youth.
“The film is really speaking to violence that goes on in neighborhoods … it’s actually a document of what’s going on in his neighborhood of Baton Rouge (La.),” Spicer said. “When I saw it, I just kept thinking about the different occurrences of violence in Selma — I thought the movie needed to be seen.”
Spicer said the documentary shows an in-depth picture of Reed’s life — the people he’s talked to, those who have participated in violence and the pathology behind senseless violence that plagues inner-city communities. The DVD, which includes disturbing images of people shot and killed in the streets, also includes interviews with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and television personalities Tavis Smiley and Dick Gregory.
“It’s a message to young people to ‘stop the violence,’” Spicer said. “Even though it may seem cool, at the end of the day, you’re just glorifying drugs, gangs and violence — it’s not the way. I wanted to get the movie here in Selma because of everything going on. I hope it will make a change in Selma.”
Reed, who is the president of Stop the Killing Inc., spent most of his life behind bars.
“I thrived off of crime as a gang leader and I know that it comes with consequences that are negatively impacting the ghettos of America,” Reed said on his website.
“So now, I have dedicated my life to creating something positive from all the death and violence by creating dialogues that will bring an end to the cycle of destruction that exists in the nation’s inner cities.”
For more about the film, visit stopthekillinginc.com.