Gernay Quinnie has the same goal every day.
From helping teens get their driver’s license to being there at a person’s lowest moment, he wants to make his community in South Los Angeles better.
Incarcerated at the age of 14, the journey back to his community was not easy. After spending more than two decades in prison, he is determined to be an inspiration for the youth in his community and offer guidance.
“What’s motivating me is the disparity,” Quinnie said. “Until I see things balanced out where I see people getting the help or receiving the help that they need, the motivation is a conscious thing where I can’t really ignore it.”
Quinnie’s primary work is in gang intervention prevention through his work with the R.A.C.E. organization, which stands for Reclaiming America’s Communities through Empowerment. This organization works within the community to reduce gang violence and the trauma it causes.
Today he runs the R.A.C.E. House, a community center that acts as a safe space for those in his community and is used to run anything from workshops to weekly Friday brunches.
“I’m trying to make sure that we’re out there, pushing those morals pushing those different codes and things like that,” Quinnie explained. “[We] can probably grab some of these guys that are entering into that life and give them something that they can hold [on] to that can prevent somebody killing.”
As someone who knows these communities intimately, Quinnie is working on reforming the language used to educate and speak to youth. By sharing moral codes that instill a family-oriented philosophy within gang culture, he is trying to prevent killings and other tragedies. At the same time, he also hopes that these lessons can show youth that they can even achieve purpose and belonging outside of a gang as well.
Quinnie also works as a community intervention worker for Soledad Enrichment Action (SEA), part of the L.A. Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD). His job is to be in the community, identifying what the youth and families need, and utilizing his SEA resources to provide aid wherever possible. This could be hosting impact sessions, conducting family interventions, or providing basic needs, like clothing.
He also regularly frequents neighborhood areas known for violent hotspots to break up fights around schools. To Quinnie the job is 24 hours — it’s all about being someone who is alert, aware, and attentive to any potential problems that could arise in the community.
In times of gang-related tragedies, Quinnie provides a safe passage for grieving family members to cross gang territory and properly mourn their loved ones who’ve lost their lives. He acts as someone in the community who can secure these passes from local gangs to prevent any conflicts from happening.
With the pandemic, it has been difficult to have large gatherings, but Quinnie hopes to continue the mission of the R.A.C.E. House and bring the people in his community together.
Terrell Williams, 18, left, and Gernay Quinnie, right, have a conversation at the R.A.C.E house in the West Athens.neighborhood of Los Angeles on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. Randy Vazquez / JOVRNALISM
