- [Peacekeeper] We rolling, we rolling.

What we want?

- Peace.

- What we want?

- Peace.

- What we want?

- Peace.

- When we want it?

- Now.

- When we want it?

- Now.

- At first, I didn't want to be a part of nothing that was positive.

I knew if I started doing a lot of positive things, that it would kill my negative credibility.

And to be honest with you, for so long in my life, I loved the negative credibility.

Right now we are in on the 123rd, we in West Point they call it the town, Trigger Town.

But once I saw exactly what Chicago CRED did, it made me want to be a part of it.

- We gotta pay a little more attention to our hot blocks and our hot areas.

You know what I'm saying?

- Let it be known that we on the same page with everything.

- [CRED Leader] Exactly - What was told to me about Chicago Cred was just plain and simple, man we work with the young guys that's out here that was doing the same stuff that we was doing when we was younger and we just trying to change they life.

That's how it was basically given to me.

(Peacekeepers chattering) We had a shooting in this area, with three individuals was shot.

So we come through, we do a shooting response, we talk to the community.

Some individuals in the community try to figure out what's going on, how we can bring some type of resources to reduce whatever violence in the area.

- What we want?

- Peace.

- When we want it?

- Now.

- When do we want it?

- Now.

(gentle mid-tempo music) - [Cedric] I lost so many family members to gun violence and knowing that I wanted to be around to raise my child, that's what made me really, really wanna be a part of changing the narrative.

- So what you think?

This is her first time canvasing, she come out here with Chicago CRED.

- People are like wondering what we're doing.

So that's good.

- Yeah.

There's conflicts here every day and someone be like, "Oh I know who that is, I know this."

- [CRED Volunteer] Yeah, we're making our presence known.

- That's exactly what it is.

- That's what canvas is doing, making our presence known.

- If you only come around when a shooting is going on, you doing the same job as law enforcement.

You know what I'm saying?

So one thing about us, we try to be proactive.

We try to be in front of the violence, instead of being behind it.

- Yeah, we good, we good.

(traffic humming) (tense music) - Want a hand or you got it?

- I got it Every week, myself and Darnell will map the exercises.

What you think, that Wentworth area?

To be able to look at it and say, "Okay, this is where we need to be at."

Every dot is someone's life.

That's the saddest thing about it.

When it come down to it, the red and the black, the non-fatal and the fatal, that's our main focus.

I would say the priority one gonna be from a 103rd to 111th, Michigan and Princeton.

Now for priority two, what you looking at?

- It's the heart of West Pullman.

And to see this number of acts of violence in that neighborhood, it is very alarming.

- Yeah, okay, so- - And then our last priority.

We cannot neglect that.

- We cannot neglect that.

You are exactly right.

- You see all them- - Yes - That all them dots up there coming from that.

- From 88th from Princeton.

Yeah, that's a good look right there.

- Yeah, we can chop that down (machine chiming) and maybe we got a little better summer for next year.

(tense upbeat music) - So what's the word bro?

- Chilling man.

- Chilling, you got education today?

- Yeah, I had one yesterday.

- I met Jay through one of the ambassadors that we got at Chicago CRED.

What even made you want to even start to bring peace to the neighborhood, throwing events in the neighborhood?

What made you really wanna do this at the young age that you at, bro?

- Tell you the truth, one of the biggest parts of me starting wanting to do this is my kids and my family.

Like you know, they a big help to me too.

Like all day in my ear, 'bout me doing the right thing.

- I look at you and I say, "Doug, I wish that I was thinking somewhere his way when I was his age."

You know what I mean?

- For sure.

- Before you even had a FLIP badge on, you was one of the first individuals out this way that helped me to be able to put together a peace agreement.

So and you did that without the FLIP.

FLIP is "Flatlining Violence Inspires Peace."

When you a FLIP worker you can be one foot in and one foot out.

All you have to do is be on the block that you are from giving them individuals that's on that block, the messaging of "We playing defense", and that's what he been doing.

- Hear me out, but I know there's a lot of people that I ain't where I'm at, so I'm trying to bring the people that ain't where I'm at into the program to help them get better.

- You always got my ear bro.

- Yeah.

- Like all, you hear me?

Like you got my ear.

- Sure.

I told you like when we first started, like everything gonna be cool is about who I want to do it and who's really dedicated to do it.

- What you laid down and a couple months as far as the peace, that's some of the biggest things that happened in my life for 2024.

Please don't undermine yourself bro.

- For sure.

- For real.

On the positive side, regardless of whatever happened back then, I appreciate you man.

