I’m a 44-year-old African-American male. I was raised in North Oakland, CA – a low-income and a high-poverty neighborhood. I lived in a household with a single parent – my queen, which is my mom. She raised 5 kids on her own – what a strong queen. My father wasn’t nowhere around in my life – that emptiness of pain in my life was a struggle. Many African-American kids grow up with similar or same pain as me.
I’m a 44-year-old African-American male. I was raised in North Oakland, CA – a low-income and a high-poverty neighborhood. I lived in a household with a single parent – my queen, which is my mom. She raised 5 kids on her own – what a strong queen. My father wasn’t nowhere around in my life – that emptiness of pain in my life was a struggle. Many African-American kids grow up with similar or same pain as me.
I tried to create my own path of life as a kid. I hustled in my neighborhood by cutting people’s lawns, washing cars, it also lessened the pressure on my mom. All the way till something dramatic took place in my life. I was pushed in a swimming pool by an older white adult. I didn’t know how to swim at all, so I drowned and I was pronounced dead by being under the water for approximately 12-and-a-half minutes. Somebody pulled me out of the pool and placed a yellow tarp over my body, until a white lady chose to give me mouth-to-mouth for over 5 minutes – giving me a pulse and giving me a chance to a second life.
I stayed in the hospital for weeks hooked up to tubes, then I was released from the hospital. I had to attend lots of learning therapy for years. I was considered a special education kid that rode the yellow bus and needed special attention from teachers. Somehow I never progressed and I became rageful and full of anger. I did a lot of stuff to seek attention growing up – I was a dare you kid.
But remember, my pain level was high growing up. I met my father at the age of 17 for the first time. I was confused, happy, angry, & hurt – all in one. I didn’t accept his apology at all, and me and him never got along. That’s only the portion of my pain I suffered, the rest of my story has to be shared in person.
African-American kids suffer from the same pain nationwide – most of that pain is:
- Locked up
- Dead
- Homeless
- Prostitutes
- Alcoholics
- On drugs
- Gang members
- Criminals and more.
How many people know that but refuse to create a healing process? People would rather make money off of painful people and painful situations than help us. Look around you, then you’ll understand what I see daily.