Talk:Ghetto Brothers

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I recently received the following email with reference either to this article or the one on Benjamin Melendez, I'm not sure which. The sender, Audrey, doesn't seem interested in participating directly in the Wiki herself, so I asked her if I could share her letter here (as long as I left out her email address). She wrote, "Yes by all means do so," adding "I know for a fact that people have a fascination about the other half of the spectrum when it comes to knowing things about a life style that they were afraid to even imagine venturing into, But let me tell you it's worth hearing about or better yet reading and letting your imagination take you into the story of the times when abandoned buildings held more than empty apts." Here, verbatim, is the original email she sent me:

I read your short piece about an old familiar friend of the past, Mr. Benjamin Melendez the former and most influential president of a south Bronx Street gangs The ghettos Brothers, A man who truly was not given the proper credits in bringing street gang fights and Killings to a some what ceasefire between rival street gangs, A man who impressed so many on the other side of the social sphere and intrigued the curiosity of college professors as well as politicians and the media, The reason I know this ...I was there, I was one besides his wife Mei-ling to be one of the few Latin women in the ghetto brothers ( We were known as the ghetto sisters) I was also the vice presidents girlfriend his name was Tato,I was the one who he would ask to talk to the media when channel 4 did a news special about street gangs in the south Bronx it was a four part special on the 5 o' clock news, some what of a kick to the news crew that were there as well as their special interviewer actor Charles McGregor Who were at the time impressed by this young girl with the intellegence and speaking voice of an old soul,( I was only 14 years old at the time) On the last day of the special they wanted to know about females in street gangs and I spoke on behalf of the ghetto sisters( Brothers) there were as well females from rival street gangs there that wore the colors of the gangs they belonged to, but unlike our club we were never considered property of such and such gang, Benji found that to be demeaning of females in gangs as well as I did. females in street gangs were just as volatile just as the males in the gangs were, even more dangerous as their male counterparts as they were seen to be less of a threat, but soon found out they could be just as ruthless if not more so then the guys were, the young lords were an organization like us were a socialist party who would help out the community one key member even became a news reporter his name is felipe Luciano, I can recall the Savage Skulls as well their president his name was blackie a big man who I can describe now in looks to The Undertaker( the wrestler), He was married to a woman who went by the name of Apache a ruthless woman who would give an unsympathetic beating to anyone female or male if one crossed her , The vice president of the Savage Skulls was known as Comanche The spokesmen with the human side to him but could also be as ruthless when crossed, So yes Females in gangs were a big part but yet kept in the back burner sort to speak, but where key in many fights, gang riots to hide weapons, knives, guns, alibis you name it, they did it. I hope I could be of some kind of information about the female roll in street gangs of the past, it was a part of my life many years ago that taught me how to be a survivor in today's world, but see things in a different light as I did as a young girl growing up in the hard streets of the south Bronx, a part of my life I call the mystic tears of the ghetto, a lesson in my life of staying alive. Sincerely, Audrey aka Jay Jay from the Ghetto Sisters

If you are researching material related to New York gangs of this era, especially in the Bronx, Audrey has also volunteered to answer related questions. You can post questions here, I'll pass along anything within reason. -- Jmabel | Talk July 2, 2005 01:03 (UTC)

[edit] Query

[moved from User talk:Jmabel/Archive 31]

Hello out there ! I am just trying to find out what the ghetto brothers emblem or tattoos where, I remember a scull with a top hat. Can anybody help me? please drop me a line or two. At: cubanmulato@yahoo.com Thank you for your time and effort.

[end moved query]