He had come to the park that day and risked his life to invite Steve to a special upcoming church service, one to be hosted by a powerful traveling evangelist.

He knew they were on the verge of attacking his friend. Steve pulled Mike away from the other Crips to warn him he was treading on dangerous ground. So far, all that witnessing had seemingly fallen on deaf ears yet Big Mike was relentless. Mitchell had often shared his message of the redemptive powers of Jesus with Steve even though he knew Skipper was one dangerous individual. But it was only a casual acquaintance of Steve’s, “Big Mike” Mitchell, bravely approaching the gang members. Every one of them reached for his weapon, assuming this was someone who posed a threat to them. Then one day, after he and his “brothers” had robbed a store and were loudly celebrating in a city park, they spotted someone coming their way. That long-held dream of using his talent to become a successful artist was soon forgotten. He even sold drugs to fellow students and members of his high school football team. Before he was old enough to drive, Steve was the drug-debt enforcer for the gang. He became a member of the Crips street gang, one associated with members in California and the Mexican drug cartel. By the time he grew into a frustrated and unhappy teenager, he was attracted to a new “family,” a new group of “brothers,” but ones who had chosen a very dark lifestyle. Soon there were other obstacles thrown in Steve’s path, including family trouble at home and the trauma of being bused across town from his all-black elementary school to a mostly white school in Homewood as part of that era’s integration efforts. There was little more she could do, though, but offer encouragement. That was a teacher at Rosedale Elementary School who immediately recognized his remarkable talent. Only one person encouraged Steve to pursue that impossible dream. That included his mother, who assured him no African American could ever make a living painting pictures. But everybody who mattered to him kept telling him his aspirations of becoming an artist were impossible. Steve Skipper had some mighty big ones, starting when he was a youngster growing up in the Rosedale community near Birmingham.

Growing up skipper before and after