Terrance Roberts
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| Terrance Roberts | |
|---|---|
 Terrance Roberts 2.12.22.jpg Terrance Roberts | |
| Born | August 9, 1976 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 💼 Occupation | |
Terrance Roberts (born August 9th, 1976) is a civil rights activist from Denver, Colorado, and the subject of the book and documentary film The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, And The Struggle To Save An American Neighborhood by Julian Rubinstein. The story details the history of African American migration to the Five Points, Denver and Park Hill, Denver and tells the life story of Terrance Roberts; a reformed Park Hill Bloods gang member turned anti-gang violence activist through his 2015 shooting trial. Roberts co-founded the Frontline Party for Revolutionary Action (FPRA) in response to the death of Elijah McClain, a black Aurora, Colorado resident who was killed at the hands of police in 2019 and continues seeking justice for Alexis Mendez Perez, a Denver teen killed by an off-duty corrections officer in 2020.
Early life[edit]
Terrance Roberts was born in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver, CO to his parents Suzanne Boyd and George Roberts, and his grandmother Ernestine Boyd who owned the Park Hill A&A Fish Market. Roberts played sports and was an honor roll student at Martin Luther King Jr. Early College. Terrance joined the Bloods gang at age 14 in 1990 and was quickly arrested and went to juvenile hall on a juvenile gun charge. During the Summer of Violence in July 1993, was hospitalized and placed in critical condition with a ruptured spleen, cracked pelvic bone, and damaged intestines after being shot in the back. Roberts returned to gang life and ended up in prison again on gun charges in 1999 where he renounced his gang membership and began organizing against gang violence upon his release in early 2000.[1]
Prodigal Son Initiative[edit]
Terrance filed paperwork in 2004 to start a youth violence prevention nonprofit called Prodigal Son Initiative that focused on organizing community events and group outings for children. In 2005 Prodigal Son Initiative was officially designated as a nonprofit focused on community development and organizing youth in Northeast Denver. Prodigal Son began hosting after-school programs for Hallett Elementary School and local Park Hill neighborhood youth at the Park Hill Methodist Church. As a response to gang violence, Terrance created the Colorado Community Activists Motivating Others (CAMO) movement. Prodigal Son began organizing peace and solidarity among gang members under neutral camo colors; handing out camouflage t-shirts, bandanas, and NewEra hats in the Park Hill Community.[2]
Burning of Holly Square Shopping Center[edit]
Early in the morning of May 18th, 2008 Denver Crips gang co-founder Michael Asberry was shot and killed in Aurora, CO. Hours later, Crips gang members responded by burning down known Bloods gang territory, the Holly Square Shopping Center at 34th Avenue and Holly Street. Nine people were indicted by the Denver DA, one Katsina Roybal would be shot to death in revenge before reaching trial.[3] Mayor John Hickenlooper tasked his Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development to find a buyer to redevelop Holly Square; by the Summer of 2008 Denver Land Conservancy President Aaron Miripol had begun working with the Denver Foundation and the Park Hill community to design a redevelopment to revitalize the neighborhood. Prodigal Son Initiative would work closely with the ULC and the Denver Foundation on facilitating community input into the project and in the Spring of 2009 Prodigal Son opened up a shared office space with State Senator Mike Johnston called the Park Hill Community Center in the rebuilding of Holly Square. Prodigal Son began a fundraising campaign to build public basketball courts and after raising over $350,000 the Holly Square Peace Courts were built in the Fall of 2010. Prodigal Son Initiative would shift its focus to a fundraising campaign to build the Boys and Girls Club of Park Hill working with Libby Anschutz and Anschutz Foundation Executive Director Ted Harms to fund its construction which was completed in October 2013.[4]
Shooting and Trial[edit]
On September 20th, 2013 Terrance was organizing a peace march starting from the basketball courts in front of the Prodigal Son Initiative following a meeting next door at State Senator Mike Johnston’s office. Bloods gang members harassed and threatened Terrance throughout the day accusing him of being a snitch and leaving a rotisserie chicken for him with a note pinned to it with a knife reading, “bitcha ass nigga, snitch ass nigga.” Terrance retrieved a 9mm pistol from his car for protection and returned to the courts to set up for the march. As people began leaving the event dozens of Bloods gang members surrounded and began closing in on Terrance; he drew the pistol and shot Bloods gang member Hasan Jones; who stumbled, Terrance shot Hasan once again and dropped the knife used to threaten him earlier onto Hasan saying, “here's your shit.” Terrance waited for the police to arrive and was arrested by DPD.[1] Local and national media speculated over the timeline of events, motives, and character of both Roberts and Jones surrounding the trial.[5] Jones had already been awaiting trial for a prior drive-by shooting and while confined to a wheelchair since the shooting Jones beat his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter to death. Media also speculated that Roberts had attempted to kill Jones in cold blood based on firsthand witness accounts that claimed Terrance shot Hasan repeatedly when he was already on the ground, that the knife was planted to claim self-defense, and quoting community members who said “I feel it's messed up. He shot a dude for no reason.”[3] Shortly after the shooting, Terrance stepped down from his executive director role of Prodigal Son Initiative and the board appointed Bryan Butler to continue the program under new branding, changing Prodigal Son’s name to Impact Empowerment.
