A documentary at the Denver Film Festival dates back nearly a decade in Denver, and raises questions about city leaders when it comes to anti-gang efforts in the city. via ColetteBordelon
DENVER — On Sunday, the 45th Annual Denver Film Festival came to a close. A documentary at the festival dates back nearly a decade in Denver, and raises questions about city leaders when it comes to anti-gang efforts in the city. The film has also received criticism from some community members about the claims it contains.
The shooting happened in September 2013. Terrance Roberts was arranging a peace rally outside the Boys & Girls Club in Holly Square, which is in Northeast Park Hill. Roberts said he grew up in Park Hill, and said most of the youth in the area became members of the Park Hill Bloods by default, whether they wanted to be or not.
Roberts said while arranging the rally, he was threatened by members of the Park Hill Bloods, including Hasan Jones. “It really hurt because I was attacked, and I'm not a gang member anymore. And I had made that clear to the community for an entire decade," said Roberts. “I wasn't doing anything wrong. I was doing what people say African American leaders, young African American men, should be doing. I'm hosting a peace rally to stop the violence.”A jury agreed with Roberts, and found him not guilty.
The documentary dives into such claims, but they do not sit well with some of the people mentioned in the movie. One of them is Reverend Leon Kelly, who works as the executive director for the Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives program. According to Kelly, he has worked with anti-gang efforts in Denver for 40 years.
Roberts responded by saying “the problem that me and Reverend Kelly have with each other is Reverend Kelly is too tied into the system and who pays him, which is that system, and the connections that he's made with law enforcement and elected officials.” “You can't bring nobody from Harvard to come over here and stop a situation he didn't create. So I figured since I was one of people who started this mess, I can help end it," said Hines.
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