Check It (2016) - full transcript

♪♪

♪♪

[ Bird cawing ]

[ Siren wails distantly ]

[ Car horn honks ]

♪♪

[ Honking ]

-Um, excuse me.

How much is this liquid liner?

Oh, it's $2?

[ Muttering indistinctly ]



Oh, these are cute.

I love these. How much are these earrings?

-$5. -I want these.

-Hey.

I'm about to, uh...

Hold on. Don't hate.

[ Dog barking ]

-You better watch out.

-We could be anywhere -- on the bus, on the train.

Somebody say, "You faggot," or "You gay."

Someone's just picking on you, someone doing something to you.

-No faggots.

-[ Laughs ]

-I've been stabbed 10 times.



[ Indistinct shouting ]

I've been shot.

[ Shouting continues ]

-You get beat the fuck up.

-Oh! [ Indistinct shouting ]

-You have no chance.

[ Shouting continues ]

-I would say you start hanging around us.

♪♪

-♪ Miss Fred, hello, world

♪ My world, you know

♪ You know

[ Chuckles ]

♪ Niggas on me because I'm fresh ♪

♪ Apple Bottom Jeans with the Bathing Ape hat ♪

♪ Keep hating, I'mma show you come last ♪

♪ I'm finna show my ass

♪ And get your pussies to count my cash ♪

♪ Niggas on me because I'm fresh ♪

♪ Baby Phat heels on, bitch, picture that ♪

♪ Cost me about 250, hold that

♪ All that flawgen, bitch, buy that ♪

-Bitch, where the fuck you at? ¿Qué pasa?

-When the Check It first started,

it was like 13 of us.

And Check It now is too many people to even count.

-[ Smooches ] Yeah, what's going on?

This me and my killer. You better know it. Get us.

-All right, dude. -Don't shit us.

-To be in the Check It, you have to have

a good sense of fashion -- wild, crazy, colorful.

To walk with us, you have to have a heart.

Who you believe that you could be

and you not gonna take no bullshit from nobody.

-What's going on?

[ Deep voice ] Oh, what did you just do?

Turn it off, please. -She said stuff like that.

-[ Normal voice ] I would not talk like that.

What are you -- [ Deep voice ] Why would you do?

Oh, no, wrong way.

[ Normal voice ] There it go. [ Chuckles ]

-A lot of these faggots that's coming up

look towards us role models and stuff like that.

A lot of my friends are role models to faggots

that they may not even know that they're role models to.

It was because of the Check It that these faggots

feel more comfortable within theyself to come outside.

We can go out in public and have fun

without being criticized,

because of, if they criticize us,

they know what the consequences can be.

-We carry mace.

Some people might carry a hammer, a knife.

A couple of us got a gun.

You know what I mean? That's about it.

[ Water running ]

-Me up in my two-piece looking so fucking fabulous, as always.

You see me in my two-piece?

You said I had butt hair?

-I see your balls. -You wish, ho.

[ Laughter ]

-The Check It is not what made me.

I've been this way.

I grew up in and out of juvenile facilities,

always locked up, foster homes, and stuff like that.

-So, who turned the air conditioner off?

-Tray. -Bitch.

-Huh?

-Tray turned the air conditioner off.

How you turn it on again?

-No, she don't need to touch nothing

before some shit catch on fire.

-Ooh, she popping up and stuff.

[ Laughs ]

There you go, bitch.

There's a fry stuck in your hair, Jodi.

Catch it. [ Laughs ]

Yeah!

-Why do you keep it on hot?

I want cold water, bitch, not hot.

In my life, to be a gay person waking up everyday,

it's a survival thing.

A lot of people fail. A lot of queens have failed.

They didn't make it through the hood.

They couldn't make it.

Things happen.

Only the strong survive

and that's all the girls you see now.

-♪ But you make me say, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

♪ Feels so good to me

♪ And you make me say la, la, la ♪

-It's like a family that I always wanted,

like, they're my brothers.

We sisters, like, we all sisters.

-♪ And you make me say, la, la, la ♪

-When we go out places,

we go out as one.

You go outside, if somebody bothering you, you call us.

I'll be there to fight for you.

When a call come along, we there for each other.

♪♪

-I have a girl Instagram, and I have a boy Instagram.

I have two people inside of me.

I have two lives that I live.

The girl, she's not going through no stress.

She's not going through no depression.

She live a happy life where boys accept her, boys like her,

boys into her,

boys say she's pretty, boys say she's nice.

Boys just really love who she is.

Versus Tray.

Oh, hell.

And that says it all.

The boy got mistreated a lot.

Growing up, like, I see other kids.

Their house be clean, and they eat at the table,

they get baths.

Our mother was on drugs bad.

What her choice of drug was crack cocaine.

I witnessed drug use or people that you don't know

sleeping over top of your kids,

sleeping next to your kids, and you don't know them.

No child should experience that.

And it was just...

Mm.

[ Pop music playing ]

I like it because I like the material

and I like the texture of the whole thing,

and I need to try it on, like, right now.

My father does not accept the fact that I'm gay.

When I dress up like a girl, when I just do certain things,

when I carry girl bags,

he'll say stuff like,

"Take that shit off," or "I don't like that girly shit."

This is the bra that I'm going to get, a 36C.

But there's nothing he could do about it.

He can't stop me.

It's me, not him.

He doesn't have to live this life.

I do.

♪♪

-♪ Mm-hmm

♪ Ever since I met you

♪ I've got colors in my heart

♪ I've never felt a love this good ♪

♪ And life has given me a brand-new start ♪

♪ You're the sun that lights up my day ♪

♪ The guiding star that shows me the way ♪

♪ Oh, my sweetheart

♪ You make colors out of rain

[ Explosion ]

♪ Whoa

[ Car alarms blaring ]

♪♪

-You saying this is a old whore body?

No, this is a nice, healthy, just serving you

all types of fishy fishy across the board body.

-The balls, they'd work for that.

-Yeah, I didn't say that you didn't have a nice body.

All I said was if you didn't still have muscles

that they like.

-Okay, is this nice and healthy, darling?

-I did not say nothing was wrong with your body.

It's just muscle, that's all I said.

I didn't say anything was wrong with you.

-I always knew I was gonna be a lady

when I was, like, young.

I had sex with a girl before,

but I just wasn't feeling it.

My mom, she just used to always say I need to dress like a boy,

I need to stop dressing like this and stuff.

Like, I just don't know why wouldn't she want me

to dress like this, like, I'm so hot.

-♪ You're the sun that lights up my day ♪

♪ The guiding star that shows me the way ♪

♪ Oh, my sweetheart

♪ You make colors out of rain

♪ Mm-hmm

♪ Oh, my sweetheart

♪ You make colors out of rain

-My mom used to be like, "You slow, you dumb,

you retarded, you can't read, you faggy-ass bitch."

Saying all this stuff in front of, like,

everybody on the block.

I got tired, and I...

and I threw her down a whole flight of steps.

So that's when, I guess, they got tired

and when they shipped me out to the mental home.

♪♪

My life has just got crazy.

I've been the one taking care of myself

since I was 14 years old,

so, like,

I had to learn how to live for myself.

I started tricking when I was 14 years old

and, um...

just so I could make a couple of dollars out there,

just to have some type of money in my pocket.

That's all.

How you gonna pay your rent if there's no money?

Like, what are you gonna do?

So...

♪♪

-A lot of these young people,

they just left out there by themselves.

People have given up on them

because of their sexual preference.

You know, they got kicked out of middle school.

So a lot of them can't read, a lot of them can't write.

Some of them are homeless.

A lot of times, just being black,

you have a lot of odds against you.

Being gay and black, that's a whole different ball game.

They in a world of their own.

♪♪

I've been told that I'm crazy.

I've been told I'm a fool, but, I mean, I don't think that.

