Living MLK's Dream

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[dresgame]

Identity: leaving jr high

Life was what it was. Fast, exciting, fun, dangerous and short. My eighth grade year was more of the same. More of Detroit’s kids, Michigan’s kids, America’s kids getting killed or pregnant. There were more whites leaving Detroit, more blacks leaving Detroit, and more green money leaving Detroit.

I would continue to be lucky. I would escape fights. I had a gun pointed at me but it was not fired. I was lucky to have Keith as a deterrent to those who would consider messing with me. In addition, to Keith I had my cousin Stan’s rep that I could walk safely in. When I arrived in the University district I was ashamed of being from the poor projects. But, now I let everyone know that I came from the projects. In todays terms that gave me the highest form of street credibility. I was real. I was from Detroit’s black bottom so don’t fuck with me. 

The behavior of the thugs in my affluent neighborhood was the same as the real thugs in the projects. I could not differentiate between the behavior and values of these affluent black kids and the poor black project kids. Detroit was still the murder capital and the Brewsters was still the worst. My old apartment in the projects made the news. 692 Mack was on the news because a senior citizen couple, of which the husband was blind, was found murdered in their bed.  They were bound and set on fire.

My mom had always suspected two guys from her high school tried to break in our house that fateful night. Those two guys were arrested for the murder of the couple.  Criminals and their values and their behavior were what my peers were idolizing. 

I ended my jr high career physically intact and probably no smarter than I was when I started.  Did I study? No. Did I know how to study? No. And, I would not know how to study for another decade.

Which High school to go to was basically a life or death decision. Think about that. My mother had remarried and so did my dad. All four of my parents scraped up their money to send me to a private catholic school somewhere so far from my house I had to take 3 public buses to get there. Bishop Borgess in Redford Michigan.

When I enrolled the student body was 70% White 30 % Black with about 2200 students. By the time I graduated the student body was about 80% Black and %20 White with about 700 students. Black, White and Green flight.

This is the end of part one:

[dresgame]

Identity : still the worst I've seen

School was a joke. We laughed and played everyday all day. Myself, Keith, Micheal, and Marvin had so much fun at school we would not go home on half days. And, we were all head over heads for Nikka and Angelina. (More on those two later)

One day during school a rumor was spreading about a member of the Log Cabin gang coming to pick up his little sister. You have undoubtably heard of 8mile thanks to Eminim.

For those who don't know 8 mile separates Detroit from the suburbs or as it became known to some as the street that separates White from Blacks.

Log Cabin street  is located half way between 8 mile and 7 mile in the very affluent neighborhood called Sherwood Forest that I mentioned earlier.  7 mile had a gang too. It was called the 7mile BK’s (black killers) of which Sam Cannon (mentioned earlier) belonged. Six mile had a gang as well. Up until this day I had never heard of the Log Cabins. Why should I hear about a gang full of affluent Black kids.  Hell, why is there a gang full of affluent Black kids in Sherwood Forest or in the University District?

I was aware of the 7miles and 6miles but Detroit gangs at the time were not like Crips and Bloods. Meaning, they were not easily identifiable. They did not wear colors and throw up gang signs.

This day a Log Cabin and two of his friends, members or not I don't know, would nearly lose their lives.

By the end of the school day everyone was talking about the 7 miles coming to Hampton jr. High to kick this guys asses. By the end of the day I also found out that there were members of the 7mile gang amongst my peers in jr. high.

One of those peers was Jojo Gardener.

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20081206/PC1602/312069936

My interactions with Jo jo were always pleasant but he was a well known thug. My affiliation with Keith and my cousin Stan kept me in the safe zone at Hampton jr. High. But, this Log Cabin dude was in the kill zone.

The bell rang and what seemed like an entire jr high school population went out to meet this Log Cabin dude and his two friends.

Everyone wants to see a fight right? And, why not kids fought all the time. But this was no fight. The 3 log cabin boys were bum rushed. Meaning attacked viciously from all angles by a multitude of thugs.

