Marcia Cohen

Inner City Angels: a Story from the L.a. Riot-april 29, 1992 Marcia Cohen

Jose Lopez runs beer for his pimping father, watches girls learn the oldest profession, and gets cuffed on the head when he can't steal a twenty dollar bill. He lands in Special Education, where learns to "jump" the three times table while standing on one foot. He multiplies the sixes, sevens, and eights, while trying to get himself into the local gang. He receives an award for cleaning the grafitti off a wall on Normandie Boulevard. The Mayor asks him why he had his gang clean. He says, "Mayor, I hate a dirty city." His psychologist praises him, his truck driver teaches him how to work, and his father continues to cuff . Inner City Angels is Joe's riot story .