This April, Urban History Comes Alive When
Ghetto Brother: Warrior To Peacemaker
Arrives From NBM Publishing

This April, NBM Publishing proudly presents Ghetto Brother, the true story of  Benjy Melendez who brought a truce to the gangs of New York in the 70s by writer Julian Voloj and artist Claudia Ahlering. 

Jeff Chang, author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation, says in his introduction, "The story of the Ghetto Brothers is the story of the Bronx in the 1970s… The Ghetto Brothers are still considered legendary by those who know."

An engrossing and counter view of one of the most dangerous elements of American urban history, Ghetto Brother tells the true story of Benjy Melendez, a Bronx legend, son of Puerto-Rican immigrants, who founded, at the end of the 1960s, the notorious Ghetto Brothers gang. From the seemingly bombed-out ravages of his neighborhood, wracked by drugs, poverty, and violence, he managed to extract an incredibly positive energy from this riot ridden era: his multiracial gang promoted peace rather than violence.

After initiating a gang truce, the Ghetto Brothers held weekly concerts on the streets or in abandoned buildings, which fostered the emergence of hip-hop. Melendez also began to reclaim his Jewish roots after learning about his family’s dramatic crypto-Jewish background.

This title is currently being solicited by Diamond Comic Distributors.  Order Code: FEB151507
6×9, 128pp., black and white paperback: $12.99;
ISBN 9781561639489