How quickly can a gang leader turn his life around? For Antong Lucky, it began the moment he was sent to prison.  

Lucky grew up in East Dallas and from a young age, he was exposed to gang culture and drug dealing. When he was sentenced to seven years in prison at age 21, he knew that something had to change in his life. Upon his release, he began working with Bishop Omar Jahwar, founder of Urban Specialists. On this path of redemption, Lucky worked to break the school-to-prison pipeline and bring peace to his neighborhood, and eventually to communities across the country.  

Lucky recently published his memoir, A Redemptive Path Forward, and is now the president of Urban Specialists.

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A Redemptive Path Forward: https://www.amazon.com/Redemptive-Path-Forward-Incarceration-Activism-ebook/dp/B09CYNGPXB

Urban Specialists: https://urbanspecialists.org/

Heal America Movement: https://healamericamovement.org/blog/antong-luckys-story/

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Outline: 

[00:00] Intro 

[1:32] Absence of father figures in Antong's neighborhood 

[8:32] School was a refuge early on 

[12:18] Neighborhood rivalries start affecting school 

[15:34] Attempt on Antong's life in 7th grade  

[23:15] Antong's first exposure to drug dealing 

[28:46] Founding the Dallas 415 Bloods 

[35:46] How Antong ended up in prison  

[44:17] Environmental trauma, temptation, and culpability 

[51:22] Antong's transformation in prison  

[1:01:02] Beginning the path of redemption outside prison 

[1:08:08] What is Urban Specialists?  

[1:12:51] The entrepreneurial spirit can be productive or destructive 

[1:16:28] Stand Together's relationship with Urban Specialists  

[1:19:53] Encouraging a healthy, productive, and open mindset 

[1:27:18] What does being a dad mean to Antong? 

[1:30:12] Antong's role in the American story  

[1:32:35] Outro

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Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mMCxWqRmlP8

Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?

Visit our website: https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/

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Dad Saves America is a channel dedicated to celebrating heroic fatherhood while teaching the next generation of fathers strategies they can utilize in parenting their children. We believe strong children come from a strong family. We’ve had many experts in the studio, including Jonathan Haidt, Mike Yates, Lenore Skenazy, Warren Farrell, Matt Ridley, Martin Gurri, and Michael Strong.