I never prided myself in anything associated in the state which I grew up. Lincoln was past history and all I could see was Ill and Noise. I lived those 18 years in the suburbs 30 miles west of Chicago, unattached from the inner city. Then at the age of 13 that all changed. My best friend’s sister was an inner city teacher near the south side of Chicago. She invited her sister and I to come stay with her and attend summer school class. My mom being a single parent of seven, and with the attitude experience was always the best teacher allowed me this endeavor.
The culture was completely different from the one I saw as secure. It was walking distance to the school each day. I was shocked to see window after window broken and bars on all the windows including the doors. Their buildings weren’t painted neatly as I was so accustomed but had graffiti spray painted here and there. We’d also see a bum/wino or two since it was quite early when we left her apartment. Who lives like this, I thought? Then while attending class I realized we were all around the same age and that we had a lot in common. As I got to know some of the kids I remember asking one of the guys something like, “Why are all the windows broke around here?” He answered to the effect there’s nothing else to do. I replied, “so you just go around breaking windows? That sounds stupid to me.” I guess he never had anyone his own age say this to him because he got defensive saying things like,” Where am I ever going to go? Who is ever going to see me other than a black kid?”
Specifically I remember him saying we break windows cause we don’t care. I came away from that experience with a sense of sadness and despair. I really liked that guy, he was smart, witty and cute (well, I was 13). I know now he lived that way because there wasn’t much hope for inner city raised children back in the early ‘70s.
He knew at adolescence what statistics would later say; gender, poverty and race play a prominent role in the fact he would most likely end up in prison: 93 percent chance being male, 46 percent chance being black and 65 percent chance being poorly educated.
Fortunately for this young man as well as countless others in his situation there was someone who was highly educated with a vision to change that despair and yes, bring them hope. I can now say with the utmost pride I am from Illinois. I am 100 percent behind Mr. Barack Obama to become our next president. This man walked into that same neighborhood which I had a brief summer encounter and saw what I saw, people stifled. But he also saw what I saw; smart, witty, hardworking people. He had the vision that he could help make a change.
This man with a 4.0 degree from Harvard Law School could have gone on to do whatever his heart desired and he did. He became an inner city organizer for those people and helped halt their despair. I feel like that young man I met so long ago. Our country’s Constitution has been shredded. Our country has been lead into war by fear mongers lying to all of us on why we needed to invade and now occupy Iraq. We owe trillions of dollars to anyone and everyone. What happened to posterity?
Our planet is in peril and the Bush administration has left the fox to protect the henhouse when it comes to just about every important bureau in Washington. We are viewed by other countries as tyrants. We have become that inner city.
I urge anyone reading this to go visit Barack’s Web site or take some time out to read one of his books. My mother taught me very early in life the difference between want and need and we need this man!
Mary Petry lives
in Greenbank.