♪♪

I was incarcerated,

and when I came home, I wanted to give back

and make up for all the wrong that I did.

So I did a lot of work in the community.

All you heard was "Check It, Check It, Check It."

They were fighting everyday.

And I'm like, "You talking about some gay people fighting?"

They was like, "Yeah, and they not scared to fight.

They're not scared to get stabbed

and not scared to stab back."

I was like, "Wow." I couldn't believe it.

And we started doing outreach so we can identify

who the key players are and we go after them.

We go after the leaders because they the ones

who make the change occur.

[ Funk music playing ]

-Ladies and gentleman in the nation's capital and beyond,

we are back at We Act Radio

with your host, Ron Moten, on the Other Side Radio

where every story has another side.

It's a sunny day in the nation's capital

as we try to make today a better day,

not for one people, but for all people.

Today I have a special guest, a young guy who we call Tray,

and this young man got involved in the first gay gang

that's documented in America.

So, Tray, give me a little background on yourself

and then how you got into the Check It gang.

-We started off, it was only a little bit of us.

We ain't had no beef, so nothing like that.

Other gay males started being with us, hanging around us

because of the safety,

and that's how we started, like, fighting everybody,

beefing with this person, this person,

because of taking up for other people.

-And what about, for instance, I won't say any names

because I'm not gonna incriminate anybody,

but what about making people drink bleach?

-It's crazy what you have to do

to live your life as who you are.

And living your life as a gay person in D.C.

where there's no self-defense, you can't carry this,

you can't carry that, no type of weapons at all,

what are you supposed to do when you have to defend yourself?

So that's when we started going, taking it to the next level.

-♪ We want the G-E-T-T-I-N-G-L-O-O-T ♪

♪ Say we running that show

-The gang Check It has mainly been known for hanging around

the Chinatown Metro stop,

fighting, snatching purses, and getting locked up.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

-A lot of people that's with the Check It

were forced in that direction.

-♪ Coppers, this, this hotter

♪ The cops getting loot and they create the fire ♪

♪ Stop me, touchy, touchy while I count this money ♪

♪ Been talking all year

-So Check It took over.

Took over every club, every hood,

going to clubs, fighting, beating up people,

be putting people in the hospital.

Going up in your hood, in your house, whatever we did,

and that's how we made our name, fighting for each other.

That's where we got our respect from.

-Yeah, I tell you, y'all were gangster with it.

Yo, you meet this crew and that crew and y'all get it in.

-Well, a lot of gays that's with the Check It

were pushed in that direction,

not having nowhere to go,

not having no one to count on and stuff like that.

But no one with the Check It is a thug.

-Like, you all say you are a family.

You look out for each other, you all sleep at each other's house

when you put out by parents

who won't accept you for who you are.

I mean, you fight for safety and protect one another.

So now, I want to talk about what we call

the Check It transformation

to get them in the fashion industry.

♪♪

One of the things that the Check It got,

like, is fashion.

They good at it. They stylish.

So when I asked them what they wanted to do,

it was like they eyes lit up.

Fashion. That's it.

You got to have a hook to get the fish, you know,

so that was the hook.

♪♪

-All right. Listen up. What I need you guys to do is

I need you guys to just kind of get together

so that we can go over the orientation packet.

My name is Jarmal Harris,

and I'm a fashion show producer.

I am the CEO and founder of the Jarmal Harris Project,

and basically, we train youth in performing arts

and fashion show production.

So this summer we are gonna put together our own production,

and we're gonna have a huge fashion show

at the end of the summer. Okay?

You'll be split up among several groups.

The supervisors are gonna be fun.

We're gonna give good energy.

Give good energy back and we'll have

a great time this summer, okay?

It's all in what you make it.

All right. So now what we're gonna do

is we're gonna separate into groups.

Stay here if you're not interested in technical theater.

-I'm doing fashion and design, honey.

Fashion and design.

♪♪

-And you gonna be in several groups. One is hair.

You're gonna go to hair. You're gonna go to makeup.

-Obviously, we teach you guys how to produce

your own fashion shows, how to network.

-Ah! -What's going on over here?

-Nothing. -I'm not gonna have it

with you guys. I'mma separate you guys.

-Okay. -Be as creative as you want.

These are your visionary boards.

These are your look boards.

And you don't have to have the whole picture.

Just cut that face out, whatever you feel.

-Come on, baby, beat it away.

For fashion, newbie.

-On Friday, we're having a photo shoot

and we have to pick the best look from hair,

the best look from makeup.

-So I just choose, like, this for wardrobe.

-And that's for hair. -Hair, and then makeup.

-Just tell us what's going on.

Listen up, everyone. -Can they go first?

-Come on, you first!

-So the concept of our board

is we've got our curls going on over here, you know.

And we wrote beauty because she's beautiful, okay?

And we took it back to the '60s with sis right here.

-The Check It has a reputation of

you don't mess with the Check It,

but it's my mission

to train these kids and show them.

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

You can be fierce and you can be professional at the same time

and be accepted in the right way, in a good way,

and not because you threatened somebody

that you're gonna kick their ass

unless they accept you.

-And he be so scared, too. -So scared.

-So scared.

-He's like, "Please don't beat me."

I had him by the dreads. -He always be scared.

-I'll record it. -He denies it, like, he like,

"I'm not coming around if Skittles coming around."

He's always thinking I want to be fighting him, bitch.

He's about to take his shirt off and bang this ass, girl.

-You can't act like that in a work environment.

Come on.

Don't be sorry. You don't have to be sorry to me.

I just want you to correct it so you won't do it again, okay?

-Yeah.

-His motherfucking attitude stinks,

like, his attitude gave me like -- Boy, I just got to --

-Cool down, go outside, take a break.

-Yeah, you know what I'm saying,

I got to take a cool break so I will be able to do it.

-Before you just lash out. -Before I just lash out on him,

because I will lash out on him, like,

if he keep thinking he gonna talk to me any kind of way,

I'm gonna lash out on his ass.

-They might look at us, like, oh, we from the hood

and they from Mount Vernon or something.

-"They so ghetto, ew." -Like, they look down on us.

-You know, we model and I done did celebrities' makeup.

-And when people do that it pushes my buttons

and it get me in attack mode,

like, don't think you're better than me

'cause I'mma show you that you're not.

And I'mma storm you and put your head in the ground.

-'Cause guess what? You could be better than me,

but you can't fight better than me.

I'll bet you that much.

♪♪

-I don't know my mother or my father.

Like, my mother didn't want no kids.

I mean, I know that she was on drugs at first

and then, I don't know,

she used to stay out and, like, never come home,

and, like...

I don't know where she probably got them at.

The Check It came along,

and we all just stuck together ever since then.

This some people from the Check It.

This Mike and this Tyran and this Chuckie,

he was Baby Check It. This Bubbles.

She was Dawn's Check It, and this Tyres.

A lot of people think that gays are weak

and that we can't fight, but I just got tired of it,

like, just letting people pick on me

and say what they want to me.

And so one day I just started fighting back,

and ever since then I've just been a fighter.

-Ready? -Yeah.

-All right. What's up with you?

-Nothing.

-See you got your eyebrows done.

-Please. I always got my eyebrows done.

-Skittles was so good with his hands

that his ass needed to be in the ring.

Don't use your talent to go to jail.

Use your talent to get you out the hood.

Go out there and be the first gay boxer

to openly say that you gay.

That's what you want to do?

If you want to be gay and fight, go get paid for it.

I've seen him knock some people out.

One minute he was quiet and the person,

they probably feel they were gonna knock out,

and then the next minute they on the ground knocked out.

But one thing I can say, he didn't start it.

He just finished it, you know?

And that's how most great fighters are.

They normally finish the fight.

-Come on, let's go. -Venom.

Chin down.

Good, two jabs. Go.

There you go.

Try it again.

Skittles, when he first came here, I mean,

he's out the closet with big bows on his head,

lipstick, flaming,

talking that bullshit.

