From George Taylor ::
On December 20, 2015, 16-year old Shane Simpson was killed in a drive-by shooting in Wilmington. At the time, I didn’t know anything about gangs, but was pissed off this could happen in my city and wanted to understand. I reached out to Ben David, our District Attorney, and told him I wanted to meet whoever was in charge. Ben connected me with the right cops, who connected me with the gang leaders.
Since then I’ve spent countless days with gang members, trying to understand who they are and what drives them. I’ve flown around the country with gang leadership looking at other’s approaches to gang violence, and today employ 12+ active gang members who successfully sell business software and engage in other (legal) entrepreneurial activities. (I say “active”, because we require they stay in the gangs and maintain their influence.)
Over the past 22 months, my understanding of gangs and gang violence has changed significantly. So much so, that I’m now working with my friends in the Bloods, Crips, and GD to launch TruColors Brewing, a brewery/brewpub that expects to hire 90+ active Wilmington gang members over the next 18 months.
Together, the TruColors team is working to launch their business and (re-) establish gangs as a positive and important force in the community—teaching responsibility, self-reliance and entrepreneurship. Together, the TruColors team believes Unity is the New Gangster. Come hear why.