The Apostles (35 page)

First and foremost I have to thank and acknowledge the Creator. Fortunately I haven't fallen from Your grace. Though life is uncertain, the Creator's love is not.

Really and truly I have to acknowledge all of the souls who have passed from this physical plane as a direct or indirect result of street organizations and their activities. As impossible as it may sound, I hope that one day a turned hat, hand signs, or colors won't be an excuse to harm someone or to end their life.

And I know that some of you will ask what gang in Chicago is this really. My answer:
none of them.
The street organizations or gangs that exist in Chicago, especially the large Black ones, are the products of the minds of certain men (David Barksdale, Larry Hoover, Jeff Fort, Mickey Cogwell, etc.). Great men in their own right, but most great men are often misunderstood or misinterpreted. The Apostles are a product of my mind. This book isn't a veiled attempt to depict the exploits of any real street organization or its members.
This is purely fiction! No one was killed in the making of this novel.
There are some strange truths to be found here, as any veteran of urban America can attest, but nonetheless, it isn't a true story. After some of the things I've witnessed in the streets, in my opinion it would be a huge disservice to those who have died from this sort of lifestyle, to those individuals
who are incarcerated, or to those just surviving day to day on the bricks, to have any reader think this is some type of historical, factual account.

From the cats in the County to the cats who ain't never coming home, I'll make sure you're in my prayers.

Humbly I thank the readers who supported my work (even those who borrowed a friend's copy). Readers truly deserve our homage, for they make us writers relevant. I wish that I could thank each one of you personally. Keep e-mailing and I promise that I'll keep answering. Keep checking for me ‘cuz I'mma give you the true grime.

I want to express my deepest and heartfelt thanks to Iceberg Slim and Donald Goines. These two brothers opened the doors for writers like me a long time ago. I've never seen African-American (Black) fiction writers given their just due, but I will. Without Donald, the world would never know Y. Blak Moore. Peace and blessings to both of you.

Melody Guy, BCBE, the editor of my first novel,
Triple Take
(another person applying for sainthood), I'm glad that you have superpowers. Thanks for everything. I'm glad that you took time out of your busy schedule to come down to Philly to give me a face to put with that voice. Don't worry, I'll give you free lessons on slanguage. To Kate Blum, for making everything comfortable for me on my first tour, and to Danielle Durkin.

David Isay and the Sound Portraits family. Dave, you continue to lend me the wealth of your experience and wisdom. I'll make sure that I don't break the chain. To my man Lloyd Newman, I didn't thank you in the first novel for bringing my work to Dave's attention. So here goes: Thank you.

Sara Rimer from the
New York Times.
I'm thankful that you took time out to meet and write about an unknown author from Chicago. You are truly a wonderful and emphatic writer.

Akilah “Killah” Hasan, you remain the major force behind Elemental, Ink. Killah, thanks for all of your help and support. You've truly been that friend in my life that I wish everyone had. Oh yeah, quit trying to renegotiate your contract, fam. It's a wrap, you already the number one draft pick. Good looking out to Poppa Hasan, thanks for all your help.

To my man Zo the Alkhemist (hope I spelled it right), you continue to drop jewels on me when I need them, truly proving knowledge comes before wisdom. You remain one of the elements that keep my uni-verse from crashing in on itself. Thanks for the ELEMENTAL logo too. (It's crazy phat!) Tez, keep on doing your thang. It'll pay off in the end; all hard work does. Khari B., it's time to get your superhero costume out of the layaway. (Now that's a real Black superhero, his costume been in the layaway since
Beat Street
was in theaters.) Chelesea Darling D'Amini (Baby Mama from Hell!), keep coming up with them crazy designs so you can finally pay me some child support. Big Rob, aka Big Business, keep doing your thang. To the spoken-word/poetry community, keep writing and spitting the real. Sloppy, carbon copies save that shit! Love to all the poets.

Devan Moore, keep on trying to reach for your goals. Our sun will truly appreciate your quest for excellence. Oh yeah, we got to get that boy an agent. Peace to Moms, Grimy Mike, Auntie Mary, and ‘em.

My sister Ytteb (Tebby), and my nephews Dwight, Devin, and Darius. Teb, you're doing a bang-up job. Keep it moving. It'll turn out all right. Smile. Please stop sighing!

