Sunday, December 11, 2011

Reaction to "Our America"- Karina Klimek

Hello fellow bloggers. I finished reading the book "Our America" two days ago. I read all 200 pages in one sitting because the book was such a page turner. What intrigued me in this book was the vivid descriptions of the living conditions of the two authors. I live about 30 to 40 miles away from where this was taking place and although I live such a short distance away, my suburban life is incomparable to the lives of LeAlan and Lloyd. I would like to include a very powerful quote from  the end of the book that really stuck with me.

"I'm five foot seven and 147 pounds. I live in the ghetto. I'm supposed to be a loser. I'm supposed to be on the six o'clock news shooting people's heads off. I'm supposed to be the one that you grab for your purse when I walk by. I'm the person that doesn't vote. I'm the person that is supposed to drink. I'm the person that is supposed to smoke weed. I'm the motherfucker that is supposed to fill your jails. I'm the peson that you  make examples to your kid of what not to be like. I'm supposed to be a basketball player. I'm supposed to make it only because of affirmative action. I'm not suppose to be positive. I'm not supposed to be educated. I'm not supposed to know what I know. But I do"- LeAlan page 177

This quote is so powerful because LeAlan shows that he is very aware of the stereotypes that are associated with the people that live in the projects. LeAlan, however, cannot be classfied using any of these stereotypes. Despite harsh living conditions and the exposure to gang violence, LeAlan had big dreams and enrolled into college. He knew that in order to not become a victim of his environment, he had to be a hardworking and successful young man.

In the book "Our America", there are many examples of how having tough familial situations could lead to behavioral and psychological problems. Lloyd was still suffering from the sudden loss of his mother. Luckily, his two older sisters decided to stay by Lloyd's side and provided him with as much care, love, and attention as they could. Lloyd was negatively influenced by his father's alcoholism as well as his gambling addiction. Towards the conclusion of the book, we learn that Lloyd, unlike LeAlan who had a very powerful familial support system, was not going to graduate and go on to college because he had fallen behind. This bump in the plot made me think of the organization that Jacqui interviewed, The Jesse White Tumblers, and how their tutoring program would have helped Lloyd stay on track and finish school. I understand that the environment that the students who grow up in the projects makes the educational journey tremendously difficult. LeAlan and Lloyd described the poverty level of the inhabitants of the Ida B. Wells projects and how they did not have good lighting, proper plumbing, or comfortable settings to learn in. I hope that in the future, after school programs that provide moral support for students and organizations like the Jesse White Tumblers will be more common. This organization takes into consideration both the educational and physical prosperity of the students and probably gives many of the participants the chance to escape their hardships.

The book "Our America" in many ways reminds me of the book that we read early in the semester entitled "Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way". In both books, the students of impoverished communities wanted their stories to be heard in hopes of opening the eyes of fellow citizens who are unaware of their difficulties. Both of these books will forever stay in my heart and in my mind because they teach about perseverance, struggle, and personal triumphs.

To conclude, I would like to add one last quote that sums up the truths that I have aquired through the process of reading books such as "Our America" and "Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way".
"And yet I am supposed to feel American. I am supposed to be patriotic. I am supposed to love this system that has been detrimental to the lives of my people. It's hard for me to say how I'm an American when I live in a second America- an America that doesn't wave the red, white, and blue flag with fifity stars for fifty states. I live in a community that waves a white flag because we have almost given up. I live in a community where on the walls are the names of the fallen comrades of war. I live in a second America. I live here not because I chose to, but because I have to. I hate to sound militant, but this is the way I feel."- LeAlan page 199-200

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