Hundreds of people filled the Watts Labor Community Action Committee's Phoenix Hall on Feb. 5 for dining, entertainment and to raise money for a gang intervention worker who was shot and paralyzed while helping protect a youth in the Nickerson Gardens Housing Project.
"Even though I lost my legs temporarily, other people can walk for me, and I guide them through my knowledge and experience through movement and making a difference," Calvin Hodges said. "I see a lot of change and I see a lot of positive movement as a result of my injury, and that means more to me than anything, that the movement is still alive."
Hodges has spent the past 11 years helping others, whether with mentoring youth on the brink of violence or brokering peace between warring gang members. After he was injured in the line of duty on Oct. 30, 2009, the community came to his aid with a fundraising dinner.
"A Salute to Our Hero Calvin Hodges" was the brainchild of a host of gang intervention workers, including Elder Michael Cummings (We Care Outreach Ministries); the Rev. Benny Owens (Detours the Mentoring Group); Andre Christen (Watch Visions Grow into a U-turn Foundation); and Vicky Lindsey (Project Cry No More).
"What this dinner means is that we can all come out together as a community and as one, as Watts being united, to sit here with our hero, Brother Calvin Hodges," Cummings said. "When it was 2 o'clock in the morning, and the call came out, he was out there in the alley with the brothers with the AKs. He was promoting peace. He was stopping violence. He was doing his job. He never, never didn't want to go. He always got up and he went. We love you, brother."
The dinner was emceed by Dominique DiPrima, host and producer of "Front Page with Dominique DiPrima," a daily talk show heard on 102.3 FM/KJLH. Five-year-old orator Tremil Anderson gave the positive history of Watts in his welcoming remarks, and a host of singers, poets and comedians entertained the audience.
The dinner donation was $25 per person, which will help to take care of Hodges' medical bills, provide for his wife and five children, and take care of other resources related to his injury. In addition to presenting him with certificates of commendation, Congresswoman Laura Richardson (37th District) committed to retrofit the peacemaker's home for wheelchair accessibility and
State Sen. Rod Wright donated $1,000 for the fundraiser.
Attendees praised Hodges.
"He always talks about positive, productive and constructive things, in particular with children," the Rev. Owens said. "He never gossiped, never backbited, never talked about anybody else. The brother was always motivating and left you with a sense of energy, and he still has that in him."
In a phone interview after the event, Cynthia Mendenhall of Watts, aka Sista Soulja, said that without Hodges "we don't have Nickerson Gardens... he stands up to everybody. He'll go in front of the gun, like he did that day. He gave his life for another, and he's always been that way, not just that day. He's a general, and we're his soldiers. He's always led us right and is always there for you."
Hodges was overwhelmed by the support and encouragement and not worried about the fact that he had lost the use of his legs.
"I believe in the Most High, so right now I'm making the best of what I've got... I'm going to stay strong no matter if I walk or not because my mind is moving, and you can move mountains with your mind and knowledge," he said before recalling the fateful night of his injury.
The evening was rife with activity. Law enforcement foot patrols were heavy, and many youth were out, said Hodges, who works with the nonprofit intervention group K.U.S.H. Inc.
While patrolling the projects, Hodges ran into a young client that he considered high-risk.
"His brother just got 88 years to life in prison, which was a tragedy for himself and his family," Hodges said. "He was sitting around doing nothing, looking for something to get into, so I gave him full attention and was reaching the youngster. Usually, I watch my environment more, but I was reaching his soul, looking at him eye-to-eye, so that's how I missed when the shooting started."
He heard a lot of shots coming from his left and realized that his young client was hit, frozen.
So Hodges threw him down to safety and diverted the shooters. When all the shots redirected towards him, he got hit in the face, his left shoulder, and his neck, but only one of the three bullets that hit him penetrated his body.
One was enough.
"During that time I was in communion with God, because I showed no fear. There was nothing that could have stopped them from taking my life, but the shooters never came out of cover," he said. "Something kept them at a barrier, like a force field, because I should have been dead, with the type of artillery they were shooting with.
"I'm not mad at no individuals, but at the mindset that produces the actions, and that's where our work is at... My thing is about motivating others to bring about change," he added.
Donations for The Calvin Hodges Trust Fund are being accepted at any Wells Fargo Bank, account number 6174407798.
Charlene Muhammad is a writer for the L.A. Watts Times.
Photo by Charlene Muhammad.
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