A REDEMPTIVE PATH FORWARD

A Black man from East Dallas traces his path from gang leader to prisoner to activist.

In the 1990s, Lucky helped found the Dallas Bloods, a gang that ran a bustling drug business in his dangerous neighborhood, where so many “succumbed to the inescapable pressures of poverty.” After he was arrested in a drug bust, Lucky was sentenced to seven years of prison, separating him from his newborn daughter. At the time, he writes thoughtfully, “my deepest fear…was that I’d be swallowed by the beast; I would become irrelevant and forgotten or, worse, a memory of someone you hope not to be like, as my own father had been to me.” In prison, Lucky converted to Islam, a decision that would inform his future life’s work as well as his choice to quit gang life. After his release, he partnered with an activist named Omar to broker a peace between the Dallas Bloods and their rivals, the Crips. He and Omar continued working together with the backing of a community leader named Bob Woodson and, later, Charles Koch. After the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, Lucky and Omar taught an after-school program for Black youth about how to interact with the police. As a result of this work, Lucky and Omar also served as advisers to Sen. Paul Ryan when he was Speaker of the House. After his time in prison and significant reflection on the damage he caused during his previous life, the author now promises himself, “I will help change this community that I’ve had a hand in destroying.” Lucky has led an indisputably interesting and difficult life, and he tells his story with compelling frankness. However, the author is often too focused on his own transformation, rarely tying his singular experience to systemic forces. This makes the book less revelatory than it could have been despite Lucky’s important message.

A fascinating and inspiring chronicle of transformation featuring cursory explorations of greater truths.