Rubble Kings

Release Date: June 19th, 2015
Running Time: 68 minutes
Directed by: Shan Nicholson
Starring: "Yellow" Benjamin Melendez, Carlos "Karate Charlie" Suarez, Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc, DJ Red Alert

Rubble Kings is a documentary film that chronicles the rich story of New York street gangs in the early 1970s. Movies have touched on this subject matter before, but few have covered its many fascinating facets in as much graphic detail as Rubble Kings. The film acknowledges gangs from Harlem to Brooklyn, but in particular focuses on the South Bronx—the area of the New York borough infamous for its extreme level of poverty and street gang violence, and the progressive movement born out of it that became known as HipHop.

The film's key players are real life former members, now in their fifties and sixties, of South Bronx (and other New York City) gangs such as the Black Spades, Savage Skulls, Turks, Turbans, and Roman Kings. Central amongst them are "Yellow" Benji Melendez, the founder of one of the most respected South Bronx gangs, the Ghetto Brothers. Some HipHop pioneers also appear, the likes of Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and DJ Red Alert, as do several New York officials. Together they tell a riveting, sometimes harrowing, and ultimately uplifting tale. 

After opening with scenes from cult film The Warriors (1979)—which, while heavily fictionalized, drew from real life youth gang stories—the early part of Rubble Kings sets up historical context. Melendez reflects on massive changes in the South Bronx that led to its transformation from a comfortable middle class neighbourhood in the early 1960s to a derelict ghetto by 1970. He describes the area as having been a multicultural "world of discovery" during his childhood, in which a wide variety of people populated the polyglot neighbourhoods. But out of the political turmoil of the 1960s, reckless city planning and corruption plunged the region into rapid urban decay. One particularly ambitious development, the Cross Bronx Expressway, was built through the middle of a residential neighbourhood, effectively destroying the community and initiating a "white flight" in which the generally more well-to-do folks who had the resources to move elsewhere did so, whereas the poorest—largely black and Hispanic—stayed. Before long the South Bronx had become one of the country's most marginalized urban areas, with record-breaking levels of unemployment, poverty, and crime. It also had the world record for arson, as upwards of 30,000 buildings were set ablaze and abandoned. Slumlords would refuse to provide services, leaving tenants no option but to either vacate or adapt to living in rat and bug-infested buildings with no heat or water. The landlords would then burn the buildings for insurance money. And city officials were thoroughly incompetent and/or outright corrupt in addressing the issues.

Hard drug use escalated, with the frequent occurrence of block-long lineups of drug customers waiting to make their purchases, out in the open on city streets. Local youth formed gangs to look out for each other. Police estimated New York gang membership was in the tens of thousands by 1970, with the number of South Bronx homicides quadrupling from 1960 to 1972. It got so bad that sometimes a dead body would be left on the street and instead of an ambulance, riot police in full protective gear would come and quickly remove it before immediately retreating out of fear that they'd be attacked themselves.

Most gang members were teenagers, with a few in their early to mid-20s. With a "fuck everything" mentality, many sought to establish their own brand of rebellious outlaw Americana. It was not unpopular for some (black) members to wear swastikas, wanting to shock society by being as morally repugnant as possible. Each gang had its own insignia, worn with honour like a coat of arms—their "colors"—sewn onto their jackets, to identify who they were. With a kind of hyper-geopolitical identity, each gang held down their "turf"—a specific area that they considered their territory—and if a gang member were to walk through another gang's turf without permission they would need to show respect by removing their colors or else risk losing them, or their life. There was an element of ethnic nationalism, as some gangs were made up of one ethnicity—largely Puerto Rican or African American. But there were also many mixed race gangs, and some predominantly Caucasian gangs (particularly in the North Bronx) were just as vicious.

Initiation rites were common, such as the "Apache Line", wherein the newcomer would walk down the middle of two lines of members who would beat him with fists or bats. Melendez says his gang did a different ritual; they would play a 45 rpm record (7" vinyl single) and the initiate-to-be would have to fight three guys for the duration of the song. Former Ghetto Brothers president Carlos "Karate Charlie" Suarez notes, "The Skulls were the ultimate—their Apache Line was a .32 (pistol). One shell—spin (points to his head) and pull the trigger."