Twist with it. Twist with it.

Come on, come on, twist.

Look, bang, bang, plant it.

Thank you. That was it. There we go.

Come on, work time. Let's go. Work. Go!

When you come in the gym and you're a gay man,

people do look at you as being weak.

That's how you want to fight? [ Laughs ]

People really want to fuck him up.

People want to beat his ass, like,

"Put him in the ring with me, put him in the ring.

I'm gonna" -- You know, real talk.

[ Laughing ] Hey!

Skittles is getting it!

The first time I put him in the ring, he told me

if somebody hit him high, he's gonna stab them.

How the hell you gonna do that?

You can't do that shit.

-Seven to hook.

-He got potential, though.

-One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

-He learns quick.

He hit hard.

-There you go.

That's right.

-Real hard.

He just got to learn the basics --

Hitting, getting hit.

And it don't take two days.

It don't take two months.

Might take a year, might take two, but you have to build it.

Somebody gonna go whoop your ass if you don't hit hard.

They're gonna walk through you. Come on.

There you go. Do it again.

It'll make a man out you.

I don't care how much faggot you is,

you will man up when you get out that ring.

Boy, let me see your hand, man.

You can't fight with no piercings,

all earrings and necklaces

and all that, when you're a fighter.

-When I get into it, like, I really be in it, like,

I'm not gonna stop unless,

you know, the police get me up off you

or unless one of my friends drag me off you.

That's the only reason I'm gonna stop,

or if you bleeding.

♪♪

-As you know, all of our facial structures are different,

and so what we want to do today

is we're gonna use the supplies that we have here.

You can use the gimp, whatever you want, use the markers,

and we're gonna create hair styles

to suit each other's face.

-Oh, I think I got the best artwork.

This is Bon Qui Qui and, like,

she just been through a rough time in life.

She really don't care about nothing or no one but herself,

and she don't care what nobody think about her look

because her look is fitting for her.

She just like her look.

She just a lonely old girl

in her own little world, living life.

Wow, me and her together.

We got it down.

-I need you to measure 36 inches and wherever it says 36",

I need you to cut.

-That's right. Just do it straight across.

We're gonna do a straight stitch,

and with the same seam allowance,

5/8 of an inch,

we're gonna do a zigzag stitch.

-You have the trim, but you need to coordinate it

with a nice print.

-A lot of people is not going to last through the summer.

People don't realize you have to work your way up to the top.

-This green button, push it down and give it some gas.

-I do think I'm gonna make it through the whole program

because I know how to separate myself.

-I like this.

-If you do not have a pen or pencil, grab a marker.

-Here, you need to do this.

All you're doing is just saying, "What would you like?"

Why you still here?

-Mind your business, Dee.

-Separate.

-I'm not even talking to him. -Please.

-Separate. -It's starting already.

And it's always got to be me. -Come on. Come on. Come on.

-Let me get away 'cause every time I come around you faggots,

it's always something.

[ Laughter ]

-You don't do nothing anyway but run your mouth.

-You damn right. -And make everybody a ass.

-Hey, that's 'cause I'm ghetto as shit.

-But that can't be -- when you really get a job or something,

you can't be ghetto-ed out on your job.

-Yes, I'm gonna be like... -And you're gonna be fired.

-...bitch, please!

-People are really scared of the Check It,

like, everybody I know, like,

they're scared to go down Gallery Place

'cause they're known for jumping people.

That's what I heard.

-The thing is, they don't fight one-on-one.

They jump, like, all them just fight.

I've seen that going down Gallery

when they put that girl in the hospital.

Like, you can't look at them wrong.

You can't do like this or nothing.

They be like, "What is you looking at?"

I be like... -"Nothing."

[ All speaking indistinctly ]

-Like, they probably got beat up because they were gay

when they were younger, so now they're like,

"I'm coming back to beat everybody up just because."

-Yeah, or they probably was getting bullied,

picked on, people didn't accept them,

so now it's like when people look at them now, it's like,

"Oh, I remember that look from when I was younger,

and people still looking at me like that."

So that's probably why they react like that.

-They act like females,

but the thing is they still dudes.

-Right, right. -They still got that muscle.

They might be skinny, but they still got that muscle.

They still dudes, so I don't -- Mnh-mnh.

♪♪

-♪ Hey, fool, what's good, nigga ♪

-♪ Hey, hey -♪ We're 38

♪ We're Trinidad

-[ Speaks indistinctly ]

♪ Drop it low

♪ She drop it low

♪ She drop it low, she drop it low ♪

♪ Drop it low

-♪ She drop it low -♪ Hey, she drop it low

-♪ You drop, drop, drop, drop, bounce back ♪

♪ Now make it drop, drop, drop, drop, bounce back ♪

♪ Now make it drop, drop, drop, drop, bounce back ♪

♪ Now make it drop, drop, drop, drop, bounce back ♪

♪ Now make it drop, drop, drop, drop, bounce back ♪

[ Indistinct conversations ]

-They just might steal her.

-Who? Who stole her?

-Don't let somebody steal her away.

-That's why I know her! Shut up!

[ Indistinct shouting ]

-I said, it's always like this.

Mind your business.

-Yes, that's your fight, your boy.

-You forgot to bring your shit? Very good.

-[ Speaks indistinctly ]

[ Indistinct shouting ]

[ Laughter ]

-When you live in a community where it's nothing but drugs,

half the people kicked out of school,

half the people not even raised by their mothers,

that's not easy to deal with.

-Fuck you!

-Children like these group of children,

they hold that pain in,

and when it comes out, it comes out in a bad way.

-Look at the girls still robbing stuff!

-Like other gangs, they have gone astray

and have done a lot of things

that we would consider violent, criminal.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

The minute somebody says something to them

or does something to them,

I've seen it, it just explodes.

[ Glass shatters ]

When somebody's bullied,

they become bullies at some point.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

In some case, they turn out to be the predators

instead of the preyed upon.

-How about this? -What?

-You supposed to knock me out, girl.

-But why you hit her man's back? -People gonna get jumped today.

Fuck that. I couldn't stay for that.

-I'm staying out here by my dolo,

holding my shit, double shacks.

Get me, my nigga.

-What he talking about fucking saying

if all of you want to fight with all this.

-For all of us, I wonder how we all gonna end up in the end,

living the ghetto life, doing the ghetto things.

-Excuse me, OJ, I thought you wanted the locks.

-Oh, she be back out to fight you.

Fuck you!

It's getting old.

We're all getting old.

[ Conversing indistinctly ]

I just guess I'm in a place in my life

where as though I'm trying to change from all that stuff

that I used to live.

I caught my first arrest charge from Check It.

It was assault.

I thought about it and I said, "This not me."

So it just made me realize

that that's not what I want to do anymore,

and I have been writing, writing, writing,

and ideas have been coming and coming.

The things that I'm writing about,

it's not just about me.

I get my ideas from my friends and what I see every day.

I want to put it out there for people to know what's going on.

That's what I want to do.

♪♪

-What you finna do?

-Nothing, just riding around, cooling.

-Staying out of trouble?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-You remember when you killed the turtle?

-Yeah, when I dropped the brick in the water.

-Mm-hmm.

-And the whole turtle shell cracked!

-And then you go inside, and I told you,

"Don't stick that key in the socket."

-In the socket. And I said I was driving the car.

-And knocked your drawers... [ Laughs ]

-Remember I was flinging the cat around?

I said, "Let's see if the cat can fly,"

but I get it to the wall... [ Both laugh ]

-The time that you jumped off the Dumpster, I told you,

"Don't get on the trash can." You broke your shoulder bone.

-That was a painful day. -Mm-hmm.

Because I thought you was telling a story

because you ain't want go

where we had to go back in the shelter.

-I remember them days,

the wild, crazy, fun days of Woodland.