In late September 2015 trial began for Terrance Roberts who was facing life in prison for the shooting of Hasan Jones and felony gun possession. Terrance claimed self-defense, recounting the timeline and defending against the Denver DA office's claims that he had planted the knife to set an alibi for shooting Hasan. The incident had been recorded by a local man interviewing his neighbor across the street providing evidence that Terrance did not repeatedly shoot Hasan on the ground and tossed the knife down in anger, not in premeditation. Hasan Jones refused to testify in the case due to his ongoing litigation surrounding the murder of two-year-old Ny’Ari Hines. On October 9th, 2015 the jury found Terrance not guilty of three felonies surrounding both the shooting and gun possession on the grounds of self-defense. The jury had determined that due to Terrance proving his need for self-defense that they would not pursue the gun charges, allowing Terrance to walk free from the Denver courthouse.[1]
Heal the Hood Events[edit]
Following the trial, Terrance stepped away from activism to rebuild his life becoming a residential and commercial property inspector. He remained vocal about issues on social media and returned to organizing following the death of Nipsey Hussle. Terrance would organize a ‘Heal the Hood’ event in Delmar Park in Aurora, CO the weekend following Nipsey Hussle’s death and another Heal the Hood at City Park in Denver the following weekend. The events had food, music, speakers, and games encouraging peace among gang members.[6]
Frontline Party for Revolutionary Action[edit]
On August 30th, 2019 unarmed 23-year-old Elijah McClain was killed by the Aurora Police Department in a confrontation while walking home. Three police officers escalated a struggle with McClain, forcibly held him to the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back, and had paramedics administer ketamine to sedate him; McClain suffered cardiac arrest and died.[7] Terrance began organizing to demand justice for Elijah McClain working with McClain’s family and co-founding a social justice activist group, the Frontline Party for Revolutionary Action. FPRA held protests, crashed city council meetings, and demanded accountability but had trouble gaining public attention for McClain’s murder until May 25, 2020, when a video of George Floyd being murdered by Minneapolis police went viral, sparking nationwide Black Lives Matter protests. FPRA helped organize Black Lives Matter protests in Aurora and Denver spreading the story of McClain’s murder. On June 27th, 2020 FPRA and the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized a demonstration at the Aurora Police Department Headquarters that drew over 5,000 people in attendance. The crowd marched into the streets and occupied the entirety of the nearby Interstate-225, shutting down traffic in both directions.[8] On July 3rd, 2020 FPRA and PSL organized a protest to surround the Aurora Police Department to demand charges for the officers that detained and paramedics that administered the ketamine on Elijah McClain. The protestors surrounded the station and blocked the exits until 5 AM, preventing officers from leaving the property in their cars. Aurora Police would arrest Terrance on September 20th, 2020 on charges of felony inciting a riot, misdemeanor engaging in a riot, and misdemeanor obstructing government operations relating to the July 3rd protest. The charges would later be dropped.[9]
Alexis Mendez Perez[edit]
During the protests for Elijah McClain, the family of 16-year-old Alexis Mendez-Perez showed up seeking help getting justice for his death at the hands of an off-duty corrections officer. April 23rd, 2020 Alexis and his friends broke into a vacant unsold property in the Montbello neighborhood of Denver to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Next door, Desmond Manning called the police and waited on the opposite side of the dividing picket fence with a .40 caliber handgun. When police arrived the teens jumped over the fence, two landing in Manning’s backyard, who Manning shot without warning killing Mendez-Perez and injuring his friend. Denver DA Beth McCann refused to press charges days after the incident.[10] Though the Black Lives Matter protest movement faded away as the Mendez-Perez family was still seeking justice so the family, FPRA, PSL, and the Denver Justice Project continued to hold demonstrations to demand justice for Alexis Mendez-Perez. On March, 15th 2022 Denver DA Beth McCann announced to the press that she would be reconsidering murder charges for Desmond Manning.[11]
The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood[edit]
The Holly is a book authored by journalist Julian Rubinstein that was released in May 2021. It recounts the story of Terrance’s life, the 2015 shooting, and the impact of America’s civil rights struggle and housing policy in one of Denver’s oldest black communities.[1]
Rubinstein also filmed a documentary of the same name that finished editing in 2021.[12]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Rubinstein, Julian (May 11, 2021). The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood. Macmillan. Search this book on
- ↑ "Prodigal Son Initiative Works To Prevent Gang Violence". CBS Denver Channel 4. September 10, 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Warner, Joel (July 22, 2010). "Crips burned down the Holly in Bloods territory, but can peace emerge from the ashes in northeast Park Hill?". Denver Westword.
- ↑ Gottlieb, Alan (June 2018). "The Story of Holly Square" (PDF). Denver Business Journal: 12.
- ↑ Frosch, Dan (September 27, 2013). "After Violence Interrupts Progress, a Struggle Ensues in Denver". The New York Times.
- ↑ Beauford, Tish (June 25, 2020). "Terrance Roberts – Black Lives Matter and Police Reform". 88.5 FM KGNU.
- ↑ Tompkins, Lucy (January 18, 2020). "Here's What You Need to Know About Elijah McClain's Death". The New York Times.
- ↑ Dickey, Sloan (July 27, 2020). "Aurora police investigating Jeep driver who drove into Elijah McClain protest blocking I-225". Denver News 7.
- ↑ Contreras, Óscar (July 2, 2020). "Protesters demand cops in Elijah McClain's death to be fired as they occupy area outside APD station". Denver News 7.
- ↑ Arenas, Vicente (March 15, 2022). "Family of teen shot in back asking Denver DA to reconsider murder charges". Denver Fox 31.
- ↑ Goinet, Alan (March 15, 2022). "Denver Family Appeals For Charges Against Off-Duty Corrections Officer 2 Years After Shooting Death Of Alexis Mendez Perez". Denver CBS Channel 4.
- ↑ "The Holly". Denver Film Society. Denver Film Society.
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