Him being in that mind frame at this early age lets me know that one day, hopefully he'll be ready to be a outreach worker himself.

(gentle music) When it comes down to Chicago CRED, a lot of us come from the same street background as our participants.

I was born in the Wild 100s, Rose and West Point, however you wanna see it.

Wild 100s consist of from 100th Street to 130th and then you gotta go from east to west too, so maybe like Cottage Grove to Halsted.

When I was coming up you can actually be like, "There's only seven gangs out here."

Now?

Man, you may have seven different type of gangs out here, but as far as the cliques, we got like a hundred plus cliques and the 100's, the 100's is wild.

Trust me, and I'm not just saying it 'cause I'm from the 100's.

(car horn honking) I used to jump off that third floor into the snow and now I'm scared of heights.

(Cedric chuckling) I was born to a one parent home, one of the greatest mothers in the world.

My eighth grade year, me and my little brother, we sharing clothes, we sharing shoes and I'm like "Man, I'm finna go to high school.

I got to be straight."

And I didn't want to take it out on my mom 'cause she like my mom was doing everything she could for us.

(tense music) So I made a decision when I was 12 years old to become a part of a gang.

I was fighting cases while I was in high school.

I ended up getting convicted right before I graduated and once I graduated I went straight to the penitentiary.

So you know, this is where I started to think I was a man at you know?

This is where I felt like I couldn't be touched.

We ain't had them gates and stuff, this was all gangways.

We used to be able to just run through the gangway.

Didn't want my mom to know nothing that I had going on negative.

But you know when you turning around and you getting incarcerated and stuff like that, hey everything is in the open.

(gentle nostalgic music) Then maybe two or three years went by and I was right back in.

A year after that, 2007, I was in federal prison for distribution of crack cocaine.

They gave me a life sentence for 5.4 grams of ghost dupe.

This used to be a whole corner store right here.

You know what I'm saying?

I was stunned for like three days.

Literally stunned, like I couldn't cry, I couldn't eat.

We out here every day, you know what I'm saying?

And then that third or fourth day hit, I woke up outta my sleep crying.

13 to 25.

So 12 years I hustle right here on this block.

I served 10 years of that life sentence.

In 2014 I put in a sentence commutation to the Department of Justice, and I just told them simply there's child molesters and murderers, they got less time than me.

My brother Kilroy, he one of the older guys from the block, he one of the guys that's helping to keep the garden up, you know what I'm saying?

And he called it the peace garden.

It's a blessing to be able to get outta prison and come back to see things, you know the way they are now, man it's a blessing.

In 2016, the DOJ came to the facility.

They took me down to the secretary office.

The ladies turned around and they said, "Today President Obama has commuted your sentence from life to 12 years and 10 months."

(Cedric chuckling) I couldn't even believe, I couldn't even believe, I swear I couldn't even believe it.

And when I fell down and came back up, tears everywhere.

I say, "Can I please just call my mama and tell my mom?"

It was a blessing because like I say, that brought me to Chicago CRED.

(traffic humming) (mid-tempo piano music) (bus engine roaring) The group that we deal with from this area, these individuals have been playing defense with us since September of 2022.

Three more days we will be at our two year anniversary.

We out here just speaking with the Latino group that we have in our agreement status with another group that's from Off The Hill.

Hopefully we can try to keep them not sliding on one another.

I mean I'm just glad y'all gave me a call with the situation because you already know if somebody doing something bogus, you know what I'm saying?

We can't be a part of it.

- Nah, I already know.

- You already know that, you know what I'm saying so that's a good look.

So how you think things gonna be as far as keeping it down?

- Whatever y'all need then you know we gonna try to do it.

- What else do you think though bro that we can help with to be able to, you know what I'm saying?

To just be able to keep things cool?

- I know y'all got that program for schooling but it'd be kind of hard to get a lot of the younger bros into that schooling.

- Right.

- Like a lot of us ain't ever left this block.

A lot of us ain't never left Chicago or you know what I mean?

Never left the state.

- Yeah.

- Just to open their eyes that it's more to life, you know, to just being out here.

- We'll just have a sit down, see how many of the guys that need high school diplomas try to bring some type of services that way.

You know what I'm saying?

- Right.

- Once you put some type of non-aggression there or some type of peace agreement there, now you got these individuals, this is something they ain't worried about no more.

So now it's a whole new perspective.

They looking at it totally different.

And now you may have it where they never used to go pick up their little brothers and sisters from their school.

But now when they going in that area, individuals can move peacefully in their neighborhood.

I think we'll get to the point where we can try to take it from a non-aggression back to a peace agreement again.