The 3 boys started to run back toward home but home was at least a mile away. They made it pass Adrian and Damond Bonds house on Warrington which was across the street from the Hampton Elementary side and turned the corner on Margareta St. towards Livernois. (see map below) Simultaneously, a car driven by a well known BK came flying around the corner. This well know BK was well know for being well off. He was probably 16 driving his own car.

http://goo.gl/maps/hRgBC

Warrington street and Livernios is separated by an alley big enough to drive cars through. As we spectators chased the fight the BK’s chased the Log Cabins.  It became clear that the Log Cabins wanted to split up. However, the guy picking up his sister got caught in between two parked cars on Margareta St.

Another ran straight across Livernois in to traffic and was hit by a car after which it is rumored and I believe to be true that Jojo stomped his teeth out while he laid in the street after being hit by a car. There were no light weight Prious type cars back then. Tia Jed got hit by Detroit heavy steel moving at 40-50 miles am hour.

Another kid ran down the alley towards 7 mile. The car with the well know BK stopped at the Alley’s entrance and fired a shot.  Rumor has it that the guy was not hit.

The guy who was hit with fist of furry and stomped was on the ground in between two cars. I remember his sister’s screams while some kids cheered the beating on and some kids like me look on in bewilderment. There was a kid jumping from the hood of the car on to the kid's chest and face. He was being punched and kicked well after he lost consciousness.

Finally, we heard sirens and everyone ran like roaches when the lights come on. Keith and I and a few other friends ran back around the corner to Damon and Adrian Bond’s house. They both went to Hampton Elementary and Jr. High.  Kids always played basketball in their back yard and they were super cool kids.  Adrian and I were in the same grade and Damon was a year older. They had the cool James Bond last name and they were really cool. In the super fly sense of the word cool.

Thanks to my counsel Keith was now an ex bully. His renouncement of bullying came before this beat down of the Log Cabin dude(s).  As things settled down a bit Keith, like myself, was in a state of shock as we stood in Adrian and Damon Bond's drive way.

We were excited to see what we thought would be a good fight but ended up almost being witnesses to 3 murders.

To my knowledge non of the boys died from their injuries and the next day in school we learned of the life threating injuries the boy who came to pick up his sister suffered.  A few broken ribs, concussion, his eye was hanging from it's socket and other injuries. 

We were in junior high school in an affluent neighborhood. My peers were vicious animals and those who were not violent were fans of violent behavior. I'm not saying all of us encouraged those who nearly killed these boys to nearly kill someone else.  But, we excepted their behavior as something cool. We did not treat these thugs as pariah, or outcast.  We did not turn our back on them or disassociate ourselves from them or their behavior.  In a perfect world we all should have looked at those guys the way we look at pedophiles.  But we didn't.!! And, we still don't!!   What we did and have continued to do is disassociated ourselves from those who were trying to do good, trying to learn, trying to be successful, trying to be friendly. 

Everyone is up in arms about Zimmerman killing Travyon Martin. And, everyone should be.  But, the reality was and still is that Travyon was more likely to be killed by a Black man than Zimmerman. 

This is the environment I grew up in in the 70's and 80's.  Has anything changed?   An environment were you were expected to be in jail by 18 or dead by 18.  If you escaped these fates you were lucky. 

I have plenty of stories of how lucky I am to be in my 40's writing this. My good friend Damon Bond's is one of the unlucky ones.  Below is a link to Damon.  I've heard rumors as to why he is where he is but I just know that like Sam Cannon he could have contributed so much more to the world if he did not have to live with the identity of being a "Black man."    http://mdocweb.state.mi.us/OTIS2/otis2profile.aspx?mdocNumber=214945

[dresgame]

Identity : Sex in the air everywhere

It was very early in my 7th grade year that I found out that my 12 year old friend Dawn was pregnant. That news rocked me to the core. It changed me. We didn’t have porn on the internet. There was no internet.  Sex was just talked about.  It was not seen and we did not do it.  Right? Not at 12.

But, by the time I found out Dawn was pregnant my Warrington Street friends and I had stumbled upon a discarded massive collection of a neighbor’s porn collection.  He was another White person  moving out of the neighborhood.  He left this collection of porn on the curb in duffel bags and dresser drawers.  We were as happy as pre-teen and teen age boys could be about finding literally hundreds of porn mags.  We buried some, hid some in attics, and some in basements. 

