Arrested in the 1965 Watts riots, Richard Kelly (Cedric Sanders) must serve probation at an all-white seminary. Although encouraged to break racial boundaries by its president Alan Beckett (William Devane), the school wants black followers, not leaders. Even former missionary Kate Allison (Lauren Holly) initially rejects Richard. With a prison sentence looming, Richard meets Samuel Benton (Louis Gossett, Jr.)- "the gardener in the basement." ...

A cluster of neighborhoods lies in the heart of Southern California, streets that form a grid between concrete ribbons of freeway. Nearly a quarter of its young men will end up in prison. Many others will end up dead. These neighborhoods in South Los Angeles are home to two of the most infamous African-American gangs, the Crips and the Bloods. On these mean streets over the past 30 years, more than 15,000 people have been murdered in an ongoing cycle...