New Book Looks at Life in a District Gang

WASHINGTON - A new book about the nation's capital takes a look at a part of the District many people don't see. It's the true life story of a former drug dealer.

Dawayne Williams, a former gang member whose street name was Kojack, did his first shooting when he was 13.

He sold drugs in the neighborhood between the Capitol and RFK Stadium.

His book, "Reputations Fade Away," reads like a police blotter.

Williams, who was shot in the back and stabbed in the chest in separate incidents, says he decided to turn his life around when he heard a voice in his sleep.

"My life is almost taken. I begin to realize this is not the life I want to live," he says.

The voice in his sleep told him to write a book. But Williams couldn't read or write -- something he says kids in gangs don't take into account.

"What happens with a lot of people that really take school for granted -- hey, it's going to catch up to you."

Today Williams is a different man, reaching out to kids in his neighborhood, telling them there is more to life than crime.

He'll be signing his book from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 17 at Lee's Barbershop at 1500 East Capitol St., N.E.

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