One day a few of my friends were browsing through some porn in the attic of my friend Brian’s garage and Frankie and a few boys brought a girl up to the attic.  She will remain nameless but she was a White girl and the neighborhood hoe. (sorry but that what she was) She may have been 15 or 16.  I knew of her but was not old enough to know her. She hung out with the older kids (boys). 

That day she was the willing participant in a train. Although, I was looking at porn I was not going to have sex because according to the church that would send me straight to hell and participating in an orgy had to be high on the list of sins. So, I watched as everyone else including the girl enjoyed themselves.

Side Bar:

This is the early 80’s people. What are your kids doing in the 2000’s.  Porn is on the internet, on phones, sexing, I see girls walking the streets in tights that are basically black stockings.  Fathers. Keep your daughters in your life and off the dam pole.

At 12 years old I thought that I was years a way from the possibility of having sex. And, here I was in a room with my friends who were having sex. I was a 12 old boy looking at a porn mag one minute and turning down pussy the next.

A few weeks later I find out that my friend Dawn, the girl I had my first slow dance with a few months ago had already had sex and was having a baby.  I knew of the father. I believe he was 15 years old.  The act of sex is before my eyes one day and a few weeks later the consequences are before my eyes.

The real consequences of having preteen premarital sex are the possibility of having a baby and having very limited choices in life. Dawn and the baby’s daddy did not get a fast track ticket to hell like they were preaching in church.

Staying out of hell was the main reason I stayed out of the pussy. But, if your hormones were saying take a chance God will forgive you.  And, your society says you will be dead or in jail by 18. How many kids are going to wait?  What if kids understood and was assured that if they went to school got good grades it would pay off. If they sacrificed now it is likely to pay off later in life.  We did not grow up thinking that way. We grew up thinking that if you sacrificed now you will not be around to reap the rewards.  Remember: what do you call a Black doctor in Virginia? A Nigger.

In my eyes and in everyone else’s eyes my sweet friend Dawn’s life was over at 12. What could Dawn possibility become?  She was a dead woman walking. All of Dawn’s potential was gone. Just gone at 12.   And, if that happened to a sweet and smart girl like Dawn then we are all doomed. Her bright future was gone. Our bright future was gone. Why? We are Black.

I once read that depression is the inability to formulate a bright future.  Well…..

 Where did my childhood go? I never realized that I stop being a child at around 12 until I went to Japan and taught 12 year kids.  They were what children should be they were Innocent.  I was 12. I was grown. And Dawn was on her way to be one of my greatest inspirations.  Keep reading.

[dresgame]

Identity : Hood

Somehow keith and I became very good friends. I was funny and he was funny so we got along well. We added two other guys to the group Micheal and Marvin. Statistics say that at least one of us should be dead or in Jail by 18. Keep reading to see if that became true.

I’d like to apologize to my 7th and 8th grade math teacher. Apparently we gave here two nervous breakdowns.

Keith loved to fight and would one day become a boxer. I loves to joke around and so did Michael and Marvin. Keith had the connections to all the real bullies and thugs so I considered him protection.

We spent our entire jr. high school experience playing. I learned no Math nor English. However, Michael and I were always considered two of the smartest in our 7th and 8th grade classes. We cared about sports, girls, having fun and these new things called rap music and break dancing.

Elementary school me was fading fast. I would she Dawn in the Halls and be reminded of my old self. The kid who took personal pride in his grades.

My new self was becoming more aware of how I dressed. Material possession became the new competition. And, it would become a deadly sport for many of Detroit’s Black kids.

Kids were wearing name brand clothes and jewelry. They would acquire these possessions because they either were spoiled by their parent(s) or they sold drugs for the money or they robbed someone.

The expectations for us as students were being set lower and lower everyday.  The expectations for us as people were being set lower and lower everyday as well.

[dresgame]

Identity : Identity IV

Somewhere we went from being a people united and fighting for freedom. Fighting for Civil rights. Fighting for an equal education and an equal opportunity in America.

To a full fledged rejection of America by me and my peers.

After the “I have a Dream" speech I think most Black American’s were just hit with the lingering sting of racism and the disappointment was just over whelming. The law was on our side but the people we lived with still looked at us as unequal human beings.

To be judged by the content of one’s character and not the color of one’s skin was not an instant reality. And, it would not be a reality for a long time.

There is a difference in being considered unequal as a human being and being considered an equal human being who is an unwanted threat.

