Former Gang Leader Turned Activist Antong Lucky Discusses Candid Memoir: A Redemptive Path Forward

At an early age, East Dallas, TX native Antong Lucky became embroiled in a life of illegal drug activity and gang violence that ultimately landed him in prison. While in prison, Antong denounced his gang affiliation and began working to unite the rival gangs. He experienced a spiritual awakening and quickly rose to become one of the most respected and sought-after mentors in prison. His teachings of accountability and conflict resolution taught fellow inmates how not to use violence as their primary language instead practice peace.

Antong has spent the last twenty years advocating, working inside communities in numerous roles to end violence in communities. Lucky just released his candid memoir, A Redemptive Path Forward, to share lessons from his journey from incarceration to a life of activism. The book is available now on Amazon and other major and independent retailers.

For Lucky, Redemptive Activism is more than a phrase. It’s a lifestyle. It’s a commitment. It’s a life-altering adaptation to create change in society as a whole, which is Lucky’s intent. “The good fight is not fought alone”, Lucky says. He teamed up with Bishop Oma Jahwar, a widely renowned activist, mentor, and change agent to create Urban Specialist, Heal America, OGU, and BOSOE, which are massive organizations that bolster a strong roster of events, individuals, and programs to disrupt toxic elements in their communities and bring about positive ones. Buying 64 acres of land to build affordable housing for underserved communities, is just one example of the many initiatives the Urban Specialists have completed to provoke change in the community; another instance in which redemptive activism is leading the charge.

The Hype Magazine got the chance to ask Antong a few questions to dive deeper into his transformation and culture shifting impact:

Take us back to the moment you decided to denounce your gang affiliation and turn toward redemption and activism. What did you have to risk in order to make that decision and why did you decide to pivot?

I remember standing before a judge and with having just had my first child, my daughter being born only two weeks prior, a range of emotions sifted through my mind. I was thinking of all the trauma I felt growing up as a child of an incarcerated father. Here I am faced with the same fate for my only daughter. Although the situation was seemingly dire I still held out hope that the judge would understand and allow me to get it right and allow me a second chance. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. I was sentenced to 7 years in The Texas Department Of Corrections.

It was at that moment, I decided I would do something drastically different with my life. I attributed all the forced choices I made up until that point as the reason why I was being separated from my daughter and sentenced to prison. For me, I had failed not only as a citizen but also as a father. That wasn’t the best feeling to have. I was forced to take a long gaze into the mirror of myself and accept some hard truths. I acknowledged my part in being where I was. I could’ve been like most people in my predicament and found someone else to blame other than myself but for me it was about me accepting my part in it.

Making that decision to pivot my life was the absolutely best decision I have made to date. But I will admit, it wasn’t an easy decision. Most of my friends had a very difficult time trying to adjust to it. We had spent the vast majority of our lives building this pseudo life and here I was deciding that I no longer wanted to be affiliated with it anymore. It was our shared identity. But for me it was a shared identity that only brought harm and hurt to not only ourselves but the same for our families. I could no longer participate and especially with a newborn daughter growing up without my presence.

What is some advice you would give to your younger self prior to ending up in the gang or in prison, that you feel may have influenced you to take a different path?

Some advice I would say to my younger self would be, speak up for yourself regardless of how you may think others would perceive you. Oftentimes, when we don’t have trusted voices in our corners we shrink to the loudest voice of the moment. But there’s nothing better than showing up your true, authentic self. Seek the advice of a reliable mentor to help you navigate the terrain. Although, I wouldn’t change what I went through and as tough as it was, those experiences helped shape who I am today. I will aslo admit, you don’t have to have or go through what I went through to get it right in life.

Once released from incarceration, how were you able to get back on your feet and begin building the empire you’re creating today?

I left prison with a plan. But first as I mentioned earlier, I had to be accountable for the decisions and choices I made. That’s the first step and a step you cannot skip on the journey to Redemption and Transformation. I starved the desire to do what I was doing prior to going away and began feeding my hopes and dreams for a better life. My better life was interconnected with sharing and helping others discover within themselves the very things I had discovered within myself. I put those blinders on that they use for horses and stayed focused on that goal of creating this new life for me.

What do you feel is one of the biggest misconceptions about the black community, and how can Black entrepreneurs dismantle those perceptions?

One of the biggest misconceptions about the black community is that they don’t desire help or want to do better. Therein exists within every urban community creativity, entrepreneurism, intelligence etc It just has to be cultivated and supported. I think by supporting and cultivating the entrepreneurial talent within our communities we will begin to see a turn around of our communities. We know that if we empower the black entrepreneur that person is going to hire within proximity. That simply means that a business person is going to hire within the same community he or she lives thus helping the economy of that particular neighborhood.

In your work with The Bishop Omar School of Entrepreneurship, you carry on his legacy of providing access and resources to help minority entrepreneurs. Why is this work so important to you?

We established The Bishop Omar School of Entrepreneurship to empower the business acumen in our communities. Named after our late, great iconic Bishop Omar Jahwar, an entrepreneur himself who strongly believed in creating the space for more urban entrepreneurs. This work is so important to me and after looking at these numbers you understand why it’s important for us all to advocate on behalf of Black businesses:

According to nationallyblackowned.com, 77% of black entrepreneurs were self-started businesses as opposed to investing in previously established franchises.
According to nationallyblackowned.com, 53% of surveyed Black respondents did not receive financial aid offered to developing businesses during the pandemic.
Black-owned businesses generated $150.2 billion in gross revenue as recently as 2012.
58% of Black business owners said their business’s financial health is “at-risk” or “distressed” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
34% of Black business owners start their businesses because they want to be their own bosses.
Just 1% of Black business owners obtain business loans in their first year.
There were an estimated 134,567 Black- or African American-owned businesses with $133.7 billion in annual receipts, 1.3 million employees, and about $40.5 billion in annual payroll. (According to www.census.gov)

We love sharing inspirational stories of triumph from the black community. Antong Lucky’s journey to activism and leadership is proof that a path forward for Black people coming out of incarceration is possible, and that anyone can use their story to change lives in a positive way.

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Tags: activist, Antong Lucky, Authors, black authors, Black culture, community activism, Dallas, gang culture, Interviews, Redemption, Texas

About the Author

Crystal Willis Crystal Willis is an Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker, Entertainment Publicist and CEO of The Omni Firm. She is also a Transformational Life Coach and Founder of The Crysalis. Her personal story has been seen by millions of people on media outlets like Marie Claire Magazine, PBS, Blaze TV, Daily Signal and more.