-Yeah, sure.

Been three years clean in December

'cause I ain't counting my jail time.

I count the time back out on the street.

If I'd have count jail time,

I'd be going on five years clean.

But only thing I can do is take one day at a time,

you know, just do what I can do.

I can't take back what happened.

Back when I had to go through the thing

where they took them, you know, I really hurt it.

I just know I got to do something different.

I don't ever want to go back to where I was at.

You know, I like where I'm at, you know.

I did things that really hurt them,

but like I said, I was out of my control.

I was sick.

I ain't really had no family.

I came from Virginia to come out here.

Yeah.

If I could turn the hand of time, you know,

I probably would've did something different.

-Enough.

-But, you know, I can't take it back.

-All right. That's enough. I'm not putting her back.

No, no, no. That's it. That's enough.

Take your mic.

That is enough. That is enough.

No, for real time, I'm so serious. That's enough.

Take your mic. No more.

I don't want her to be all like that.

No, no, no, no, no.

That's enough.

Take your mic off.

♪♪

-Hey, where Skittles at, girl?

What you mean, he not in?

-Him and Pico around the corner.

-All right. What's you up to?

-Nothing. -All right. Thanks, boo.

I've had people who been around me dealing with them say,

"Fuck this. I'm not dealing with this.

I don't have the patience for it.

I'm not dealing with no unappreciative-ass children."

You know, that's what you dealing with.

The average person is not gonna do it.

But I always tell people,

they need somebody to plant seeds,

but at the end of the day,

they have to take the next step.

There you go right there, Alton.

-Door's open, man!

-Shit, we can bring the boxing ring in here.

It's empty in here. -It's okay, Bobby.

-What's up? -All right.

-Nothing. What's up with you?

-Are you serious? -Yeah.

I was waiting for you. What is you talking about?

-What was you waiting for me?

I was supposed to come out here and find you.

You ready? -Are you ready?

-Yeah. Come on.

Fuck you up.

Me and you walking together anyway.

-I don't even know what to say. -Yeah.

[ Conversing indistinctly ]

-How the fuck do you have me

come all the way up here to check where you was at? Huh?

-♪ I want to dance, dance, shake and finger pop ♪

♪ I want to bump up and boogie until I can't stop ♪

-My guess is I grew up around so many girls,

and it just, like, I took on they tendencies and stuff,

and, like, I just always been flamboyant and gay.

-♪ I want to dance

-It's just who I am,

and, I mean, ain't nobody gonna stop me from being me.

-♪ I want to dance

♪ I want to dance -Mark, set, go!

-♪ I want to party, party, party all night ♪

-He's a natural talent. Most boxers,

you have to get them in the type of shape he's in.

-♪ I want to party every early sunlight ♪

-Right now, he believes in himself,

but once he gets in that ring

and sees he's better than everybody else

or can be better than everybody else,

then I think the sky is the limit.

-Get set!

Go!

Here he comes! -♪ I want to dance

♪ I want to dance -[ Laughs ]

♪ I want to dance

♪ I want to dance

-That's the first time he really ran.

-♪ I want to dance

♪ I want to dance

-What you think the color of your boxing wear,

what's that gonna be like?

-You know how, like, you know, a clear umbrella is,

like, a clear umbrella that's plastic?

-Yeah. -It's like that material,

but it's gonna be, like, a pink, like, a highlight pink.

-And what about your name?

Is it just gonna still be Skittles?

-It's Diamond, Diamond Mafia.

-[ Laughs ]

You get on my nerves.

So why you don't just dye your hair or you want --

You just gonna --

-I'm gonna have my long Brazilian.

-I'm talking about, like, a regular haircut and dye it.

-No. I want Brazilian.

-What if somebody grab your hair?

-You can't grab hair in boxing,

and I'm could put my hair in a ponytail.

-What if it's too long?

-That's why its in a ponytail, girl, so it --

Yes, his hair is flowing.

You better serve him while you boxing.

Even if I get knocked out, they be like,

"At least his hair was pretty."

[ Indistinct conversations ]

♪♪

-Put your hands up.

-Good. Hey, good.

Good. There you go!

-♪ Laura, can't you give me some time ♪

♪ I got to give myself one more chance ♪

♪ To be the man that I know I am ♪

♪ To be the man that I know I am ♪

-When he first came here, the kids was whispering

and all that, "Oh, he a faggot."

But really, they don't want to box Skittles

because of he's gay.

-Go. -Come on.

Give me the one-two.

Tap, tap. Fast. One, two, three, four.

-"I'm not gonna get beat up by no one that's gay," you know?

That's the first thing they think anymore.

But I keep telling people, "That's what he do.

That's, like, a hobby of his.

When he wake up in the morning, he's a man!"

[ Man grunting ]

Skittles is from the street,

from a area that's well known you have to fight.

You have to be rough.

I can relate to it.

I've been shot three times,

so I know how to approach them guys.

I know how to deal with them.

I know how to talk to them.

There's an amateur tournament coming up, right?

And I'mma let you know all attention gonna on you.

I'm just letting you know that.

They gonna be like, "Huh? Who I got to fight?"

You already know that they gonna think you soft

because your style or whatever.

You got to shock the world, man. Huh?

You got to shock the world, Slim.

Up under all this little lace shit,

all this bullshit is a man up behind there.

You understand what I'm saying?

I just -- Man, you don't even know how I want to walk up

in the motherfucking tournaments.

And you got your little heels on!

[ Both laugh ]

I be, like...

Let's go. One, come on.

Two, come on.

Three, four, five.

Okay! Seven.

Eight. Nine.

[ Laughing ] Shit! Ah!

Ah!

Okay!

-Thought you was about to drop.

That's the only reason why I stopped.

-I'm just glad to be where I'm at,

to give back to people like Skittles.

That's why I think I could save -- I could save you.

You know, but I just need your undivided attention.

I said, "Man, you know what? At the rate you going,

you gonna be dead in two or three years."

I mean, he really have a 50/50 chance of living

with the ganging, banging,

with probably having unprotected sex.

I said, "Man, with the shit that you in is death, period.

You better change. You better go on another road

'cause the road you going down is dark, and it's thin."

♪♪

-♪ But I can't help but to think about it day and night ♪

♪ I want to make that body rock ♪

[ Sings indistinctly ]

-You off of K Street, right?

-♪ Show you how to love

[ Singing indistinctly ]

♪ Tonight, I'm gonna put my body on your body ♪

♪ Promise not to tell nobody

♪ 'Cause it's about to go down

-We're tired.

♪♪

-I'm 16, and my name is Shahar,

but I like to be called Niyah.

I started the prostitution on K Street and stuff

because everybody's like, "Come on the beat.

Come on the K Street."

I was like, "All right. I'll come."

[ Hip-hop music playing ]

One person. I didn't want to suck a dick at all.

He'd be like, "I'll give you $70 if you suck my dick."

I was like, "All right. Cool. Give it here."

-Boo-yah.

-Niggas, they like to try and play and all that,

but they must know I'm with the Check It.

I got something for your ass.

-I'm little, so I don't like getting thrown around.

You can get, like, hurt and stuff.

Like, you can get raped, or you can get stabbed.

That's why I have that.

-He wanted to take us to his house and stuff, and I was like,

"I ain't going to no playhouse where he can shoot us up

and leave us in the bedroom, put us some pillow cases

and shit, cut us up and leave us in trash bags,

get on a ship, and take us out to the Pacific Ocean."

-Baby Check It's for younger girls like me,

people who are like 13, 14, 15, getting into the community,

and they need somebody, like, girls like a family.

-Gary.

-I only go when I'm with somebody.

When I go, I go with Gary all the time.

It's my best friend.

-Don't give me those...

-Like, I've never came without her.

I love Gary.

♪♪

-♪ Let's get it straight, so what if I'm bad ♪

♪ This nigga trying to dig me out ♪

-They Check It.

