I Went from Selling Crack on the Street to College Thanks to the Work Ethic of My Poor Black Communi

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/i-went-selling-crack-street-college-all-thanks-work-ethic-my-poor-black-community


A photo of the author, center, with his friends Darnell Baylor, left, and T., right.(Credit: Heezy Bear (heezybear.com))

My grandma Famma Gill worked her ass off. Her worn, plump, diabetic hands scrubbed crud off chipped dishes minutes after she finished a 10-hour shift. She washed clothes, took care of her husband, did unpaid church work and cooked for 17 of my cousins and me at times. I don’t remember her taking a day off. She was a hardworking homeowner in the inner city who clocked in every day until she died.

And even though she prayed for me daily in the midst of her task, I stilled ended up on the corner like most of the men in my family. I didn’t adapt to her religion, but I did inherit her work ethic.

At 18, I’d often slice the tips of my fingers up while shaving marble-size pieces of crack into smaller bits before shoving them into long glass vials that I rocked off for $6 a pop. I’d suck the blood off my fingers, rubber band the vials into a bundle, tuck them in my sock and then go off to my block around 8:30 a.m. to set up shop for my 10- to 12-hour shift.

My homie Lil Duncan with the chubby face, who was about four years younger, would normally be shutting down and on his way to school. He sold heroin and normally started around 4 a.m. (you gotta beat the sunset to slang heroin) and then closed in time to drop his little sister off at school and make his first-period class.

[kaiden]

1. Beautiful and powerful.

First read of the morning. Thanks for sharing.

[xchrom]

2. ...

[jeff47]

3. K&R (nt)

[Supersedeas]

4. the generational dynamic is also what is so touching