I believe that their are few Americans who believe that Blacks are inherently unequal to Whites. You will find those ignorant Americans on Jerry Springer. President Obama is the very embodiment of being judged by the content of one’s character and not by the color of one’s skin.

As my earlier post states “We are being judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin." The problem is that many Blacks have been identifying with and embracing attributes of failure instead of attributes of success; and therefore, today the identity of the Black character in this country is more often seen as negative as oppose to being perceived as positive by ourselves and those who are not Black.

Travyon Martin was perceived as being a threat first. Even if he (Travyon) did not identify with the life of a thug there are so many Black kids identifying with that life style that an idiot name Zimmerman thought that he must be a thug. What other possibility is there? He can’t be a doctor, or a lawyer…right? Wrong idiot he can be. He could be anything. He could have been anything! He could have been anything! He could have been anything!

Here is a Black genius.

http://news.yahoo.com/4-year-old-with-iq-of-145-becomes-mensa-s-newest-member-141316099.html

What will that mean? Because she is Black will she be encouraged to entertain us? Or, will she be able to find the cure from cancer, find life on another planet, or reverse global warming. Being born Black should not limit your options in life.

[dresgame]

Identity : Identity III

I’m a Jr. High School kid in Detroit going to school with all Black kids.  We all had a short outlook on life. We saw studying as an attribute of being White. All the White people were leaving our neighborhood. It is not a long leap to see how we began to resent this behavior of White flight and start to say in the back of our minds “Hey, fuck you man. If you don’t like us fuck you." We don’t need you. We don’t like you either.  

Unfortunately, we saw success and excellence as attributes of being White and rejected those attributes. We embraced failure and mediocracy. Why?  Probably because it was easier than embracing attributes of success.

Being Black became synonymous with acting silly, being a comedian, being a great athlete, being a great singer, not being smart, not caring about your future, being a player, fighting, being a thug, being a drug dealer, admiring drug dealers, not listening to White music, not eating White food, not dressing like a White person, not trying to go a school that was predominately White (private schools and most universities) not working in White America.  I think you get the picture.  

(there is nothing wrong with being an athlete, comedian or singer)

Besides rejecting White schools, foods, clothes all the aforementioned can be found in any lower class community in any country in the world.  Acting silly, being a comedian, being a great athlete, not being smart, not caring about your future, being a player, fighting, being a thug, being a drug dealer, admiring drug dealers are attributes of a lot of kids in Japan. I’ve see it first hand.  Are they acting Black?  

What about English kids who act like that, or Russian kids who act like that,

or kids from Kenya who act like that, or kids from India who act like that are they all acting Black?

Do we own a patten on failure that we are licensing to other people? 

We have all heard it before.  Look at that White kid acting Black.

   I guarantee that the White kid was not studying for the MCAT when that was said.  

[dresgame]

Identity : Identity II

What about kids who identified themselves as Black and did not have a community of people Black, White, Asian or other to hold them to a higher expectation. An expectation of excellence. What is the likelihood that those Black kids became productive members of society? Is is more likely that they fell into that statistic of being 1 out of 4 Black men to be killed or jailed before 18 or becoming a professional? Or, like myself they were just lucky. Professional entertainer, dead, in jail, or lucky. Life here offers a lot. SMH.

The Black Identity that we grew up with in Detroit did not provide us with a positive long term outlook on life. This was and still is just the reality for a lot of Black kids in this country. A positive long term outlook on life is a minimal requirement to reach such goals as becoming a doctor, a lawyer, a CEO, or a President.

At Hampton Jr. High if a I chose to embrace the attributes that go into reaching goals like becoming a doctor or lawyer I would be considered a sellout. My peers would consider my behavior as the behavior of a White person. I would surely get my ass kicked and kicked often. So, I didn’t act White I acted Black.

This is the biggest problem in the Black community.

It makes success and excellence synonymous with being a White American. It is like White people hold a patten on “success and excellence" and in order for a non White person to be successful and produce excellent work that person needs to obtain a license. Similar to obtaining a license to use a company’s software. You can use it and act like you own it but you will never own it. You can act White but you will never be White.

That is ridiculous!!

It tells Black kids that in order to be successful you have to act White. (what is acting White?)

