I'm thinking that a job that requires a bulletproof vest is one that I'm not willing to take on, but for Malik Spellman this is his way of life. Having been in jail, around gangs, and having lost a good number of his friends as a result of gang violence, he has dedicated his life to ending gang violence. A bulletproof vest is just part of Malik's work uniform.When a pregnant woman is shot to death, gang mediator Malik is brought in to try to ease the tensions between two rival gangs, The Mansfield Crips and The Playboy Crips, in the first episode of The Peacemaker: L.A. Gang Wars. Malik, through a series of meetings with each of the gang leaders, arranges a meeting to facilitate communications between the two gangs but in the process, one of the gang members actually gets shot and ends up in the ER with a bullet wound to his chest.
As a camera crew follows Malik around, we catch rare glimpses of what gang life is all about and the apathy that surrounds this life of violence. Hearing one member say that he doesn't care if he lives or dies is a small peek into the hopelessness that perpetuates the violence.
As tension mounts during the meet-up between the two gangs, the member that was shot shows up to the meeting in an effort to send out the message that shooting their own will never end in anything but violence, bringing the two sides together.
I think it's going to be interesting to watch how these peoples lives unfold. With executive producer Ice-T on board, The Peacemaker: L.A. Gang Wars looks like it's going to be an honest and gritty look into the daily life of being a gang member.
The Peacemaker: L.A. Gang Wars premieres Thursday night, December 16th, at 10:00 PM ET on A&E.
