Duke Givens grew up in the 6th District of Long Beach, an area that became known for drugs, gangs, and violence. Duke left to join the Air Force shortly after graduating from Polytechnic High School (my alma mater, too) and, when he returned, was dismayed by the violence that claimed the lives of so many of his friends.

An avid photographer during high school, he created a calendar as a memorial for his friends who died, and as a tool to help show that another choice was possible.

More recently, he re-examines those images and the stories in a new documentary film he produced called The Game Don’t Change, Just The Players. The film will have its world premiere at 6PM on Friday, August 2 at the Long Beach Polytechnic audiotorium as part of the Wilmore 9 Festival, taking place all weekend. There will be a second screening at Poly on Sunday at 4PM.

In this interview, he speaks about his love of community, his belief that change is possible, and the process of creating the film.

More information about the Wilmore 9 Festival can be found at Wilmore9.com. You can catch Duke on Facebook at facebook.com/TheGameDontChange.

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