  Again, this is ridiculous. What do you tell the Japanese kid in Japan who is studying hard to become a doctor? Tanaka san you are acting White. What do you tell the Indian kid in India who is studying to become a computer scientist? Ravi you are acting White.

Again, this is ridiculous!!

This tell all parties involved a huge lie! It tells Blacks that no matter how successful they become or how excellent their work is they will never truly be successful. Blacks are just utilizing a license. (i.e. the old racist joke: What do you call a Black doctor in Virginia? A nigger.)

On the flip side it tells Whites that no matter how bad they are as a person they will always be better than Blacks. I’m a White toothless, 22 year old, uneducated, pedophile, living on food stamps and having sex with my baby sister but at least I’m not Black.

Excellence and success has no color!!!! Excellence and success is not owned by any race. However, people all over the world who are successful and produce excellent work share common attributes. I can name a few:

1) a long term goal

2) a belief that he/she can reach that goal

3) focus on that goal

4) an expectation that he/she can reach that goal

5) an expectation by those around him/her that they can reach that goal

6) Support in reaching that goal

7) very very hard work

Race has nothing to do with success! Failure has nothing to do with Race!

Success and Failure are not racial attributes nor are they cultural identifiers.

[dresgame]

Identity : Identity

As a junior High School student it was easy to identify one’s self as Black because it was all Black kids there and no White kids. (But, what is Black) We were at an age that identity was becoming very important to us. It was probably the most important thing in your life. I remember identifying as a Black person in elementary school when Roots came on. I was able to understand that something horrible happened to people who looked like me by the hands of people who were White. But the next day I still played with my White friends. I was just a kid. Not a Black kid…… Yet.

In Jr. High I was identified as Black by my friends, family and strangers. I was being prepared for life as a Black man. The expectations put upon me was those of a future Black man. Think about that for a minute. We were not raised as future productive citizens. We were raised as Black men and for the girls Black women. (this is just the facts) We were not raised to be future lawyers, future scholars, future doctors, future business owners, future teachers, future carpenters, future journalist, future authors or future criminals.

We were raised to be future Black lawyers,

future Black scholars,

future Black Doctors,

future Black business owners,

future Black journalist,

future Black writers

or future Black criminals.

  The problem with that is that in this country “Black" has never been considered as equal to or better than others in this country. Black has never been synonymous with excellence. Unless you say Black singer or Black athlete. You have to be excellent to become a professional athlete, doctor or lawyer.

Who wants to strive for second place? Who wants to practice or study something day in and day out and have a belief that no matter how hard you try you will not be considered just the best? Thank God for those Black kids who despite this reality studied hard anyway and became those doctors, lawyers, CEO’s and the President of the USA. This message is not for those exceptional Black kids. It is for the average Black kid. The pictures above are of exceptional people regardless of race. 

What about the average amongst us? The good writer, the good journalist, the good business man or  the good doctor.  Those Black people should be able to enjoy their life in America just like the good White journalist, the good  White business man, the good  White doctor. That is true equality. The good white student and Travyon Martin, a good student,  being treated and seen as equal.  That is my dream.  

 The road to seeing this dream become a reality is to first raise the expectations of the average Black kid and person in America.  Making a clear distinction between Afro-American culture and lower class values and activities that are not unique to Afro-Americans.  These two steps will get us to a world with a broader scope of possibilities within the identity of being Black.

[dresgame]

Identity : New expectations

How are you suppose to feel when people are running away from people who look like you as if we all had leprosy?

As a child the only differences between people where skin color and religion. And, those differences meant nothing to me.

  Ok…..the Daniels prepared spaghetti differently. They put the sauce on top of the noodle

and all the Black people I knew ate spaghetti with the sauce and noodles mixed together.

Jewish kids got more presents at Christmas. Obviously, I still did not really get Hanukah. But, these insignificant differences and insignificant differences like them would become extremely important in forming the prospective in which I would view the world and how I would related to the world around me.

Hampton Elementary had a very diverse student body with White kids making up a slight majority. However, Hampton Jr. High had no White kids. The majority of the students that attended Hampton Jr. High did not live in my neighborhood.

http://goo.gl/maps/4zSn6

They came from across a major street called Livernois Ave which was right behind my house. Livernois Ave. has 3 lanes in both direction and there were retail shops up and down the avenue. The houses on the other side of Livernois Ave. were more like the house my mom was renting then the mini mansions in the University District.

