The Black Jacket

“A hardcore plan to transform South Central.”

THE BLACK JACKET, from director Ryan Simon, follows a one-of-a-kind nonprofit as it works to reduce the violence in South Central Los Angeles. Aquil Basheer, a former Black Panther, leads ex-gang members and community outreach workers through a 16-week curriculum recently adopted by the Los Angeles City Council. The mission: Peace. The method: Changing the violent mindsets of gang members one person at a time. The result: Hundreds fewer murders per year and scores of warring neighborhoods communicating and negotiating peace agreements to stop the bloodshed before it starts.