In this excellent mini-documentary profile from VICE, follow JT, a Brownsville man who is about to be initiated via a violent "square-in" with the Silent Murder Crips. Hear what drives him and his crew to join a gang, how they believe they are protecting their neighborhood, and what it means in society as a whole.
For JT, a young prospect making his way into a local branch of the Crips in Brooklyn, joining the gang is about family: Getting close to a group of men that care about him, and are willing to back him up if he ever finds himself in trouble. But getting initiated isn't easy. We followed JT through the process of getting made to see what drew him to the gang, and to hear why he's willing to be "squared in"—suffering a brutal beating at the hands of his best friends.