The kids from the other side of Livernois and I were students at Hampton Jr. High. No one cared about their GPA like my old Hampton crew did. We just cared about making jokes, and playing in the halls and filling on girls. Nothing wrong with that but that was "all" we cared about. That was all we care about. Again, that was all we cared about.

Our teachers tried to get through to us but to no avail. I guess we just did not see the value in being educated. We did not see a meaningful future in having a good education. Why? Why was getting good grades so important to “me" in the sixth grade and not important to “me" in the seventh? The calibre of teachers did not change. My family did not change. My mental capacity did not change. I just did enough in school not get in trouble. I lived up to what those around me expected of me. My teachers “hoped" for the “best" out of me. However, they did not “expect the best" out of me nor my friends.

The expectations for Blacks were and are still set extremely low. As kids we were always told that 1 out of 4 Black kids would end up in jail or in prison by the time we reached the age of 18. That is one thing. But, to have the understanding that even if you get past 18 people would see you as a Nigger/Black man was another thing.

I’ll stay in school not having fun until I become a doctor only to be called a Nigger by someone on my graduation date. That is encouraging. Not.

So, why put your best foot forward if you are likely to die before you can do anything with your education. And, for me ….. Jesus might come back before I graduate.

This must change!!!!!!

Expectations must change!!!!!

[dresgame]

Identity : White Black and Green Flight!

Well, that was that and we all took off for the summer and promised to hang out from time to time like we did every summer. But, there was something drastically different about that summer. White Flight It seemed like all of the non Black people in the University District including my non Black friends were moving to the suburbs. Jordy, Jeremy, Michele, Hugh were gone by mid summer. “White folks getting the hell out of dodge is what the grown ups were saying." “Too many Niggers around here now." What does that mean? If I asked any Black person older than me there was a common response. “White people are prejudice and don’t like Black people." That reason never vibed well with me. The Daniels were White and they treated me like a son. The Silversteins and the Shumans showed me nothing but love. How can they not like Black people? I’d ask in rebuttel and in defense of my White friends. “Oh, they won’t show it openly but they really don’t like Black people." That’s some bullshit I’d think but would not say. Black flight I was so excited to meet up with my friends on the first day of school at Hampton Jr. High. I was truely dissipointed that my friend Richie was not going to Hampton Jr. and that I would have to walk to school by myself. Richies parents decided that he would go to the Jesuit school around the corner for Jr. High. Oh well. Off to school I went. My assigned seat in my homeroom class was directly in front of a well known bully named Keith. He beat up my friend David and he beat up my friend Damon. I was not afraid of Keith but I really did not like him or any of his bullying friends. More devistating than having to spend most of my day with Keith at Hampton Jr. High was the realization that none of my Hampton crew enrolled at Hampton Jr. High. I was alone.

Green Flight I was the only member of the Hampton crew besides Dawn that did not go to a private junior high school. This was Black flight. In reality White flight and Black flight was Green Flight. Those with money left and those who didn’t have the money to leave were trying to get themselves and thier kids out of Detroit’s ever increasing negitive and violent atmophere and culture. Media called in White flight because their were more Whites leaving then Blacks. However, that is because there are more Whites than Blacks. Blacks only make up about 12 % of the country and at that time probably only made up 35% of the University District.

[dresgame]

Identity : Leaving pride in GPA behind and going to Hell

I was in the sixth grade and finale year at Hampton Elementary. As a sixth grade student I continued to do well acedemically. However, things that had a significant influence in the way I saw the world and related to the world around me begain to change.

Danger was everywhere. I had to be careful and conscious of bullies and thugs more and more. There was constant fighting in school. My Hampton crew was being either threatened or physicall assualted by other elementery or Jr. High school kids. However, somehow I was still a happy elementary school kid. I was having fun in my classes and having fun with my friends. We had our sixth grade school dance. We did not have to ask anyone to the dance. Thank God! However, at the dance I asked my friend Dawn to dance with me. Most kids were afraid of being rejected and embaressed. I was afraid of being rejected, embarrassed and I was also afraid that she would say yes to dancing with me which according to my church was an act of sin and could land me in Hell.

