Long Live Tookie
At the Gates of San Quentin During the Execution
Story by By Hector Gonzalez // Photos by Aaron Duran

Monday night, I, along with four friends, drove out to the gates of San Quentin State Prison where we intended to stand in solidarity with Stanley “Tookie” Williams, co-founder of the Crip gang, who was executed on December 13 at 12:35am (Tuesday morning) for being convicted of killing four people in 1979. He has been nominated for the Noble Peace Price, wrote 10 children's books on the consequences of gang violence, was responsible for the Crip and Blood gang truce in 1992, and even had a film made about him, “Redemption,” that told the life of Tookie. He did this all behind bars.

While driving none of us knew exactly what was happening at the gates of San Quentin State Prison, we didn't know how many people were there, who was there, or what was to be expected. About thirty minutes into our hour and ten minute drive we received a phone call from a friend telling us to tune to KPFA 94.1fm where they were broadcasting live from the gates. We tuned in and what we heard was unbelievable, thousands of people were at the gates and the spirit of the people was felt with in the walls of my small vehicle, a sensation of peace came in my heart.

When we got to the city of San Quentin, freeway exits had been closed off and after a twenty-minute detour we finally made it to our destination. We parked about two miles away and started walking with countless amounts of people, when we finally made it to the road that leads to the gates of the prison, all we could see was a sea of people in almost complete silence with the face of a broken heart. A group of about fifty people sat on the pavement in meditation, not moving a muscle, with their eyes closed. Further up there was a group of people holding the Star of David in the form of a picket sign that read ‘Jews Against the Death Penalty', not far from that group, there was another group holding crosses on their hands praying for the life of Tookie.   On the rooftops of the houses and shed's along the road, young people stood in patience for the hour of midnight to hit. People's eyes shined from candle flames that reflected off of their tears --young, old, white and black, everyone was there. One of the picket signs that stands out was one that read,   “Tookie has done more for the youth of California then Arnold has.”

At around 12:40am, the crowd received the word that Tookie was now dead. Black civil leaders asked that everyone be civil and peaceful, and people followed, with the exception of a few radical groups that were chanting ‘No Justice No Peace' and a group of Anarchist that burned the American flag. The night ended peacefully, Tookie did not die alone, he died with thousands of people mourning for him right outside the prison walls. May he rest in peace!

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