File under: INTERVIEW
@Golgotha w/Lil Detroit

[circled capital T]

(The Anatomy of A Zine:)
I found this conversation in a stack of works that date back to 2012.

(Dialogue Key:)
1. @Golgotha w/Lil Detroit page 2 of 8
2. Differences page 2 of 8
3. How Young page 3 of 8
4. Death Row page 3 of 8
5. One Thing page 3 of 8
6. One Idea page 4 of 8
7. You @ 16 Years Old page 5 of 8
8. Spitfire Round page 6 of 8
9. State of The Struggle page 7 of 8
10. What Would You Say to a Bully? page 8 of 8

Location: San Quentin State Prison, Condemned Row, at Upper Yard Walk Alone Cages
Date: August 13th, 2012
Format: Handwritten by Xzyzst
Page Count: 9
Contributors: 2
Questions by: Xzyzst
Answers by: Lil Detroit

(The Tone)
It's hot and muggy under this metal top, the young homie from Detroit, Michigan just got to death row. 2nd cats are already clowning him, saying that he looks like Malcolm X, the Denzel Version. The jokes go on forever and all he can do is laugh. Today is a good day, as the non-stop comedy set a cool tone.

@Golgotha w/Young Detroit

XZ: Alright, another young prince of our people. New Generation Rising, yeah? Let's give back.

YD: Feelin' good, but it's crazy. So many fall and few are able to give back. Not just in general but also on a bigger scale, like this zine project.

XZ: That's pretty much what this New Generation movement is all about: giving back on scales not expected of us. Trip, I know you don't talk much. So good looking out right now. So, where did you grow up out there?

YD: I'm a traveler, but mostly, adult-wise in Oceanside, California. A small military city in San Diego, California.

XZ: Boooo, Chargers. Lol. Raiiiiiderrrrz! (YD smiling while chalkin' up the middle finger.)

(DIFFERENCES)
XZ: You spoke on your childhood in Detroit, Michigan a while back. I'm interested if you've experienced differences in, let's say, the inner cities. What's a difference that jumps out to you about or between California and Detroit?

YD: Truth be told, life is probably harder in Detroit given the fact that it's colder. So if you are poor, you're both hungry and cold. And plus, the police will just shoot you and leave your body there in the street. Racism is a huge problem there. Open racism like the South, not sneaky racism like here.

XZ: Glad you said that because they do be on some sneaky shit. But we see it.

YD: Oh yeah. As for my Lions, we beat y'all and had a better record this year.

(HOW YOUNG?)
XZ: Deal with you next season, potna. So how old were you when you got arrested on your way to death row?

YD: 24 years old.

(ONE THING)
XZ: Real talk: heard some education class will start soon. Just that may be another rumor. I hope not. This place is not like anywhere else in the world. Trip, name one thing that you wanted in your community that you never got.

YD: I hate to say it, but my fam was the reason as to why I had less of a better opportunity as a child. But as an adult, I became myself from my own poor decisions. But the teenage years could've used more steady attention and direction towards more than just, "Every black youngsta being groomed for low income jobs or failure, period."

(ONE IDEA)
XZ: Now that's valuable because you're right; you can't raise a kid in 2012 with 1950 expectations, and sounds like you was one of our young people that demanded more from a community that only had "parade days" to fill that void. We all love our parades, but culture goes way beyond one parade. Any thoughts of at least one idea to achieve this family/culture merge you wanted as a kid?

YD: Not enough unity in the household to pull it off. You see, it's not the youth that are lost; it's that our culture is missing or ending up on the streets of others. And now our respect level is low. For example, I'd rather see our parades to be re-routed to travel through the streets in the hood where real niggaz are and not on those big main streets where we get stopped and harassed by cops and others. Why do youth have to go outside of the hood to our own parade? It should run through our own hoods. Projects and streets we call home and invite the world to come.

XZ: I don't believe our community self-appointed leaders that sit on parade committees even think like that because they are bound to fellow city zoning regulations for functions like that. But now since you brought it up, things as simple as that would a lil' nigga a reason to participate, enjoy, feel a part of, and not destroy if that one adjustment was a reality.

YD: Let's keep in mind that so far we are only talking about a parade. Can you imagine what else can be done so that the children/senior citizens gap can be refilled by inner city youth that are not included in most community functions? And I don't want to go to those boring ass paroles that didn't cater to us. No way.

(YOU@16 YEARS OLD)
XZ: What would you say to a 16-year-old you right now after experiencing death row?

YD: That's a different kind of question because everything I know was, uhm, illegal. So I'd need a coach myself into finding something legal, get passionate about it, and go from there. That's a good one. I'm going to think on that one more tonight because it maybe a few more things that I would've responded to at that age. Like a show of love would've done good.

XZ: You just may be onto something. So maybe one day I'll get all of these interviews and document each answer to that routine question for us and see what that looks like through an adult eye. I've got a lot of these, and every time I ask that question, the response is never the same.

(SPITFIRE ROUND)
YD:Now that's something I'd like to read. You're talking about cats on death row?

XZ: Yep. Let's do a one word answer round. Well, it ain't gotta be one word, but at least try it. Cool?

YD: Ready.

XZ: For or against abortion?

YD: Against.

XZ: For or against the death penalty?

YD: FOR.

XZ: That's becoming a popular answer amongst the New Generations here. If you was asked to colonize another planet, would you go?

YD: NO.

XZ: For or against stemcell research?

YD: AGAINST.

XZ: Did you get a fair trial?

YD: Hell NO.

XZ: Is racism natural or learned behavior?

YD: Natural, no, learned. I thought you meant...

(STATE OF THE STRUGGLE)
XZ: Keep up, son. Lol. In your honest opinion, what't the state of the struggle?

YD: Racism still exists in the United States even more now in 2012 because our generation experiences racism on multiple levels, and not just in the form of slavery.

XZ: That was a bold statement that sadly can be proven. Is the death penalty punishment or revenge?

YD: Revenge, no doubt. Revenge ain't bad, man. I just don't think revenge should systematically affect someone that ain't got it coming.

XZ: That's 100, spirituality or religion?

YD: Spirituality, of course.

XZ: You surprised me with a few of those.

(WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A BULLY?)
XZ: If you had action at saying something to a bully, what would it be?

YD: That's not something I ever thought about on that side of it, but I'd keep it real and say:

"As a species, we do a lot of stupid things, and bullying is one of those things. Each person has to face themselves one day. I hope you face yourself soon."

XZ: I chose that as a random question for you because I wanted to gauge what kind of man you are becoming. So your answers says a lot about who you are now.

YD: We forget that bullies are often victims of other stuff as well, so I hope my words would hit that person on a human level and not as an attack. Because the attack thing has already become a problem by the time I had a chance to holler at 'em.

XZ: New Generation Rising.

The End!