Dawn danced with me to this song. Culture Clubs’ “Time won’t give me Time." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD9eD7f2IG8 Dawn was a sweet heart. ( an amazing story about Dawn still to come)

The Hampton crew graduated from the sixth grade. Hugh, David, or Jordy was number one in the class and I believe I was in the top ten. The competition for grades ended upon graduation. Little did I know it but I would not take “personal pride" in my GPA again for years to come.

The following year I would start at Hampton JR. High which was physically connected to the elementry but was seperated by a long empty corridor that neighter the Elementary nor Jr. High students could enter. We were also separated by something that took must of my life to identify. (don’t worry I’ll explain later)

[dresgame]

Identity : Stan and Materialism

Stan:

Before moving from the projects my Aunt married Stan's Uncle in Stan's backyard. I remember the house being huge and majestic. Stan was about 3 years older than me. We played together alot at the wedding. He had more toys and just random stuff than all the kids I'd ever known all put together. I left the wedding and Stan's house to return to the projects and would not see him again until one day when my Aunt dropped by my house on Warrington and asked if I wanted to go visit Stan. I said yea. We jumped in her new Cadillac and drove for about 5 minutes and the suddenly we pulled into Stan's drive way. He lived around the corner. We were family. And, now I had street cred and ecconomic cred.

Pic of my Aunt's Caddy

Stan was well known in the University district and he was rich. At leasr he appeared to be rich. This allowed me told hold my head a little higher around my Hampton friend because I had cousin who could have a candy store full of candy in the other part of his kitchen. On Warrington all the older kids like Franky and Rodney had mad respect for my cousin Stan.

Materialism:

http://www.sneakerpedia.com/sneakers/3102

As a sixth grader I was becoming very concious of designer clothes. The kids from affluent homes would get their parents to buy them designer clothes and shoes and other kids would either sell drugs to get these clothes or beat up and steal the clothes from the affluent kids. The Max Juliean coats, Jingle boots and Top Tens were really popular. What clothes you were sporting became very important to Kids especially to the kids on Warrington. But, it didn't seem important to my Hamton crew or to Chris Daniels. why? I'll answer that later.

[dresgame]

Identity : Bullies or Thugs? Nop they are thugs.

1983 my sixth grade year and final year at Hampton Elementery was a turning point for my school, my street, and my city. In school I was noticing more fights, more bullying In fact, Joseph Banks stole my lunch money. He was representitive of a growing number of kids at Hampton who were acting like the older guys on Warrington and the guys in the projects. This thug thing was sprwading like a cold. One of the most notrious individuals of this group of Black kids who came from well to do families in the well to do University district and but choose to be a thug was Sam Cannon.

Yet Sam was not just a thug he was a violent criminal and it seemed like he raised the bar on being a thug. It was rumorred that him and the other bad Cannon kids were all the proud children of Dr. cannon. Sam was not only street smart he was book smart too. He got great grades. In fact, one of the few encounters I had with Sam was when he randomly came up to me and said "I'll kick your ass if I get a better report card than you." I didnt even know this guy. What is this guy a smart thug?  

http://mdocweb.state.mi.us/OTIS2/otis2profile.aspx?mdocNumber=208773

The above link is to Sam.  I truly believe our society let him down. I truly believe that Sam could have done something wonderful with his life.  My 5th grade teacher Mrs. Felton once said to me "Sam is smarter than you." I really believe that he was. I been blessed to do so much with my life and I hate that someone smarter than me has to sit behind bars. I know that there are so many Black men in prison or dead in part because of a flawed view of what a Black man is or should be. I'm going to change this perception for brothers like Sam and for myself. Stay strong Sam.

On Warrington we were getting more and more visiters from different streets who would come to play basketball with us or street football. All of these visters were Black and had the same thugish lifestyle that Frankie and Rodney were adopting.

During this time Detoit was constantly being awarded the title of Murder Capital of the US. The YBI (see below) were recruiting kids to sell drugs. My old home, the Brewster's, were regarded as the worst Detroit had to offer and my new home the University District was regarded as the best Detroit had to offer. The University looked affluent and well to do but its fountaition of sucess and saftey was being irroded and replaced with failure and thuggery. Detroit was turning into the projects. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Boys_Inc.

