Slauson Girl Speaks With Donald Bakeer: How an L.A. Teacher’s Book Crips Inspired the 1992 Hollywood Film South Central

Before South Central (1992) became a Hollywood classic, it began with a South Central educator determined to reach young people caught in the growing influence of LA gang culture. In this episode, I sit down with Donald Bakeer, author of the 1987 novel Crips, which inspired the 1992 film South Central. We discuss his years as an educator and dean, his encounters with young men who would become notorious figures in LA's Crips, including Big U and Tyquan "Lil Fee" Cox, and how his independently published book caught Hollywood's attention. From Oliver Stone and John Singleton to the untold rivalry surrounding Boyz n the Hood and Menace II Society, Bakeer takes us behind the scenes of Black cinema history and reveals why he says Warner Bros. never honored his agreement to receive 2% of the film's profits. More than 34 years later, we're preserving the oral history behind one of South Central's most recognizable films, told by the man who wrote the original story.