Ex-Gang Member Rallies Backers to Fight Crime

Six years ago, Bo Taylor was a member of the Westside Crips street gang, but Saturday he was the moving force behind a rally against street violence.

He brought a group of African American politicians, community leaders and entertainers to the parking lot of his group’s headquarters to seek renewed support for his gang-intervention program.

Not all of the well-known names invited showed up at the fund-raiser for Taylor’s 5-year-old brainchild, Unity One, and the 10-gallon water jug with “Donations” scrawled across it was only one quarter filled by late afternoon.

But in five years Taylor, 31, has established three small Unity One community centers in the inner city, offering job placement, computer training and youth counseling.

Saturday’s fund-raiser was held to pay for the same services at Taylor’s fourth center, a gritty warehouse he began leasing two months ago on Pico Boulevard in the Mid-City area.

“One day this building is going to have computers and find people work,” Taylor said. Donors “used to be skeptical about our group in the past because I used to [gang] bang. But they’re beyond that now.”

Singer James Ingram, who dropped a wad of bills into the jug before his performance, said it was Taylor’s singular purpose that spurred him to attend the fair--which featured live music, motivational speeches and vendors selling items from T-shirts to hot dogs.

Ingram said more black entertainers should support community rebuilding efforts.

“You can never be too big to come out and help,” he said. “You can never be too small either. Anyone who can lend a hand should.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden welcomed Taylor’s new building to his district, lauding Unity One’s focus on saving men and youths from gang life.

“Bo fills an essential need” because a lot of official programs only focus on gang intervention for teenagers, Holden said.

“He did not get a lot of the help he needed when he first started out because of his past. But now everyone recognizes he’s committed to his vision.”