[dresgame]

Identity : The beginning of US vs. Them

My fourth and fifth grade years at Hampton Elementary and in the University District  were exciting and fun.  However, what was exciting at Hampton and what was exciting on Warrington street were really  starting to differ. Things were getting edgy-er on Warrington. Franky and Rodney were in high school chasing tail full time and getting into mischief that could land them in a lot of trouble.   

I was living in three different worlds at the same time.  The sanctified world, the collegiate world at Hampton and this changing world on Warrington. My friends on Warrington were never into school and they were mainly just mischievous but around the six grade Warrington street started changing for the worst.   I would over hear stories of smoking weed, drug selling, robberies and wild parties.  My close friends were openly proud of being a player and a thug. This included my best friend Richie but did not include my good friend Chris Daniels. When I was with my Hampton crew I felt like I was poor.  But, that really did not bother me because everyone thought I was in the same boat they were in more or less.  I was very ashamed of coming from the poor projects.  In fact, I never told any one that I came from the projects.  I just told people that I was from the East side of Detroit.  I was understanding the classification of rich and poor and why it was better to be considered rich rather than poor.  In the projects everyone was poor so there was no need for classification.

Ironically,  my friends on Warrington were starting to act like the older guys I know in the projects. They were proud to act or try to be like those guys from the projects.  But why? The guys in the projects were poor. They had very few options in life other than to follow the crowd and revert to criminal acts.  My friends on Warrington had lots of options and opportunities. We went to a great schools and lived in a safe neighborhood but they wanted to bring the project lifestyle to our neighborhood.  

I also noticed that there was more and more talk of identifying ourselves as “Blacks or Niggers" and everyone else as White people.   Why was this happening?  Over the course of a few months I noticed that the majority of Black kids outside of the Black kids in my Hampton crew were accepting the life style of the project thug over the life style of a good smart kid. Good smart Black kids who tried not to get in trouble were being ostracized and treated like a pariah.  While being a thug and rejecting an education was becoming more and more popular amongst my friends on Warrington including my Preruvian friend Richie.  Why?   (I answer that later)

[wearenottrayvonmartin]

You think Trayvon Martin was a thug? Ha! Trayvon had nothing on my friends and me.

At 17, I’d been smoking marijuana for a good four years or so, and I also smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol. In middle school a group of us, sometimes as many as ten of us, used to hang out at “the creek” after...

[wearenottrayvonmartin]

I live in Hyde Park, in Chicago. It’s a diverse neighborhood, I think about 40% black, 40% white and some Asian and Latino in the mix. There are lots of racial politics around here (many, maybe the vast majority, of the white people are associated with the university of Chicago, while most of...

[dresgame]

The haves and have nots Halloween and Christmas and Hana-wtf?!

So far my life in my new neighborhood was pretty simple. Go to school and learn something and play. Go home play and study what I learned. At home I would have to play with either Richie, Frankie and Rodney or Chris Daniels. Chris was a bit young to hang out with the older Frankie and Rodney.

My first Halloween in the University district was here. Since Frankie and Rodney were older my mom and Richie’s parents allowed us to accompany Frankie and Rodney to go Trick or Treating in the neighborhood. I was excited. I was looking forward to filling up the garbage bag I had full of candy. Frankie and Rodney took me and Ritchie about a mile away from our block to two other neighborhoods. We went to Palmer woods and then to the Sherwood Forest. (pic above) I had landed in yet another world in Detroit. We had stopped by a few house on the way and was given penny candy. In Palmer Woods were were give whole candy bars, bags of potato chips, and some people even gave out real toys for treats. WTF. That Halloween night I learned that there were different types of people in this world. Rich people like those in Palmer Woods, well off people like those in the University District and poor people like my friends Enith and Michele in the projects.

Soon talk of Christmas break was in the air and I parted from my Hampton friends for a few weeks. When we got back in school we had a class discussion about what we did over the break and what presents we got. I was pretty happy about getting a race track for christmas until Jordy got in front of the class and told us about the numerous presence he got every day of Hanukah. Why do Jewish people get more presences than I do? I wanna be Jewish…….. I was jealous of my Jewish friends but they were still my friends. The way I saw it was they got more toys to share with everyone else.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-4-5-us-face-175906005.html