How Black Power is Trying to Change Public Perception—By Throwing a Film Festival

When you think of gang activity, you generally conjure up some pretty heavy themes. You know, drugs and thugs. What you don't often hear of is a gang hosting a film festival, but that's exactly what the Wellington chapter of Black Power are doing.

Tonight the 2016 Black Power Festival will open at Paramount Theatre with How to Make Money Selling Drugs—accompanied by wine and hors d'oeuvres. All this is to slowly eradicate the fear associated with gangs. Black Power member Eugene Ryder has spent his entire adult life watching people cross to the other side of the road when they see him coming. We asked Eugene why now is the time to make a change.

VICE: Hey Eugene. You've spoken so openly about wanting to change the perception of gangs in New Zealand, can you tell me your experience with the public's prejudice?
Eugene: I don't want to change gangs, but what I want to do is looking at the energy members of our chapter put into negative activity and direct that energy into positive outcome. Along with that though, there are a whole heap of assumptions from people about who and what our community is and while I don't agree with that on a whole I do understand it. I know there are people that have had really bad experiences with gangs, but the challenge is they paint everyone with that brush. For example I've had a challenge with a parking warden, but not all of them are bad.

That's so frustrating, how do you deal with that?
My whole life. I experience it daily. Some people get offended on my behalf, but it's so normal. I understand it's a common human trait to fear the unknown and that's where I think it comes from. The only people that don't have these assumptions about me are people that know me. I still have people grabbing their kids hands and walking across the road when they see me…

What?!
Yeah. My wife and I taught kapa haka at an intermediate for 20 years and kids would see us outside of school, like at a shopping centre, and come and talk to us while their parents would see that and get all protective. I just walk away so they don't feel more intimidated. I understand it. In primary school I was taught not to judge a book by its cover, but that's something I've experienced the opposite of that my whole life.

As a parent yourself, it must be pretty difficult to be distrusted with the safety of other children like that.
I don't know if I should tell you this, but I was at my daughter's 21st birthday at a restaurant and my then eight year-old son said to me, "Papa when I grow up can I get a patch?" The whole restaurant went silent waiting for the answer. My wife was looking at me like, "You better have a good answer."

I said to my son, "Yes you can." The whole restaurant gasped. My wife is looking at me like you're going to get it when you get home. Then I said to my son, "Soon as you get a law degree, you'll get a patch." That's the kind of korero [dialogue] we're having with our young people—you have to have a kind of marketable skill to get you on in life. We know that criminal behaviour puts you in prison and you're not helpful to anyone in there.

Well that's just it isn't it, so many young people seeking gangs are just looking for that camaraderie during that really formative time. It's peer support. Was that what attracted you to getting involved in gang culture early on?
Exactly, the human race look to get into groupings based on common interests. That's the formation of gangs. When I joined Black Power I was running away from something, running away from a very violent upbringing. I found a space where people shared similar experiences, they were state wards, they'd been abused. It was the camaraderie, the shared interests.

What's been your relationship with the crime element of gang activity?
I was already a criminal before I discovered the Black Power. I have, I think, 58 convictions. When I wanted to join the Black Power, I was 15 and the leader told me I was too young. So when I turned 16 I was like, "Okay, how do I get their attention?" I thought committing a crime would get me the mana [pride] of the gang…so I robbed a bank. I got caught and I was ostracised. This was in the mid to late 80s and work schemes were happening for the gang communities, so they were less about crime and more about work and committing a crime jeopardised the work.

So you went the opposite way.
Yeah, and put the spotlight on the Black Power in a negative way. Today there's this myth that gangs are sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll and a lot of that has come from mistakes and the Internet and whatever. We're trying to divert energy away from that crime and put it into something else. We've had young people saying "I'm sick of going to court" and I say "stop going to court, change your behaviour."

The first film screening at the festival is How to Make Money Selling Drugs, which presents a conflicting message. Is it your hope that one day gangs will renounce crime for good?
Criminals are criminals, not every gang member is a criminal and not every criminal is a gang member. I just want people in my community to not end up in prison, hospital or a cemetery. That's what my vision is. We've accomplished some great things and we've done it without WINZ, which has taught us can author our own futures.

You're doing amazing work, you should be so proud.
Our people are still at the bottom of the heap. The goal is is that people don't look at us as something to fear, but look at us as something to be a part of. We've got a lot of work to do, it might not happen in my lifetime, but there's potential.

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