Comment on In book and film, the shocking story of “The Holly” continues to rile Denver’s power structure

In book and film, the shocking story of “The Holly” continues to rile Denver’s power structure

The ongoing war between Denver’s Bloods and Crips gangs crescendoed in May 2008 when the Holly Square Shopping Center burned to the ground — retaliation by the Crips, neighborhood residents said, for a killing by the Bloods. The fight for that Northeast Denver community hub, which continues to anchor one of the city’s oldest Black neighborhoods at 33rd and Hudson streets in Northeast Park Hill, became the story of “The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood.” The nonfiction book and documentary are the work of Denver native Julian Rubinstein, who was so engrained in the story that he briefly went into hiding after the book was published due to threats on his life. Terrance Roberts Like the book, “The Holly” documentary was filmed as the 53-year-old Denver native dove into his years-long reporting project with a love for and personal stake in his home city, but no political agenda, said Rubinstein, who’s currently a visiting professor at the University of Denver. “The Holly’s” main character is Terrance Roberts, an anti-gang activist who devoted his life to lifting up The Holly after he was released from prison.

 

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