- Y'all pushing it, we gonna try to be with it.

You've been straight up with us, we've been the same way so.

Like I said, whatever we can do to help, not even for the program, just the community we going to be with it.

Anything positive.

- That's what's up, that's what's up.

Probably slide back through here later on man.

- All right.

- Know what I'm saying?

- Just hit my line whatever you need man.

You know I'm only a phone call away.

- Appreciate you bro.

- Alright.

- Me being able to keep going over there with the Latinos in that area, I kept doing it the same way and that's how our relationship is still where it's at today.

We outta here.

(mid-tempo piano music) One of the biggest problems for Chicago, is how easy it is to obtain weapons and then we having a lot of mass shootings now.

When I was coming up you had some of the same scenarios but today if you have an individual that jump out with a high power weapon that's gonna shoot 50 times, once you pull the trigger one time, then what are we doing and what are we saying?

We have to be serious about what we want changed.

(indicator clicking) (car engine roaring) Right now we're going to one of my old participants house where I'm just going to do a home visit, just check in on them.

We call these type participants, our alumni participants just checking up on them, make sure you know what I'm saying?

That they still trying to do the right thing and staying out the way.

We never let our participants go, they family.

This him calling me right now.

Aye bro.

- Yo.

- I'm right here, I'm finna pull up at the crib right now.

You coming out?

- Yeah, coming out.

(Cedric sighing) - What's the word Joe, you been on the block?

- [Joe] No, I've been in.

- [Cedric] You talked to the guys?

I was trying to call some of the other little guys man to see- - Out?

- Yeah.

I met Lamare through some of my family members.

I was able to help him enroll in Chicago CRED to be able to obtain his high school diploma.

He's finished the program but he's continuing to help me secure a non-aggression agreement between groups, that's intuit that he has relationships with.

I need your help on that.

- [Joe] Yeah.

- [Cedric] Like you got a baby to raise, you know what I'm saying?

How old little man he is now?

- Three.

- Three?

- Yeah.

- How he doing though bro?

- [Joe] Doing good, he's getting big.

- Talk to me, gimme something.

- [Joe] Being a father, really just working, being a father, chilling, staying out the way.

Keep all the little bros, trying to keep them on the right track.

Keep them out of trouble, trying to talk to them and stuff.

- But I'm proud of you, you know what I'm saying?

Like you know what the younger you is, even when you trying to do the right thing, you know what I'm saying?

They don't wanna see you change, they don't wanna see you doing the right thing.

They want you to keep doing the wrong stuff, you know what I mean?

So I understand it be hard for y'all but like I tilt my head to you for always being there to help me to the best of your ability.

Man, just keep up the good work bro.

You know anything that I can do bro.

You know what I'm saying?

Just hit my line bro.

- Gotcha.

- Just hit my line.

- Gotcha.

- Good other than that?

- Good.

- You sure?

- [Joe] Yeah.

(car door banging) - Good brother, I know he wants peace.

You know most of these brothers and sisters out here, y'all, they want to be peaceful but a lot of these guys like they need to see it.

It took me to my thirties to be able to look at things differently so I know change just don't come easy like that.

(engine rumbling) (fire truck wailing) Yesterday morning I was given a call that I lost one of my new participants that I just actually met some months ago.

He was only 19 years old.

(anticipatory music) - In the next week or two I stay out- - The brother was really trying to see something different.

Like he didn't miss one day of programming.

Every time we had trauma stress and management sessions, he was there every time we talked about non-aggression, he was there.

You know, in life what you do it catch up with you.

With this situation.

I don't even think he did nothing wrong.

Some prior stuff may have happened and it caught up with him.

We got bigger fish to fry.

Gotta go over here and see what's up with our little man.

Passed away last night.

- [Passenger] That's crazy right?

(indicator clicking) - Oh and these type of times I don't even be knowing what type of conversation to have.

- [Passenger] I call it supportive mode, not really saying nothing, just listening.

- [Cedric] Just hear them out.

That's what I was really doing all yesterday.

Just steady telling the guys like, "Just call me, it don't matter what time y'all call.

Please don't do nothing crazy, be chill on his name you know?"

(Cedric sighing) (gentle piano music) What's up man?

- What's up man?

(hands slapping) - My condolences man.

I ain't seen you yesterday when I came out.

When I heard the news, like I ain't know what to do, but to come out here and talk to the guys, but I really didn't even know what to say.

I hate that it have to be this way.

- You know, he ain't just no anybody like that's like part of the hood, he really means something to us, that's our brother, we like grew up with him since we was shorties.

That's like losing a parent or something, how we lost him.