Love to the Low End and the Wells. Extensions forever! Peace to you all—man, woman, and child. To all the gods from the Darkside: 511, 514, 527, 510, 534, the original Gams. Too many of you cats to name. Love to my man K, Nolan Ryan, Ghost, Godvilla. Thanks for holding me down whether it was a few bucks, a few words of encouragement, or the willingness to get in some hatah's ass on my behalf.

Thanks again to all the beauty shop people.

To Shelia Owens, it was truly a blessing and a privilege to work with you. Here's to our future.

I'm still the same Blak. Love you whether I mentioned you or not. If that ain't good enough, K.M.A.

Oh yeah, to any and all hatahs of
Triple Take
and anything else I write. F.Y.! (Sorry, Melody, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't say how I felt.)

PEACE!

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

T
HE QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION TOPICS THAT FOLLOW
are intended to enhance your group's reading of Y. Blak Moore's
The Apostles.
We hope they will provide new insights and ways of looking at this fast-paced, insightful novel.

1. Throughout
   The Apostles
   we see flashbacks to Solemn Shawn's life with his mother and stepfather. Do you think that the abuse Solemn Shawn suffered as a child explains his behavior as an adult? Does it justify his behavior as an adult? Shawn grew up in a juvenile detention center; did the punishment fit his crime?
   

2. Vee is indignant when Solemn Shawn chooses Murder-man instead of him to be the next Head Apostle inside the detention center. Is Vee right to feel outraged by Shawn's decision? Do you think that Shawn made the correct decision?
   

3. Vee runs the Governors by subjecting its insubordinate members to corporal punishment or “Cold War.” Is this an effective way to run an organization? Does fear of punishment make the Governors more or less loyal to Vee? Does Vee seem fair-minded when he orders corporal punishment or Cold War for a Governor?
   

4. 4. Officers Bull and Grove tread a fine line between legal and illegal behavior when they patrol the streets. Are they “dirty cops,” or are they just trying to do their jobs? Should members of the Gang Crimes Unit be allowed to operate under a different set of rules because of the nature of their work? Do officers in other departments respect, or resent Bull and Grove?
   

5. When Sakawa loses Wayne, she is determined to find a way to make Vee pay. After a few dates, does Sakawa really hate Vee as much as she says? Does Sakawa ever develop feelings for Vee, or is she just after his money? Is Sakawa capable of settling down with just one man?
   

6. The Governors and the Apostles seem to operate under the principle of “an eye for an eye.” Does either gang gain anything when it avenges a murdered member? Does this type of revenge create an endless cycle? Do you think that there can be a legal or ethical justification for murdering someone?
   

7. Solemn Shawn's sisters accept him as a part of their lives despite his involvement with the Apostles. Should Samantha and Tabitha accept gifts that Shawn buys them with money he earns as an Apostle? Would Shawn care if his sisters told him that they couldn't accept him unless he stopped participating in a gang? Do Shawn's sisters understand the extent of his involvement with the Apostles?
   

8. Vanessa lies to Solemn Shawn for years about her inability to have a child. Can you understand why Vanessa chose to do this? Should Shawn have been upset that Vanessa lied to him?
   

9. Despite his idea to open a recreation center in Solemn Shawn's neighborhood, Coleman Washington is a corrupt politician. Does Coleman fear Solemn Shawn and the Apostles? Do you think that most politicians are corrupt, or is Coleman an aberration?
   

10. By the end of
    The Apostles
    , Solemn Shawn and Vee meet similar fates. Did they get what they deserved? Would Solemn Shawn or Vee have accepted peace between their gangs?
    

Y. B
LAK
M
OORE
is a poet and a former gang member who grew up in the Chicago housing projects. He is also the author of
Triple Take.
Moore has three children and lives in Chicago. Blak can be reached via e-mail at
[email protected]
.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Strivers Row
An imprint of One World
Published by The Random House Publishing Group

Copyright © 2004 by Yanier Moore
Reader's Guide copyright © 2004 by Yanier Moore and Strivers Row, an imprint of Random House, Inc.

Strivers Row and colophon are registered trademarks, One World and Ballantine are registered trademarks, and the One World colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

www.striversrowbooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Moore, Y. Blak (Yanier Blak)
The Apostles: their only religion was money, women, and power / by Y. Blak Moore.—1st trade pbk. ed.

p. cm.

eISBN: 978-0-307-51316-8

1. African American men—Fiction. 2. Adult child abuse victims—Fiction. 3. Ex-convicts—Fiction. 4. Gangs—Fiction.

I. Title.

PS3613.O569A88 2004

813'.6—dc22 2004050093

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