In 2003, Jessica Kate Williams was murdered in one of the most horrific ways imaginable. James Daniel Nelson was ultimately responsible for this and another murder in 1992. But he didn’t hold the weapons that killed Jessica; he had his “family” do it for him. How did he have such control over a dozen other street kids? ALL GOD’S CHILDREN: Inside the Dark and Violent World of Street Families, written by Rene Denfeld, explains how. James, or “Thantos” as he liked to be called, was the “father” of a street family in Portland, Oregon. In the 1990s Portland was very tolerant of street kids. They flocked to Pioneer Square, panhandled, fought among themselves, and sometimes mugged strangers. A lot of their crimes went unreported by the media. By 2003 there were several established street families that usually included a father or mother figure who made the “kids” panhandle all day and turn the money over to them. A street family might give a teenager the feeling of belonging, but if they dared break a street rule they could end up dead.
ALL GOD’S CHILDREN is about how teenagers end up in these gangs, blindly following the sometimes deadly instructions of someone who is absolutely no relation to them. James Nelson’s mission was to live on the streets permanently. As long as he had people to panhandle and run errands for him he could do this.
Denfeld shows us that these kids are duped into thinking they are safe in a street family, when the truth is that even a made-up transgression can get them killed. The descriptions of torture and murder in this book, as given by witnesses, are matter-of-fact but VERY disturbing. I chose to skip reading most of the killing of Jessica Williams because it bothered me so much to know that there are such cruel and disturbed people out there on the streets. I live in Portland and walk through the groups of kids around Pioneer Square. I’ve always had the feeling of “there’s room enough for all of us”. I think Denfeld’s intention was to wake us up to the reality of what’s going on in these families.
I was very interested in the subject as I had a relative that was among the street people at one time. Denfeld spent 10 years observing these people and her descriptions of them are multi-dimensional. I really came to care about Jessica Williams and am heartbroken to read how she died. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever wondered, “Why are those kids just hanging out there?”
( )

Interesting, but really lurid. I'm mostly reading it for the local angle -- I see the street kids everywhere, and I was hoping to get some insight, however tentative, into their lives. But the kids I see around seem mostly harmless, mostly peaceable, not the murderous little shits with stupid street names populating this book.

But then, I'm 32 and docile. What do I know? ( )

Interesting, but really lurid. I'm mostly reading it for the local angle -- I see the street kids everywhere, and I was hoping to get some insight, however tentative, into their lives. But the kids I see around seem mostly harmless, mostly peaceable, not the murderous little shits with stupid street names populating this book.But then, I'm 32 and docile. What do I know? ( )

A very dark portrayal of Portland's street youth scene. I have lived in Portland for most of the time covered by this book and I am distressed at how little I knew about the details of the lives of the teens I passed daily on the streets of downtown Portland.

Rene Denfield has a clear agenda in this book, an it sometimes clouds her analysis, but it was a good, and sometimes painful counterpoint to the (limited) media coverage on the issue. I think this is an important book to be included on the reading list of anyone who is concerned about some of the most challenging social service issues in Portland. ( )

A very dark portrayal of Portland's street youth scene. I have lived in Portland for most of the time covered by this book and I am distressed at how little I knew about the details of the lives of the teens I passed daily on the streets of downtown Portland.

Rene Denfield has a clear agenda in this book, an it sometimes clouds her analysis, but it was a good, and sometimes painful counterpoint to the (limited) media coverage on the issue. I think this is an important book to be included on the reading list of anyone who is concerned about some of the most challenging social service issues in Portland. ( )