LOS ANGELES — An unlikely assembly of gang members, Los Angeles leaders and hip-hop luminaries gathered for a summit amid a tense national mood after several incidents of high-profile violence.
An overflow crowd of several hundred gathered Sunday at a community center in South Los Angeles to hear pleas for peace from current and former gangbangers, entertainers, activists and preachers from the Nation of Islam.
They were all summoned by rapper The Game, who said he was moved to call together gang members for an anti-violence summit Sunday after the recent killing of his foster brother in Los Angeles.
Mayor Eric Garcetti and Police Chief Charlie Beck shook hands with The Game outside the venue in a show of unity. Beck said the meeting was a “great first step” in the right direction toward curbing violence, especially considering the fatal shootings of three law enforcement officers Sunday morning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Game, born Jayceon Terrell Taylor, fought back tears as he recounted the recent shooting death of a former gang member he called Spanky. The pair grew up together in foster care in nearby Compton, he said.
“I’m here to be his voice,” said the multi-platinum selling rapper, 36, adding that organizing the gathering was also “a decision made for my children.”
He said by the time his 5- year-old daughter turns 18, “I want her to walk out the door, and I want it to be a little bit … safer.”
He also addressed the shootings of police in Baton Rouge earlier in the day saying violence of any kind is “is why we’re here taking initiative, and trying to change it.”
The Game put the word out last week on his active Instagram account, inviting leaders of the Crips, Bloods and other street gangs to come together for “Time To Unite: United Hoods + Gangs Nation.” Dozens of gang members, some sporting red and blue colors, heeded the call and filed peacefully into the building to hear more than a dozen speakers. The neighborhood a few miles south of downtown Los Angeles has a large black population and has been plagued by random violence.
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