They are people that been through this.

They know what we do.

A prostitution gang, they been there.

They say, "Don't get in no car like this. Don't do this.

Don't do that. Don't wear that. Don't have that."

They help you with shit.

-Hey, man.

-Party town!

-Bitch! Where your dicks at?

Where them -- Where them dicks at?

[ Laughs ]

When I'm on K Street,

it's just all fun and games.

♪♪

My girls, the Check It, like, we are the life of the party

when we come down here, so everyone loves us.

-Hey!

Give me a cigarette. You have a cigarette?

You have a cigarette?

-Courtney.

-Ben, what's that?

You got a nice haircut.

That's a nice fade.

Driving!

I just called it in clear for the girls,

just chill on the block,

messing around with everybody,

talking to everybody.

-I got a condom for you, baby.

Come on, baby. Come on.

How much is your donation?

I'm the girl you want. I'm the total package.

I'm 5'7", 163, brown eyes, coffee-cocoa complexion.

I got big thighs. They full of surprise.

Girl, the nigga ain't want to bow down.

Girl, the nigga ain't want to bow down.

Niggas bow down!

♪♪

-Okay. Sorry. We can leave.

Okay. Here he come.

Okay, bye, baby.

-See you later, cutie.

-Bye. -You have coin?

-Okay.

[ Officer speaking on loudspeaker ]

-Okay, we can't go this way, girl.

We cannot go this way.

Girl, we have to go this way.

I just get my money and move on a buy me a pair of shoes

or buy me a -- You know?

It's nothing.

Suck it. -Oh, she headed our way.

-Yeah, that's fine. -Oh, okay.

-Okay. -Get out off the street.

-You don't got to tell me twice.

I want to continue prostitution,

but when I get older, I'mma stop.

I am.

I know by the time I get to 11th or 12th grade,

I'mma have my shit together.

I'mma be straight. I'mma be fine.

I'mma be good. I'mma be...

I'mma be fine.

I keep telling myself that.

I'mma be fine.

♪♪

[ Train whistle blows ]

-The whole purpose of today is

we are gonna do a photo shoot for the flyer of the show.

Okay?

We have a professional model coming in,

a professional photographer coming in.

You all play a factor in this,

making sure that the shoot runs smoothly and that it looks good.

All right. Right now, Sharone, what are you doing right now?

-I'm putting under-eye concealer.

-So, you guys, what did you guys just learn just now?

What is he creating?

-Highlights. -Good.

Okay.

♪♪

Hannah, are you ready?

[ Speaking indistinctly ]

Use the brush.

-Where my model? -Let's go, model.

♪♪

-Work it, guys! What does she feel?

Yes, fabulous! Here! Turn your head here.

-She's turning her eyes right here.

Right there. Right there. -Ooh, hold that!

I'm doing a high-fashion look on her, you guys.

Okay? Make sure this is secure.

We need more bobby pins on this side.

-You could poke some in too, baby.

-Come on. You help us too, Day Day.

You guys, look at this.

What we're doing's super quick and super easy.

People in Paris get paid a lot of money,

thousands of dollars,

just to do these type of looks really quickly.

♪♪

-Bam! Bam!

-There she go! There she go!

Don't go nowhere! Don't go nowhere!

-Yes, darling, baby, that is sexy, honey!

-Lean forward, baby, like you about to kiss the camera.

Diamonds is a girl's best friend.

-Diamonds are forever, Tyler, yes.

-You about to be forever.

-You have a brother.

You decide to go get your brother.

I'll fuck your brother up.

I just saw your brother at the station.

He look -- Mace him for what?

I'll beat the shit out of him, girl.

-You can not beat my brother up.

My brother is 26 years old, baby.

You cannot beat my brother. Let's be clear.

-You're a mess, bitch. You are a mess.

-You want to beat what I got, but you want what I got!

But you want what I got! -Yes, I want a pussy.

I wouldn't want to look like that little pussy.

-Go out here. Day Day, you have to control --

You have to learn how to control your anger.

I'm talking to you. -I can control my anger.

-So turn around to me when I'm talking to you.

-If I had a anger problem, baby, I would've jumped up,

and I would've smacked her. It's no talking to me.

I would've smacked her.

-No, it's the difference between you saying

you can control your anger and being disrespectful.

-I could control my anger. -Okay. I understand that.

-I wasn't being disrespectful. I'm grown.

-I came in and you were cussing in the hallway.

-To her! -It doesn't matter!

-She's cussing at me! -It doesn't matter!

-I'm grown! Like, I'm not gonna hold my tongue for nobody.

-Sometimes, you have to walk away from situations.

I'm trying to help you as much as possible.

I want the best for you. I see potential in you.

I just don't want you reverting back to your old ways.

You have to understand that sometimes you have to control --

-All right. All right. All right. All right.

All right. All right. Because I'm gonna get mad,

and then I'm gonna fuck her up when she come outside.

So I don't want to talk about it.

I'm gonna fuck her up anyway when she come outside.

-You're not gonna do anything to her, Day Day.

-Yes, I am gonna do something to her.

-No, you're not! -Yes, I am. Yes, I am!

-You are not! -Nobody not gonna stop me.

Who you think gonna stop me? What?

-You're not gonna do anything to her.

-Watch me drag that ass.

♪♪

-So ain't nobody seen Skittles.

I'm wondering what he doing, but he promised me

that he was gonna get back in the gym,

and I been thinking about it.

So right now, I'm like, "Let me go see where the fuck he at."

God damn, man.

I mean, Skittle was just getting into it.

You know, I understand the break situation, but God damn.

If you want to do it, you have to, man.

You have to want to do it.

Skittles in here?

-Who? -Skittles.

-Boy, stop. -Oh, yeah?

Oh, yeah?

Oh, yeah?

What the fuck is up with you, man?

-Chilling. -Huh?

-Chilling. -Chilling, huh?

So I got to do this?

I got to come get you, huh?

This is fucked up, Short. -What?

-Last time I see you, you supposed to be --

I say, "What you going to do?" You say, "I'm coming back.

I'm doing this. I'm doing that." -I was doing it.

-What the fuck? -I don't know.

-Look at you smoking, drinking, doing all the bullshit.

See, you know for a fact that you got to cut

all that shit out,

and you got to bow down, and you got to work.

And they got a couple of tournaments coming up, man.

I'm gonna put you in them.

I'm telling you the truth.

What you want to do?

-I'll go. -Huh?

-I'll go. -Because I'm just telling you,

if you do it, I'm with you, Skittles.

-All right. -I'm telling you 100,

I'm with you, man.

I'mma take care of you.

That's all. I'mma take care of you.

I'mma get your confidence level where it supposed to be.

I know it get rough, and it get rough for everybody.

Listen to me. Money-wise. You be wanting to get high.

You be get drunk, want to party, all that shit.

This the time to man up.

So, man, fuck that shit.

I'm going to the gym tomorrow.

I'm in the gym tomorrow.

That's what I'm saying. You heard me. Fuck y'all.

Now, if you shake my hand on this, you in.

Now, what you going to do?

All right. All right. You in?

-Yeah, I'm in. -My man, that's all I'mma say.

All right.

I be in touch with you. -All right.

-My man. All right.

I was kind of excited to see the old boy

up to his bullshit again.

I'm just gonna give him two weeks,

and if he don't,

I got to move on to the next.

Man, I'm trying to save the young man's life.

That's the top of the story,

and that's the bottom of the story.

All that other shit between don't even matter.

Just trying to save his life.

♪♪

-I'm going to 14th and K Street.

♪♪

When you come down on K Street,

that's where all of the acceptance is, for real.

For real.

But it's crazy.

First time that we ever, you know, did it,

it wasn't prostitution yet

'cause we didn't know what we was doing.

Dress up like a girl. You went outside.

Everybody's trying to offer you money.

