El Salvador's Youth Are Trapped Between Gangs and Police Abuse

El Salvador's Youth Are Trapped Between Gangs and Police Abuse - theintercept.com

Excerpt from this article:

"Kids in El Salvador face well-documented threats at the hands of gangs, from extortion to forced recruitment as members or 'girlfriends' of members. Being a witness to a gang murder, or just being in the wrong part of town or on the wrong bus line, can get you killed. Increasingly, they also face violence from police. Poor youth are rounded up on suspicion of being gang members, hassled, imprisoned, and, in some cases, killed."
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In 1958 God called David Wilkerson to go to New York City to bring the gospel to the gangs. His book The Cross and the Switchblade came out in 1962, a year after the musical West Side Story first came out. I like the movie West Side Story, especially the part where the gang sings about Officer Krupke, But David Wilkerson's book (and later movie) The Cross and the Switchblade is life changing. It's worth reading (and watching) over and over again!

Recommended video:

The Cross and the Switchblade in English or in Spanish.
Nicky and Gloria Cruz's 50th Anneversary

Recommended podcast:

When David Wilkerson Cried "Ichabod" - The Commercialization of CCM, by Pastor Kevin Swanson

Recommended Movie

The Cross and the Switchblade

Chicago Street Gang Members Hindered By Lack Of Jobs

Education Secretary Arne Duncan: Chicago Street Gang Members Hindered By Lack Of Jobs - michellemalkin.com

"Excerpt from this article:Education Secretary Arne Duncan said on Tuesday that he has met with gang leaders in his hometown of Chicago and they’ve told him that it’s a lack of jobs that keeps them on the streets."

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The headline for the above article made me think of a song in the 1961 musical West Side Story (check out Gee, Officer Krupke!). Gang members do need jobs, but they need our Lord Jesus first! When David Wilkerson left his pregnant wife and small church to minister to the street gangs in New York City, he didn't come with a 'jobs program.' He came with the gospel (See the movie The Cross and the Switchblade).

Recommended reading:

The Cross And The Switchblade, by David Wilkerson
Run Baby Run, by Niky Cruz
Why Christians Make Miserable Addicts
The Roman Road To Salvation (my post)

Recommended sermon (for Chicago street gang member):

A Silenced World, by Dr. David P. Murray