i treat him as i want to be treated. lee acknowledged there was a time in his life where he wouldn t have been so accepting. years ago when i was young i probably wouldn t be sitting here. i would still be stuck with the image thing. i was really into the gang-banger scene. i was really caught up. lee s childhood neighborhood was riddled with gangs. and lee joined up when he was barely in his teens. not listening to my family. not listened to ma. do everything. running with the wrong crowd. i put my homies before my family. and that s all i knew was my homies. homey this. homey that. lee told us, despite being shot five times and serving a prior prison sentence, he couldn t give up gang life. then, his story took a turn. it had to do with recruiting his younger brother into the gang. when i was growing up, i
wouldn t have been so accepting. years ago when i was young i probably wouldn t be sitting here. i would still be stuck with the image thing. i was really into the gang-banger scene. i was really caught up. lee s childhood neighborhood was riddled with gangs. and lee joined up when he was barely in his teens. not listening to my family. not listening to ma. thinking i knew everything. running with the wrong crowd. i put my homies before my family. and that s all i knew, was my homies. homey this. homey that. lee told us despite being shot five times and serving a prior prison sentence, he couldn t give up gang life. then his story took a turn. it had to do with recruiting his younger brother into the gang. when i was growing up, i never thought i would get past 21. so i want my brother to get the same exact respect i was getting from the neighborhood. so when i m gone, my brother gets the same respect.
gang-banger scene. i was really caught up. lee s childhood neighborhood was riddled with gangs. and lee joined up when he was barely in his teens. not listening to my family. not listened to ma. do everything. running with the wrong crowd. i put my homies before my family. and that s all i knew was my homies. homey this. homey that. lee told us, despite being shot five times and serving a prior prison sentence, he couldn t give up gang life. then, his story took a turn. it had to do with recruiting his younger brother into the gang. when i was growing up, i never thought i would get past 21. i want my brother to get the same respect i was getting from the neighborhood. so, when i m gone, my brother gets the same respect. don t worry about bullying. just trying to run over him or the family. nowhere near my thoughts what s going to happen to him.
nonprofit group kiva opened a program in new orleans. and in its first 24 hours, kiva said that all 14 small business projects seeking funding got all the money they were looking for. then there s people like actor wendell pierce. you know him from the wire. now he s a trombone player for treme. wendell pierce is the real thing. he was born and raised right here in new orleans. and ladies and gentlemen, he is the survivor spirit. and that is what makes wendell pierce the best new orleans thing. he is helping to rebuild the city around questions of politics, of economics. he s looking in his neighborhood. childhood neighborhood of pontchartrain park. as president of the
politics, of economics. he s looking in his neighborhood. childhood neighborhood of pontchartrain park. as president of the pontchartrain park community development corporation. which is building energy efficient and solar houses. he s trying to build grocery stores for the underserved lower ninth ward. this is complicated it s going to take a lot of determination, but wendell pierce i know you well enough to know you are exactly the sort of person to get it done. thank you very much. i really appreciate that. thanks for being here tonight. thank you. you and i have been political opponents at various points. there was a point where i was mean mugging you in green rooms in the back. one thing i know for certain about you, is that you have a profound commitment to this city.