- 'Cause regardless if we knew 'em for a month or not, three months or not, you know, once we gain relationships with individuals it is different.

You know, it's not no play thing with us.

It is real people lives, you know.

- You see how he just said he just met him a few months ago but he feeling, that just goes to show how much love Chicago CRED program got for us.

They really trying to help, which a lot of people ain't trying to do.

We, us personally just, we never had no help with nothing, like ever.

We all, we got for real, for real.

Like people be talking about what they, but really we really all we got, we don't got no helping no aid or nothing.

Forever our brother.

(hands clapping) - Yeah.

- Yeah bro.

(anticipatory music) - When I'm gaining these relationship with these guys, sometimes I be trying not to even get too close to 'em because it affects me.

But it's hard for you to not to get close to 'em that you come up like 'em, you see yourself in 'em.

At times I be saying to myself like shouting at them we all did the same.

I went through like, "why all of us here like?"

(gentle nostalgic music) (windmill flapping) Just leaving his funeral, just to see his family and friends.

That was big and it's a hurting feeling when you got somebody that's young and you know what I'm saying?

You know, there was more to life than, you know what I'm saying?

Them leaving at the age of 19.

It feel like I failed him a little bit.

You know, I wasn't able to help him to be successful but hopefully I can be able to help his homies.

Just letting them know, you know what I'm saying?

When they gave me a hug, I'm gonna be here to the best of my ability because I do understand that.

I just let 'em know, my ear is here for y'all.

- [Pastor] God bless this place.

(gentle music) - So what we doing huh?

- Today is a off day for me so- - What you got an off day?

- Yeah, I want you to help get on, get me together real quick.

Sometimes you need it.

Especially how after them funeral it be vicious, sometimes man.

I have tried over and over again to be able to help myself to take time off, to get self care, to be able to put myself back into a family realm.

And I had a life sentence and majority of people gave up on me.

(people chattering) I actually get in the mirror and tell myself like, "Ced, do something for yourself."

'Cause I'm always doing something for somebody else.

(people chattering) - It never will.

Anybody could come out and just go back to they regular ways instead of doing anything else.

You come out to help these youth, to try to go another direction and get them hope.

- I'm just saying that- - Beat the statistic.

- I mean you doing good, I'm proud of you man.

- I wanna say this ma.

I know that you don't approve all the way of me being in the streets all day doing this work, right?

And to be honest with you, a month ago I got threatened anyway.

They threatened, somebody threatened me, you know the dudes do this type of stuff.

Mom didn't want me to do this work because she knew her son was not innocent in the streets.

But she trying to accept it.

The work is not safe at all, right?

But it's effective when you got the right person out there doing it.

- [Mom] Doing it, yeah.

- When I first came home from jail, I was telling my daddy like, man what I'm gonna do for a job?

Like what am I'm gonna do huh?

You know what I'm saying?

- [Mom] He was real petty.

- And my daddy was telling me like whatever you do, don't do nothing, that when you get up every day that you don't want to go to.

You know what I'm saying?

To be honest, I wake up every day to my old lifestyle.

I'm just doing it productive.

- You know another person that was proud of you, - Your grandma?

- Grandma.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Grandma.

- Old Gran, yeah.

- [] You did the right thing.

We so proud of you, right?

- Is you proud?

Is you proud enough of me to let me use the The Cadillac?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

(everyone laughing) - [Grandpa] You want to ride it right now?

(Cedric laughing) - What you doing?

- A selfie.

- Come on Cedric.

- Come on.

- Nice and good.

You can hit the button on the top.

- I got it.

Okay, here we go, here we go, here we go.

Hollywood.

- What up bro?

- [Car] Okay, I'm gonna go ahead and set it up.

Well we gonna be here around 09:30 tonight.

- Okay, okay.

(gentle music) - Okay, love you.

- Love you Car.

- Okay.

- How you doing bro?

I'm chilling for the day man.

- Chilling for the day?

- Gimme a little self care for today, you know what I'm saying?

- Self care?

- Yeah.

- I started doing this work because when I came home I had already lost nine family members to gun violence and I knew I wanted to do something better.

(friends laughing) It makes me wanna work harder.

Push harder because guess what?

I wanna save a life.

Straight up man.

Life been life hey Joey?

That is what I'm on and I'm just waiting till you get all the way ready.

You gonna take that green vest up off you get you on the outreach team.

We ain't gonna stop.

I didn't look at this as a calling or none of that.

But once I started doing the work then I said this is my calling.

It's not work at all, it's a lifestyle for me.

This everyday life for Cedric.

I'm finna get up outta here y'all.