Everybody talking to you,

judges and lawyers and doctors.

You just like, "Okay," and then you just fall into it.

When you pushed on the streets, your parents not taking you

to no football games, no basketball games.

You not going to no after-school program, going to the library.

No. It's not that.

No one teach you nothing.

You learn from each other in the streets.

That's what after school was.

So being with the Check It,

we always stuck together no matter what.

Mm, girl.

-What's up, girl?

-What's up with you? -Nothing.

I got into a client's car.

We went to our spot up the block a little bit,

and he backed into the alleyway.

But when he backed in, he backed in so

where it's though that my car door cannot open any more.

-So basically he was not gonna let you out.

-It was a brick wall right there,

so there was no climbing out.

-So you still couldn't get out. -Exactly.

I had to actually fight my way back out of the car.

So it's a really dangerous area for you to be in,

trying to persuade a man to pay for something

that he can actually take from you.

-Exactly. You would never see that person again,

so if you go to the police, what the police gonna do?

-They can't find him because --

-Like, they would never tell you their real name.

Like, they would never tell you their real name.

I mean, that's just crazy.

This can't last forever because once you get to a certain age,

you're not viable no more.

So I'mma go walk off and go try to get some money, girl.

-Okay, boo. -It was good seeing you,

and I wish you luck on everything, okay?

-Okay. Thank you.

I just want people to understand

and know what is really going on.

♪♪

I don't ever want to do it. I never wanted to do it.

It's just a choice that you make,

and it's something that you did.

You put a wig on. You go out there.

You sell your body, and you make money to survive.

I wouldn't want this lifestyle for anybody.

That's nothing that nobody should want for their self.

I want better.

I just want better.

♪♪

♪♪

-Good.

Right, left, right, left.

Good.

Keep the energy up!

Come on. You ain't gonna come to my rehearsal.

Come on. -I'm trying to keep my name.

-You so kinky. Focus on these ladies

'cause you gonna help me with these ladies.

-She walks -- Damn. I'm sorry. I live for her legs.

She walks in and, hey.

-We have a show that's less than a week away, okay?

We have over 30 costumes that have to be made

for the show for the dancers,

and this is just banana skirts

that you guys are working on now.

You have to do a lot of rhinestoning next week.

It's a lot of stuff that needs to be done,

so I need everyone to be focused.

And y'all need to separate. One go over here.

One go over here. -Oh, see, there you go.

-Can you throw this away for me?

-I ain't even say nothing, and I --

-You didn't say anything, but I'm separating you.

-Act like we were kids there, so I just ignore it.

-See, there you go. Now the show starts.

Over there, please. Thank you.

Come on. I'm a week away from the show.

I don't have time for children.

-Nobody can judge me, bitch.

Can't no one judge me, bitch.

They just need to understand, like, I'm all hormonal and shit.

I'm pregnant and shit. What the fuck?

-Starting Friday, if it's anyone disrupting the class,

if anyone that's holding us up, you're out.

Don't get upset if I just send you home.

You're terminated. It is what it is.

-Joel, I can't pick no bedazzles up

'cause my nails ain't gonna allow me.

Anything else you need me to help you with, I got you,

but the bedazzles on the floor, my nails...

-Let's go. Come on.

You're holding us up.

[ Laughter ]

-Yeah, my name is Dr. Lorraine.

I'm checking for breast cancer.

-Oh, hey, Beads. I was calling you this morning.

I need to get high as a motherfucker.

-Watch your mouth. -I'm sorry.

-You don't do what you got to do.

You come, and you giggle, and you laugh.

You sit down, and you don't do --

You really don't do nothing else,

and I'm telling you that because I'm your friend.

I'm letting you know how I feel.

-I guess. My girls, they feel like it's funny.

They just feel like it's funny. That's on them.

You need to take that problem up with them.

Tell them to stop giggling.

-But you're not doing anything to better yourself.

-I am! -No, you sure --

No, you sure -- Alton,

you have to be a leader sometimes.

-Sometimes, you have to come down for --

[ Indistinct shouting ]

-Do not talk. You're supposed to be a leader.

We're not taking stuff,

and we're letting her know she's wrong.

-Bitch, you want me, or we can go outside, bitch!

-Hey, watch your mouth!

-I don't know what the fuck you talking about!

-Fuck you, bitch! Fuck off.

-She always want to resolve in fighting,

and all she got to do is swing, bitch.

I ain't got no problem.

But after today, I'm through with it.

I'm so serious. I'm through with it.

I can't be around bitches who don't want better

for they self 'cause then you drag me down.

I want better. I want a high-school diploma,

GED in August when I start back to school.

I want a job. I want my own place.

But I'm just gonna be the first one to step out and say it.

I'm through. Bye.

That's not cutting it.

♪♪

I think a lot.

A lot of places like this make you think.

You could just clear your thoughts.

Look.

Caterpillars.

I used to want to be a veterinarian.

I like animals.

People would rather hurt them or make them fight each other,

and that's not how it's supposed to be.

I like big cats, like, lions and cheetahs and stuff.

I love they survival skills.

That's the only thing I love, how they survive in packs.

That's beautiful.

I have survived through a lot.

Parent-wise, a father figure and a mother figure,

like, I never had for real.

My father chose to be a jailbird.

And then my mother with the drugs was taking over her,

so she couldn't do nothing but get high.

She was killing herself.

Like, I just left home,

and I just never returned ever since that day,

and that was it, like, when I was like 12, 13.

It's like the only person I felt that loved me was gone,

so it's like there was no more love there.

That's why I never show no one my weak side.

But that's why when I cry, I cry alone to myself.

It's like Superman.

You know, once people found out that he was allergic

to kryptonite, they used it against him.

Every time he got strong, they made him weak.

So, like, I'd rather not have a weakness

'cause that means nobody can have nothing to taunt me about

or nothing to throw in my face.

♪♪

♪♪

-It's been a rough month for me.

I've done been slept in my car,

beef with my wife and got divorced,

all that shit, lost my house.

You get into your moments once you're going through

your bullshit where it don't matter.

Fuck that. Fuck that positive shit.

[ Gulls cawing ]

There ain't no fucking food no more.

Leave!

Leave!

You probably taste good as shit.

Chop the shit out your little ass.

I'm wondering where Skittle's at, man.

We got to going.

We got shit started, then he disappeared.

So I'm like, "What the fuck is going on?"

But motherfucker need to get back in the gym

because it could save his life.

Don't let no one motherfucking bump in the road slow your roll.

Don't let one punch knock you down.

That's the end of the fight?

Nah, we got 12 motherfucking rounds, baby.

Mm-mm.

♪♪

Whoo!

♪ La, la, la, la

♪ La, la, la

If we get the fuck up and keep fighting,

man, you're gonna be like, "Goddamn, I'm winning

this motherfucker, and I just got" --

You understand what I'm saying? I'm just telling you truth.

Okay.

I mean, they --

It's really done.

Fuck.

♪♪

-Hi! -Where's everybody at?

-Hi, baby. Hi, sweetie.

How you doing?

Mommy's home.

Honey, honey, honey, honeybee.

-♪ I run this fucking club

♪ I run this fucking club

♪ I run this fucking club

♪ Run this club, I run this club ♪

♪ Bottle service on deck, niggas know who I be ♪

♪ I turnt up in the club for a late night redder ♪

♪ Can never do this like this, motherfuckers see my ♪

♪ Watch me throw it back and knock a nigga out ♪

-Baby Check It original.

-I'm the Check It original.

-Elevator up.

Elevator -- ooh. [ Laughter ]

-All craziness.

Everybody is cray cray out here tonight.

For the past few years that we've been coming down here,

this is like an everyday thing.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

-We got jumped by these bitch-ass niggas.

Man, fuck these bitch-ass niggas.

[ Man shouting indistinctly ]

-Shit just went down big.

Yeah.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

-Somebody jumped my friends.