The gangs were primarily made up of young males, but girls played a major role—they carried the guns. There were no policewomen in those days, and male cops weren't legally allowed to pat down the bodies of females, so whenever cops approached a gang they would tell the women to keep moving and proceed to search the guys. Many girls were full-fledged members, fighting alongside the guys and sometimes, as former gang member Lorine recalls, "in front of them." In archival footage, two female Savage Skulls, Shorty and India, say, "We're brothers and sisters. We have respect for each other." There were even some all-girl gangs, such as the Alley Cats and Savage Sisters.

After further captivating details of gang culture are outlined, the story makes a compelling shift, focusing on the Ghetto Brothers' evolution from gang activity into political activism. Organizations like the Black Panthers had gone to the streets and called on gangs to stop the violence, and while most gangs didn't want to hear calls for peace, the Ghetto Brothers took it to heart. The Panthers had started to wane in influence by the '70s, so groups with street cred, like the Ghetto Brothers, rose up to fill the void. Many members, like Melendez and Suarez, had already been featured in news stories, with local media sensationalizing the growing crime phenomenon in the Bronx. But the Ghetto Brothers began to advocate for social justice, holding press conferences in which they'd call for community members to rise up against capitalist, imperialist oppressors who were, as a young Melendez says in archival footage, "trying to steal our identity as Puerto Ricans, and call us Americans".

The Ghetto Brothers became instrumental in turning gang efforts away from fighting each other and instead towards fighting "The Man"—the systemic forces that caused their oppression and community dysfunction. They began taking action to reform drug addicts. Junkies joined the gang to get clean, and many became addiction counselors. Ghetto Brothers would often stay with a junky for 24 hours straight, as one former junky Big Sly says, to help him "kick cold". They got kids off the streets and back into school, organized mass litter clean-up, and gave clothes and food to community members in need.

At the end of 1971, an incident occurred which led to transformative change in the South Bronx gang dynamic. Cornell Benjamin, a Ghetto Brothers Peace Counselor known as Black Benji, got word of a violent confrontation that was about to break out between rival gangs. He went to the location of the conflict to make peace, but was killed in the ensuing rumble. Suarez recounts forming "an army", as some gang members sought retaliation. But Melendez suggested going to pay respect to Benjamin's mother first. They did so, with Suarez promising her they would avenge her son's death. To this, Mrs. Benjamin replied, "But Charlie, my son died for peace". This is when it all hit home for Suarez, who walked back to a frenzy of media cameras waiting for him to say "the streets of the Bronx will be bathed in blood". They could've gone down then and there as the most notorious gang, and knew that the media wanted to portray them to the world as a bunch of murderous savages. But instead Melendez and Suarez announced they were calling for a peace treaty.

This led to an unprecedented meeting between New York City gang leaders, to propose a general truce and inter-gang alliance. It was held at the Boys & Girls' Club on Hoe Avenue in the Bronx, in a historic gathering now known as the "Hoe Avenue Peace Meeting". Many police officers and city officials were also present. The meeting was a success, and led to a negotiation procedure being established to deal with conflict peacefully and avoid street warfare. Sixty-eight gang leaders signed a truce treaty.

While some violence continued, there was an immediate shift in energy throughout the gang communities. Hostility dissipated, and people from different turfs began to cross over, attending block parties with each other. Broader standards of communication were established amongst the youth as social circles expanded beyond their own immediate neighbourhoods. One former gang member says it was a "sigh of relief".

As the violence subsided and turf barriers broke down, outlaw gangs embraced creative expression, transforming into DJ crews, MCs, graffiti artists, and breakdancers. Fashion also evolved; while the former trend was to be as dirty and despicable as possible, the new style was to be cool, to show poise and grace, which came to be reflected in their art as well as attire. Gang aggression translated into MC, DJ, and B-Boy battles, and less into actual street violence—showing that HipHop originated as a progressive creative movement.

The film's addendum notes the outcomes of its featured former gang members, many of them continuing to work as artists, counselors, activists, and community organizers to this day. And so Rubble Kings has a powerful message; even—or maybe especially—those who've experienced violence can influence an outcome of peace. Power-wielding political leaders the world over should heed this story of street youth gangs who had the insight and fortitude to transcend and transform the oppressive aspects of their culture. Surely elite corporate military masterminds, with all their money, education, and privilege, are capable of putting an end to violence if some poor, disadvantaged gang kids from South Bronx had the courage to do it. So, anybody who looks down on HipHop as a violent culture should educate themselves about its origins—created by people who society cast aside, rising out of the rubble as a peaceful, unifying movement of creative expression.
Rating (out of 5): ★★★★
• Nik Dobrinsky / Boy Drinks Ink
October 17th, 2015