Sons Died in Gang Gunfire, but She Has Message of Peace

Lorna Hawkins’ son Joe, 21, was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1988, about a block from the Lynwood home where the family has lived for more than 15 years. Then Gerald, 22, was shot four times in the back and killed as he ran from suspected gang members in 1992.

But Hawkins doesn’t want pity. She wants the violence to stop, and she’s on a crusade to do something about it.

Five years ago, she created “Drive-by Agony,” a talk show on a community-access cable television channel. She invites parents to vent their anger, frustration and sadness about the violence that has killed their children. Sometimes, the parents share the set with police officers, city officials and former gang members.

Late last year, the nonprofit California Wellness Foundation awarded Hawkins a $25,000 grant to expand the programming and promote her work to stop violent crime. Her goal is to produce a new episode weekly, instead of the current schedule of creating one or two new shows monthly and repeating them several times. Currently, the show airs three times a week at various times.

The grant comes at an opportune time for Hawkins. Without it, she has no idea how she would have continued. “From gas money to doing my hair and clothes, I’ve paid out of my pocket without sponsorship,” she said.

She also has started a support group for victims of violence, and has created educational videotapes that she gives away to schools. Two years ago, she quit her sales job to devote all of her time to the show and related activities.

Hawkins, 42, said she started her crusade out of frustration that a local newspaper wouldn’t write a story about the 1988 slaying of Joe.

“They told me they couldn’t put anything in the newspaper because they have so many killings. There was nobody I could talk to about it,” she said. “If I felt that way, I knew there were other mothers who felt the same way. So I started the show to make people listen.”

Before the first shooting, Hawkins said, she felt safe in the Lynwood home she shared with her husband, Frank, a construction foreman, and four children.

“After my oldest son was shot, I realized it wasn’t that safe,” she said. In addition to starting the TV program, she also formed a neighborhood block watch group.

“People have to get out in the street and carry signs,” she said. “They have to take back the streets. That’s exactly what we’re doing here.”