Jump take on them at the H&M.

People always wanting to fight.

And so, especially when they get down here,

so, well, this is where all the drama at.

-Move, move, move, move. -Back up.

-Come back this way. -Yeah, they passed out.

-Somebody go get her some water.

-Oh, my God. -Drink it.

-Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up!

-Y'all can't pick them up yet. -Yeah, you got to wait.

-Man, he passed out, boo. He can't breathe.

[ Siren chirps ]

-Everyone. -Where are the keys?

-Hey, guys, step back.

Step back. What happened?

Yo, dude.

Hey, hey, can you hear me, though?

-Ugly-ass bitch! Fuck!

Knock me down for shit. Move that shit!

[ Indistinct shouting ]

-Start walking! -Following me!

You can't touch me! They're recording.

God damn.

Put your hands on me. Record it.

Spray me. Record it. Record it. No, spray me.

Record it.

-Start walking.

-Fuck you, bitch! -Tavon.

-Bitch, fuck you. -Tay, just calm down.

-This is my friend right here! I'm not gonna --

My friend right -- Okay? You a bitch.

-Our friend is laying on the ground.

-Fuck y'all! Fuck them!

-Sis, sit down! -No, fuck them!

No, fuck! No, sir, he be like "I jumped" -- fuck them bitches.

-It's okay, sis.

For a glass of water.

-Sis, just pay them no attention

before they just try to lock you at.

They not worth you going to jail.

-What you doing still with talking?

Bitch asses don't do shit! I don't give a fuck anymore.

I don't give a fuck what you do tomorrow.

-Come on! Come on! -Fuck you, bitch!

[ Shouting indistinctly ]

[ Speaks indistinctly ]

-Day-Day and Sam, all of them got jumped.

They just got jumped,

beat up by a group of boys.

I don't know how this is gonna go.

I just know it's gonna be a wild summer then

because now this is a beef.

-Let me tell y'all. The new boy just -- He take off.

Bang, bang. It's, like, 20 of them

going to jump at once, cut that off.

Young-ass boys, though.

Cunts had me by my hair.

-Tray punked off of me, I was saying, stole my ass.

Boom.

I didn't know enough to punch them back.

I was surprised.

♪♪

-Some of my friends still try to figure out why I'm so angry.

Like, I get mad fast.

Anything ticks me.

I'm like a ticking bomb.

-I said, "What?"

-That's because I done seen young gay men

who have been murdered,

who've been killed,

queens found in woods,

queens found in cars and trash cans,

lot of kids out here on the streets like I was,

not even here today, but I am.

Nobody can hurt me.

There's nothing that you would do to me that haven't been done

before to me.

♪♪

-Hello, and thank you for calling D.C. Rape Crisis Center.

If you have reached this message,

we are busy assisting other callers.

-I was calling because I'm looking to find some answers.

I was raped, and I took a report and everything,

but no one have yet to contact me

or say anything to me and I just want to know,

what's going on? What should I do next?

-Let me get you the general number,

and they should be able to

direct you to the Justice Center.

-Okay.

[ Line ringing ]

-You know, as far as rape and stuff,

it's definitely not right away.

Like, we usually have heard, like, a couple of months before.

The only thing that you can do is

contact the district of the police officers

and get the information to ask them.

-I just did, and they gave me this number.

[ Line ringing ]

-We're sorry.

The number you have reached is not in service.

-You know the person who did it?

-That -- I don't know his full name.

-You have to have a first and a last name at least

in order to file anything.

You can't tell me who,

so I will have to deny your application.

-That is crazy.

Okay. Thank you.

-Okay. Mm-hmm.

[ Receiver clicks ]

-If you get raped by somebody that you don't know,

how can you give up a first and last name to a person?

That just doesn't make sense.

[ Line ringing ]

He held me in the house, wouldn't let me out,

kept pulling on my clothes.

He kept dragging me back.

I tried to get out.

He pulled me down in his basement.

And...

that's pretty much it.

I don't want to talk about it.

♪♪

-The Check It,

they had obstacles that most people don't have.

Normally, people have someone to turn to,

whether it's a mom, a teacher, coach, right?

They didn't have anybody, so they lean on each other.

That's what a gang can be.

-The golden girls. -It's a family.

When nobody else was there, they had each other.

I think most of them know that time is running out,

but they see a glimpse of hope now.

And this hope has opened a window for them

that they try to crawl through.

♪♪

In this case, you're dealing with something special.

You're dealing with something dangerous.

And you're dealing with something with

a lot of potential,

potentially great or potentially disastrous.

♪♪

[ Indistinct conversations ]

-Move to the music. Move.

-Hey, hey, hey.

-I just need everybody to listen to their supervisor today.

Do what is told of them,

and let's have a fabulous show.

♪♪

-The ruffle against that, it looks like a dress.

So Lil Wayne in there, we got to find somebody

that has an iron, too.

-They on this side. I think they're on this side.

-No, I know Michael right here on this side.

-Oh, Mike on this side? -Can I get --- Girls,

soon as you're all finished with that, come here?

-I have to find Jarmal,

and it is not even -- That smell is...

-You said we need to get these out of the way

because these are the first ones.

-Her dress is ripped.

-Who problem is that?

-We've been here since like 10:00 this morning.

I've been busting my asshole.

Excuse my French, but I've been working all day.

-Use your indoor voice... -I am.

-...because there's another venue up here.

-Okay.

How are you?

Yeah. -Yeah, like that.

-I'm professional.

♪♪

-Show time, people.

Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together

for the 2013 Jarmal Harris Project.

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

-I need them girls to hurry up.

-Just put it on.

-He want y'all into -- y'all done with Cecil?

-Line up, boys! Line up!

♪♪

-Oh, that shimmer stuff making me dizzy.

-Here, I need another safety pin.

-They got to back up, back up.

-Let's go.

-Go, go, yeah, yeah, yeah.

♪♪

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

-Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for coming out.

I really appreciate all of you guys

for supporting the Jarmal Harris project.

As you all know, this is my seventh year working

with the young people of the District of Columbia.

Some of you know that I work for Cesar Galindo.

He's a wonderful guy.

He has allowed me to bring five young people from our program

to assist him with New York Fashion Week.

[ Cheers and applause ]

One of the special people that I am bringing

to New York City with me,

let's give it up for Day-Day!

[ Cheers and applause ]

-I worked hard for this, this moment.

I worked pretty hard for it.

I'm very proud of us, of all of us.

-It's no jealousy.

I just think we should have both went

'cause we both did the same shit.

But it's okay 'cause I'm still fabulous.

And congratulations, Dalton.

-Thank you, baby. -It's all that.

-Thank you.

♪♪

-♪ Jar of plastic in the sea

♪ You're made of matter, and you matter to me ♪

♪ All the stories no one reads

-Ain't we just, like, fucking hot?

We're in New York City.

Oh, look at the subway.

It's so different.

-Bitch, you better go jump off a bridge.

-♪ Because the world is small

♪ But it's in command

♪ And the view is just all undistributed ♪

-What's up? -Look out the window.

Look at our view. Like, I'm dead serious.

Look at our view.

-Ooh, we get our own bed.

-Unh-unh!

-Fuck that!

[ Laughter ]

-This is cool!

This is cool!

This is cool.

-Too much.

-Oh, look at the viking.

Oh, look, bitch, over to your left, your left, Day-Day.

-Once again, just a quick reminder,

you gonna be steaming, you gonna be helping,

whatever they need you to assist with.

The main thing you're doing is the quick changers.

Get the girls in the garments, steaming, the whole nine yards.

Okay?

♪♪

-All right. You guys good back here?

You good? All right. Cool.

-Pull up this little flap here. There we go.

Get her ankles. Her ankles are ashy.

-I'm Cesar. Thanks for coming. -Oh, my God. You're welcome.

-Hey, thanks for coming, guys. -You're welcome.

