My name is Terrence Davis and I am a director in New York City. I noticed that glory days of gangs are back among us. I have noticed rappers like Lil Wayne, The Game, Drag-on, Waka Flocka Flame, Birdman, and etc., are repping their gangs publicly and within their music.

So that gave me an idea to create a documentary about my life as a former gangleader and the lives of other gangmembers in South Carolina entitled "COLORS: Bangin' in South Carolina" I just finished a documentary about gangs in South Carolina. Throughout the process of making it I learned, I laughed, and I cried. I realized that doing this documentary was like chicken soup for the soul. I was able to let a lot of my past go. My last project was "South Carolina Drugwars" available online and stores nationwide, so go buy that

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006HGXGYS/?tag=you09f-20

Every year since 2001, South Carolina has been ranked 1^st in violent crime (U.S. Census, FBI.Gov), 5^th in murder (CQ Press,2009) and ranked as the 3^rd Most Dangerous State (CQ Press, 2009).  

Colors: Bangin’ in South Carolina (A Terry Davis Flik) details the most deadly gang era in the history of Columbia, South Carolina. The story is told by the gang members themselves as well as the current head of the gang unit (Sergeant Goggins) for the city of Columbia, SC.  The explosion of gangs within the state from 2000-2005 created an environment of anarchy. South Carolina had one of the highest growing gang populations in the United States (National Gang Center).

  

 The documentary primarily follows gang leaders and their own struggles dealing with gang life. Oftentimes documentaries about gangs tend to dehumanize gang members making them appear like soulless creatures while other documentaries seem to make the audience feel sorry for them. This documentary does neither it shows the advantages of joining a gang and the disadvantages. It shows how the quest of power, money, and respect turned wholesome teens into greedy adults. It also shows how every human makes mistakes and there is room for redemption.

“Dirt”, a 22-year-old Blood, who was shot and now lives his life in a wheelchair. He doesn’t want to go to college yet or cool down, he wants to gang bang. He doesn’t want you to feel sorry for him he wants you to know he has a choice and that’s his choice, Blood for life.

“Ghost”, a 23-year-old Crip, has been to prison 3 times on different occasions and all were from shooting another gang member. His story is not a youth that was raised in urban decay but of a youth that was raised in the suburbs

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“Slim OG”, a 27-year-old , formerly the leader of the Gangster Disciples was a menace to society for years. Until one day he woke up next to the woman he loved and decided that he didn’t want to live that life anymore. He got married, started his own business, and currently is a guest speaker at several churches within Columbia, South Carolina.  

“OG Heyward”, a 30-year-old Crip Leader, although he isn’t fully involved in the streets his message is you still can have gang affiliation but it doesn’t have to be negative. He currently has 3 children and is in college working on a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

  

Each of these guys tell their sides of growing up during the gang epidemic of South Carolina. Some of the footage and interviews date back to 2006. The movie offers never before seen footage of gangs, active gang member testimonials, and interviews with the newly formed police agencies that were made to stop them. It’s more than just your normal urban gang documentary it’s a story about connections between misunderstood individuals. It’s an inside look into the human journeys of those rejected by mainstream society.   

      In the beginning the gangs were not organized or into drug dealing. The only thing that they were fighting for was respect unlike their counterparts from bigger cities that were usually in gangs for power and money. Since guns and money weren’t major factors in the beginning of the gang epidemic the police continually dismissed South Carolina as having a gang problem. At the end of 2005, the Mexican cartels began to supply specific gangs (Gangster Killer Bloods and Black Gangster Disciples) with massive amounts of cocaine, marijuana, and automatic weapons. This new element that the Mexican cartel introduced to the city, combined with the arrival of drug addicted Hurricane Katrina victims from New Orleans; South Carolina had turned into nothing short of a warzone.

 From 2006-2007 the gang murder rate tripled. As the violence increased so did the victims and the amount of press. Fed up by not having enough man power to fight the gangs with the support of the Mexican Cartel, local law enforcement reached out for government assistance and in 2007 the FBI stepped in. The same year a new law was passed into legislation entitled “The Gang Law”. Gang members became the priority of South Carolina law enforcement across the state. Almost immediately the amount of gang incidents decreased. The FBI was even successful with indicting members of the Mexican Cartel that were supplying the massive amounts of drugs to the gang members on the street level.

In 2010, an episode on History Channel’s Gangland featured the Gangster Killer Bloods because of their brutality and control over the drug trade. Currently, there are over 500 gangs throughout the state with a population of only 4 million that is more than the city of Los Angeles with a similar population.

I know I typed quite a bit but you should check it out and who knows you might like it..

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