MEMPHIS, TN -- There are around 20,000 gang members in the Memphis area according to the Shelby County District Attorney’s office.
That number used to include an East Memphis man who is sharing his story in the hopes of keeping other kids from joining gangs.
He asked for his identity to be kept anonymous, and to be called simply "Mr. X".
To the average person, it looks like a Philadelphia hockey jersey, but to Mr. X, it was a symbol of much more-- a symbol of the gang he was in for 20 years.
Mr. X joined the gang at the age of 12. He says it was never something he wanted to do.
“I was forced to do it. Gang members would come by the house and threaten me.”
Once he joined, the gang put him to work.
“You rob somebody, beat up somebody, tag a building with spray-paint.”
At times, things got very violent. X says he's seen friends stabbed and shot during gang fights.
“I had a cousin who had her head blown off” he says.
That incident helped motivate X to get out, but that's not so easy to do. He says once you're in a gang, it's for life. Even now, there are people who want to kill him.
“They've made three attempts on my life. As we speak it's a possibility that I could be dead tomorrow.”
Still, X says he's not living in fear. He can't -- he's a father now, and in that role X teaches his kids about the dangers of gangs. He asks other families to do the same.
“A lot of people think you need to start when they're in the adolescent age, but you need starts when the kids are 6,7,8,9 and 10 years old. Do it while they’re in elementary school.”
Mr. X appears in an anti-gang film called "Toe Tag." It's being made available to families for free. For information, call (901) 315-0369.