♪♪

-No, this is too long in the front, short in the back.

-Anita, this isn't working.

It's better if it's straight down flat.

♪♪

Stand against the wall over here.

Go that way. They're gonna place you all.

♪♪

-♪ Entertainer

♪ Entertainer

♪♪

-[ Speaks indistinctly ]

-Bae, that is bae.

-Bae in a cup?

-[ Speaking indistinctly ]

-Well, we'll have to try to see if Cesar will allow me to bring

interns again for next season. -Oh, okay.

-Yeah. -Cesar liked us. He said,

"Y'all move pretty fast. I like that."

-Everybody was like, "Can we have y'all?

We want y'all. We want y'all to stay.

Can y'all live here?"

-Well, that's a good thing, right?

-Three, two, one.

-Oh, that is the horse.

-I don't know about you, but this stuff is exciting to me.

-It was something that I would enjoy to see again someday

somewhere down the line in the future.

-A VIP pass to everything. -Was amazing...

-Yes, that was -- -...to get VIP to everything.

-Now, that's what you call hat. That what you call on the top.

-'Cause she enjoyed herself. -And she did, too.

Absolutely, sitting up in the sky box.

-In the sky box... -That's fine.

-...drinking a little water champagne.

-Ooh.

Ooh.

-Oh, girl, about to get hit by a taxi.

-A lot of people that's with the Check It,

they feel in they mind

that they can't be nothing or make it.

But look where I'm at now,

so I proved them wrong about that.

-Yes!

-Coming here really frustrated me a lot

because when I get back there,

I still have to go back to the problems.

It just puts on pause.

When I get back there, I have to play it over again.

You ain't gonna make nothing in D.C.

-Yeah, you ain't.

-'Cause it's nothing but trouble there.

But who knows the future?

I can't say I'mma move away

because what if my mama die today or tomorrow?

You don't know what could happen.

That's why I never talked about --

I never predict the future.

I'm not gonna plan for tomorrow.

I'm not gonna plan for the next day after tomorrow.

I'mma just live for today.

♪♪

-So, how is everything going in school now?

-Good. I go back the second week of September,

but me being in a gang

and me being around all these people

that I know thinking about nothing

but doing negative things, that is not helping me.

So what good is it doing me to actually go to school...

-Right, and come back. -...and try to better myself,

but I'm coming back home...

-...to the same thing. -...to a mess?

That don't even make sense.

-30 people been shot in 10 days.

-Where is that? -All over the city,

like, southwest where Skittles live, six people were shot.

-Wow. -So it's heating up again,

so you in the right place, man.

I'm just happy, man, to see you moving forward.

One of the things I told you, there's only a few people

who are leaders and trendsetters,

and once you set the model and the path,

everybody else follows.

You know, you are somebody who is genuinely needed,

and a lot of times, you plant seeds

and people won't take them right away.

They won't grow, but they don't forget what you tell them.

Just don't stop, man.

-Well, we're headed to the convention center

to see Mr. Duke Buchanan,

who gave Skittles some of his undivided time

when he was pursuing his boxing career.

Duke up in Hayes, so we gonna see

if he can do the George Foreman, Bernard Hopkins thing

or is he gonna be over the hill?

We gonna go show the brother some support

since he supported us.

Doogie woogie.

What's up, black man? -Hey.

Where Skittles at?

Skittles, what's up?

-And, you know, you can't push them up the ladder

if they don't want to climb. -Right. Right.

-You know what I'm saying?

-Try to get Skittles' ass to get with it.

He disappeared on me.

I'mma have two fights tonight.

Soon as I finish this one, I'mma whoop your ass.

-Who, me? -Yeah, you.

-Somebody leave, though.

-Been seven years since I fought.

People said, "Why you fighting again,"

saying I'm too old.

I'm 46.

Who does that type of shit?

I tell them, "Me."

-Let's go, big Duke!

-All right, L!

-Come on. Come on, man.

-Long time, baby. -Yeah.

-Long time.

-My point is to prove to Skittles

that if you put your mind to anything,

you can accomplish it.

I want to inspire him, make him be like,

"Damn. What the fuck?"

-Tonight, he's back, bigger, better than ever.

Ladies and gentlemen, the native son returns home,

D.C.'s own Duke Buchanan!

[ Cheers and applause ]

[ Bell dings ]

♪♪

-And you got to be the one to change you because it's in him.

I know it's in him.

♪♪

Hopefully, Skittles could see it.

Win, lose, or draw, the thing is,

just prepare yourself for war.

♪♪

You have to fight to be successful.

♪♪

Is you gonna quit

and be a motherfucking sucker,

or you are gonna keep going?

♪♪

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

-Let's try it like this.

♪ What can wash away my sin

♪ It's nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪

-♪ Oh, and why

-The things that I actually been through in my life

I don't want no youth to go through.

-♪ It's nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪

-I just want everybody to learn from the mistakes

that we went through.

-Being with the Check It, it's actually shown that

if you in a situation you think you can't get out of,

it is a way you can get out.

-We want to thank God that it was Brother Mo

who brought us together with the Check It crew.

We met the Check It family.

It's a lesbian, gay, bisexual,

transgender crew, a gang, right?

And I was like, "I don't care who they are.

If they a gang, we working with them."

Amen, somebody? -Yeah.

-Amen. Come on up. Come on up. Come on up.

-I need everybody up on they feet.

Today is a good day. -Yes, it is.

-Praise the Lord, everybody all around.

-Y'all can sit down. I want to talk to you.

When I first started out, I was 14 years old,

and I started out to the Check It.

But it's okay because now where I'm at in my life,

I have made a whole 360 on everything.

I know I'm not where I want to be,

but I'm not where I was yesterday.

[ Cheers and applause ]

We have to open our arms to the young kids

that's coming before us.

They need our support. They need our help.

And without our help, they not gonna make it.

And I thank Ron Moten because he actually stepped in

and helped us throughout our whole journey of wellment.

And just the hard work and dedication

that you actually put into the youth

that people don't recognize,

I see all the hard work that you have done for free.

So for anybody who never say thank you,

I'm thankful for what you have taught me

and what you have shown me.

Thank you for that.

[ Applause ]

-Come on. Y'all give it up.

Y'all give it up. Come on.

Somebody need to say, "Thank you, Jesus."

♪♪

[ Indistinct conversations ]

♪♪

-What's so special about Check It --

They have been able to survive through so much.

They resilient.

To know there's some of them aren't gonna make it,

some of them are gonna make it,

it's amazing,

but we can't forget

there's still children right on K Street,

blocks away, 13, 14 years old, prostituting.

This is right at the doorstep of the nation's capital,

the White House, where some of

the most powerful people in the world reside,

and it seems like nobody gives a damn.

So do we just turn our back on our children?

Are we gonna give up?

♪♪

-Things ain't fun and games anymore.

It's time, you know, you got to grow up and become better,

want better for yourself.

'Cause I know time doesn't wait for no one.

I would say we was role models for a lot of years

because I had a lot of kids come up to tell me like,

"I saw you stand up for yourself.

I saw you take your ground.

I saw you mark your mark, like,

and not let that guy come up to you

and do whatever he want,

whenever he want, however he want."

You got two options, either to run or to fight,

and we chose to fight.

♪♪

-You know, I believe that we can go down in history

'cause, you know, we changed a lot of things

that used to go on, don't go on now,

a lot of gay bashing and stuff that used to happen.

I think we played a big role in it not happening no more.

Even though we had to go about it a violent way,

at the end, it still proved a point.

If no one was gonna stand up for us,

we stood up for ourselves.

♪♪

[ Indistinct conversations ]

♪♪

♪♪

-'Cause you don't need that one, like, or whatever.

-Oh, yeah.

♪♪

-You just did this half, didn't you?

-[ Speaking indistinctly ]

♪♪

[ Laughter ]

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