Schirete Zick

Background

About Schirete Zick

One day, I was standing in line at the courthouse to pay a traffic ticket. Phew. An expensive one. A couple of people ahead of me, was a young Latino man - tattoos all over - his arms, shaved head, neck, the works. I was curious, and the window to pay wasn't opened yet. So I walked over to the guy and asked him,"Are you a gang member?" He leaned back in surprise. Looked me up and down, after saying "What does this white woman want?" But then, he said "Yes"."18th Street gang," he pushed his hands towards me showed me the tattoo on his hand proudly."Oh can you give me your phone number?" I asked excitedly."I want to know why, why would anyone join a gang". He gave me his number. I called and met his family, his girlfriend and all of the other gangsters. For 2 1/2 years I visited with them. I remember that one night, a man approached me with concern and said,"Go home. This people are dangerous! They will kill you." Well, I'm still alive and later I wrote the film about what life was like in the Latino hood. That's me. I do some crazy stuff. I love life. I love all people. I hope I never stop learning from others.