Random Family

When Jeannette begins school in Welch, an African American girl Dinitia Hewitt and her friends harassed and beat up Jeannette for being scrawny and filthy. She is constantly made fun of because it is apparent that she lives in poverty. The other children do not accept other that aren’t like them and Jeannette is no exception. Her worn clothes and grimy hair are like a neon sign shouting about her life in poverty which makes Jeannette an easy target to bullies. Jeannette tries very hard to stand up for herself, however, the bullying only stops once other realize that living in poverty and being different was not Jeannette’s

Jonathan Kozol’s Fire in the Ashes is an honest depiction of the hardships and triumphs of families in the South Bronx, New York. In this book, Kozol introduces us to several Hispanic and Black families that he originally met in the Mott Haven/Martinique Hotel in the 1980’s and allows us to view their trajectory in the proceeding 25 years. By allowing the reader a look into the lives of these families, he provides us with a realistic depiction of the disadvantages families living in poverty encounter despite interventions from charity organizations and philanthropic donors. Kozol identifies that without “systematic justice and systematic equity in public education” (Kozol, 2013, pg 304) students in these impoverished neighborhoods will continue to lack the same economic opportunities that may potentially lead them out of the welfare system. Kozol emphasizes lack of stable housing, and unequal educational opportunities, as primarily conditions to perpetuating poverty. Despite the challenges that the families endure, Kozol is able to show that they are resilient.

Chapter 2, “Falling in Love”, shifts the discussion from race to gender. This chapter sheds light on the structure of male-female relationships on the streets. The lack of stability, surrounded by the destructive atmosphere reveals how women learn to use their sexuality as a tool for survival. However, this chapter mainly focuses on Tina, a homeless female heroin addict, and her experiences growing up surrounded by poverty, abuse and addiction.

“Virgins,” a short story by Danielle Evans is a coming of age tale that details the arduous journey of upcoming womanhood taken by a young girl and her friend. This young girl is named Erica and her friend is named Jasmine they are both black teenaged girls living in a lower income neighborhood. As one reads, the question emerges of how Evans presents a commentary on the issues that girls on the verge of womanhood must overcome, appears. What aspects must be portrayed to fully paint a picture into this world? Danielle Evans uses teenage ideals of self worth, themes of maturity, and a common disregard of morals to present a commentary on the issues girls on the verge of womanhood must overcome to fully prosper.

As told through her mother’s perspective, one will learn that Trina is a eighteen year old female of African-American decent and resides with her mother in Los Angeles, California. Trina’s parents, Keri and Clyde, provide their daughter with an upper/upper middle class lifestyle due to her father’s sudden successful career and her mother’s successful resale clothing business in Los Angeles. This well rounded and beautiful adolescent has recently graduated from high school with high grades and was accepted to Brown University, however, due to her summer manic episodes, Trina has not attended college yet.

After reading The Other Wes Moore, I have realized that the two Wes Moores had similarities in their lifestyles especially in their neighborhoods. Although they were living in similar neighborhoods, their outcomes of how their life ended up being were different. One Wes ended up in jail serving a life sentence for killing a police officer in an armed robbery. The other Wes became a Rhodes Scholar, business mogul, army officer, and White House Fellow. I think the way they lived and the people that were in there lives manipulated how their lives would end.

I bought the memoir “Popular” knowing a good amount about the topic mainly because I attend a school where popularity is a big thing. Even though this memoir is mainly for females, I believe males would find this book intriguing. Maya Van Wagenen’s adventure is informed in this memoir about how she turned from being at the bottom of the popularity scale, to climbing up to the higher up spots. What was unsettling about this memoir was how deficient and cruel Maya’s area was. For example, an innocent eighth grader from another school even got shot at for carrying a pellet gun to school. A drug war also took place in Maya's area, making me change the way I looked at the world. Realizing that the world isn't always in joyful times. Also, this

Random Family follows an extended family living in the Bronx, bonded by blood, love, and their commitments to each other. Throughout their lives, these individuals interact with various public health and social services, yet their experiences demonstrate the numerous gaps in services provided and moreover how critical access is. Despite some successful points of entry, Coco’s story highlights the significant adversity she and her children face on a regular basis. This paper examines the needs of Coco and her children, their attempts at accessing different services, and the obvious gaps present in health and social service sectors.

Jeremy Johnson had always knew he didn’t belong in unkempt Agrestic with its uneducated residents and a high murder rate. Although he had to live in such awful conditions he defied the typical poor black high school stereotype and excelled in school, was caption of his school’s basketball team, and volunteered at his local youth group. All he wanted was to complete his senior year and get out of the town with his scholarship to Howard University, but he couldn’t graduate without doing one thing first. Helping Lydia. He knew his sister was heading down a life-threatening path and he’d do anything to help her.

In her essay “The Girls in My Town,” Angela Morales discusses the large number of teenage pregnancy cases taking place in the city of Merced. As a teacher, Morales realizes this pattern of teenage pregnancy is present within her students and tries to understand and find out why the girls have become pregnant at a young age. Morales compares her pregnancy before and after with the experience of her younger hospital roommate, who is shockingly twenty years younger than her. Morales draws conclusions and explores the situations of the girls in her town who continue to follow the status quo of their ancestors, regardless of an evolved society filled with resources and programs available to them. Fantasy, make-believe, and

Moonlight is a film that covers three different acts in a young man’s life. Going from childhood into adulthood while dealing with the hardships of his sexuality, and identity within his community. We see that Chiron struggles to find his place in the harsh landscape of what he calls home. As we watch him navigate his way through life we are reminded that his environment is what ends up shaping him into the man he becomes. Throughout the film in Moonlight, we see many complex problems from bullying, poverty, drug abuse, sexuality and much more. I am going to be looking at the psychological and economic effects on the characters relating to poverty. The reason I chose to focus on poverty is that poverty plays a huge role in shaping these characters identity. The backdrop throughout this film is the environment in which these characters are trying to survive however when you begin to look deeper only then can you truly understand the psychological and economic effects within the community.

In Toni Cade Bambara’s “The Lesson,” she encourages Sylvia to look society in the eye and change what is expected of her. She exposes the inequality present within the United States’s society through the perspective of young African American children. Often, many are unwilling to acknowledge that they are a victim of poverty, leaving them in a state of ignorance, that will not promote any change. The story revolves around Sylvia, a young black girl, who finally has her eyes opened to her disadvantaged economic status. Real learning often occurs after a state of discomfort and confusion. Bambara takes Sylvia through a journey enlightening her through an uncomfortable juxtaposition of Harlem and Manhattan, her and her friends, and who she actually is and who she wants to be.

her life around to fit in with the crowd . She is soon exposed to drugs, sex and violence. It

A dystopian novel by Marie Lu, entitled, “Legend,” thrills audiences with a futuristic outlook of Los Angeles. The enthralling fifteen-year-olds, Day and June, are the main characters of the fictional story. Worlds apart, Day and June were raised in completely different lifestyles, each with their own family adversities, and individual ways of handling the situation. Day was born into a family of lower status, living in difficult conditions, persisting through daily life with resources shared between his mother and two brothers. On the contrary, June had the life of luxury, high in ranking and near the top in social status.

As I wrote in the introduction, the main theme is identity formation. Ellie is a ‘lost’ teenager who lives her life on coke and other narcotics. She has some problems with her parents, and she blames them for everything: To whom? To what? To why? To God? To Mum? To Dad? Not then especially not them. It was their fault she was doing this bloody course in the first place.”