This piece was told to Ivory Bennett.
I have been through a lot living in Brownsville Projects. Growing up, my dad was incarcerated for the first seven years of my life. I have been witnessing death around me since I was a kid. My cousin died in 2007. Then, my aunt died. My father was killed. My brother was murdered. I have two dead brothers, one that died in 2015 and another one that died in 2020 or 2021.
I feel like I could never grieve, but I do not always have to be broken. That is one thing I am gifted with — being strong.
When people hear that someone is from Brownsville, most of the time they think drugs, dealers, and gang violence. But there are a lot of good people who come from here. A lot of us are talented. We got singers, dancers, jump ropers, people who went to college, smart people with good grades, and people who do good for the community.
We have family days. People come out and perform their talent. We have events for kids, stages, bouncy houses, and people who work on things so the kids could be better. We are trying to stop the violence. But you never see it on the news.
I hate Brownsville, but I also love it at the same time. No matter what, I will always come back. But I also plan on moving far away. I want to live. I want to visit other countries.
I am working on a documentary because I want to speak about people’s lives. A lot of my friends have been traumatized. They are forced to use violence because the system around them treated them poorly. We grew up around the wrong things. If kids could be around better things, how would it change?
I have a new group called Save the Next Generation. I am watching teenagers that I watched grow up going through things that I did not want them to go through and also went through myself. It is frustrating. Someone had to make a change.
When I was young in school, I always had a counselor because of my anger issues and involvement. So I think it would be good for me to look out for kids like me. I host group meetings with people that do not like each other. I bring them together.
People who grew up not liking each other or were beating each other are now riding bikes with each other. People are saying, “I grew up hating a person that I have so much in common with.” There are things that are better now.
But we need more. We need community meetings, programs for kids, centers, and more sports programs. For people who are talented, I would like to create programs for them so they can grow and experience better ways they can get out and receive help with work and school.
Sometimes, people struggle with school. Sometimes, people need to be in smaller groups. Sometimes, people need extra support in their subjects. That will help them want to go to college and pass more.
There are a lot of people out here who need help or need shelter, but no one wants to really go out and look for people who really need help. I see a lot of money going to waste. It helps nobody.
It is all about people having counselors and social workers checking up on them, and ACS verifying if there are issues in the home. You have to check on people. Make sure people have resources. Hire counselors. Make sure people have activities.
People judge without asking. People judge books by their cover, which is not cool. Some people think parents are not taking care of their children, but most of the time, parents are going through things. There were times when people understood that I needed help and helped me. There were times people did not understand, so they hurt me. I stayed to myself until someone finally understood.
Home is where you are treated comfortably with others. Home is a place where everyone loves you. Everyone has the potential to be bigger than what they are. Everyone needs to be understanding.
Always listen. Do not judge a book by its cover. Do not believe what other people say. You cannot judge someone without walking in their shoes. Until then, you cannot judge anyone.
Life goes on with or without you. If you focus more on the past, you will miss the future. We will all see a light. Never give up on yourself. We are strong.
