Acknowledgements Voices of Compton Compton Literary / Arts Journal Dr. Keith Curry, CEO Ms. Barbara Perez, Vice President Mr. Robert Butler, Student Life Office Mr. Cleveland Palmer, Contributor of Student Artwork Ms. Chelvi Subramaniam, Humanities Chair Dr. Ruth Roach, Publication Coordinator & English Faculty Mr. Jose Bernaudo, Reader & English Faculty Mr. David Maruyama, Reader & English Faculty Ms. Toni Wasserberger, Reader & English Faculty Mr. Patrick McLaughlin, First Year Experience & English Faculty Ms. Amber Gillis, Advisory Team Member and Faculty Member Associated Student Body & Humanities Division Faculty
Cover Artwork:
Jennifer Deese, Dalia Cornejo, Tyler Sims, Luis Mota,
Amy Huerta Cruz, Violeta Martinez, Adriana Sanchez, Marysol Ortiz
2011-2012 Publisher: Southern California Graphics®
©Copyright 2012 All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents |30| Poem about My Own People (Poem) by Lonnie Manuel UPTOWN |31| Man-child: My |40| Emergency Room Pages [13] My Sense of Identity Experience (Essay) (Essay) [4] A Father’s Love (Poem) (Essay) by David Richardson by Jaime Yoshida by Stephanie Bentley by Desiree Lavea |32| Poverty: My Experience |43| “Underdog” (Poem) [4] Self Portrait (Sketch) [15] Love Is (Poem) (Essay) by Carlos Ornelas by Tony McGee by Erica Monique Greer by Rodney Bunkley |43| The Joker (Painting) [5] Untitled (Sketch) [16] Love Confessions |34| Depression from by Ricardo Villeda (Guest) by Tony McGee by Danny Westbrook Oppression (Essay) |44| Children of the Universe [5] Rikki (Poem) [16] Have You Seen the by Jachin Wallace (Poem) by Stephanie Bentley Peaceful Side of America? |35| Untitled (Painting) by Carlos Ornelas [6] Bitter Noodle Soup (Essay) by Bryan Ortega |45| Felix (Painting) (Essay) by Jasmin Espejo |36| In Them Grande by Daniel Felix by Lucina Jasper [18] Sophia (Painting) Apartments (Poem) |45| “Good-looking” (Poem) [9] American Dream (Essay) by Jonathan Palencia by Shante Harrell by Carlos Ornelas by Willie Villanueva [18] Of Gardens and Such |36| Little Mary Jones |46| Poem: Poor Thing [10] My Salvation (Essay) (Poem) (Poem) (Poem) By Kevin Brown by Vonice Berry by Geraldine Hernandez by Daranisha Perry [12] Jesus (Sketch) [18] Embracing My Culture |37| Defeated (Poem) |46| Poverty (Essay) by Jennifer Deese (Essay) by Shonte Hobson by Keauna Howlett [13] The After Effects of a by Melissa Ramos |38|Lady with a Dragon Skull |48, 49| Untitled (Painting) Sunday Dinner (Poem) [20, 22] Herminia (Painting) by Jose Madrid by Luciano Duran by Michawn Browning by Nancy Silva |38| Rage (Poem) |48| As for the poems I write [20] Joy (Poem) by Heather Ceja (Poem) by Carrie McClain |39| Life (Poem) by Carrie McClain DOWNTOWN by Cintia Tostado |49| Society (Poem) |21| Poverty in Downtown Los Angeles (Essay) |40| Women (Poem) by Monica Johnson by Paul Nganga by Cynthia Horton |50| We the People (Essay) |23| Los Angeles: Imminent Eradication (Essay) |40| DD (Painting) by Cara Tyler by Michael Ridgeway by Alicia Gonzalez |24| Los Angeles: Skid Row (Essay) ALL AROUND TOWN by Racquel Staine-Willis (52) Untitled (55) International Waters |26| When Anger Erupts (Essay) by Vonice Berry (Poem) by Chiquita Wright (52) African Dance Circle by Naty Requena |28| Compton: The Perspective (Essay) (Short Essay) (55) Bruce Lee Portrait by Raymond Ventura by Stephanie Bentley (Painting) |29| Half Life (Poem) (54) Poem (Poem) by Joshua Scott by Ellizabeth Weissmann by Ifeoma Okongwu (56) The Importance of |30| Marilyn Monroe (Painting) (54) Expressions through Family (Essay) by Luis Mota Poem (Poem) by Timothy Parker by Tremain Shelton 3 4
(57) Jim Morrison (Painting) (67) Culture (Poem) by Alejandra Chavez (Guest) by Monica Johnson A Father’s Love (58) Immigration: Broken (68) Is Compton Really All By Stephanie Bentley Borders, Broken Lives That Bad? (Essay) (Essay) by Aaron Williams My dad made things happen at the age of twenty-one by Jackie Delouche (70) Black on Both Sides, When he asked for mom’s hand in marriage because he (62) The Benefit of Plus Brown: Portrait of Mos knew she was the one. Immigration (Essay) Def (Painting) by Rodolfo Siordia by Tyler Sims He manned up at a very young age (66) For All the Haters (70) What We Are (Poem) Thinking only of himself, he missed that stage. (Poem) by Cara Tyler By Demeris Wycoff The two of them had children, they had four Life then with young ones was never a bore.
Both worked hard to provide for their kids Prefatory Note They were a happy family rarely livid.
The theme for this edition, suggested by the abstractions on the cover, We had everything from designer clothes to delicious food is uptown, downtown, and all around town. In a way it is kind of And we were all nice children, well mannered and good. indeterminate which shapes represent “downtown”—the squat square which resembles the box houses of suburbia or the tall almost rectangular cone which resembles the tall high rises or skyscrapers of Sometimes as siblings do, we fought “downtown” or the converse, that the squat square represents the But it never lasted, it was always stopped. “downtown” feel of those low in the hierarchy while the tall cone represents the high rise lofts of downtown afforded only by the wealthy. My dad was always there through the thick and the thin The ambiguity reflects the differences of perspective like the fact that He could have left us and not have seen him again the same shapes take different forms depending on the artist. It seems the sphere represents “all around town,” all around the world of the But he didn’t walk out he showed us all love town. Indeed, this volume explores these aspects of urbanity or the And for that I thank God up above. world from the urban perspective. From this vantage point, students explore what is elevated, what is low, and what fills the environs of our world—and the paradoxes and ironies of these places.
[Note: Dialect is sometimes preserved in the art.]
Self Portrait by Tony McGee
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Bitter Noodle Soup By Lucina Jasper In Audre Lorde's essay, "The Fourth of July,” she discusses two very different tones. The first one being in awe and excitement for visiting Washington, D.C. for first time and, secondly, her shattering Untitled experience with American racism against African Americans in the 1940's. Being of mixed ethnic background, I experienced a similar kind by Tony McGee of racism in the 21st century as Lorde did in the summer of 1947 with her family. As a child, I never paid attention to being of a different ethnic background, even though I was always referred to as "la chinita," the Chinese girl--because of the shape of my eyes, even though I am Japanese and Mexican. I was born to my Mexican mother, who is a small, dark-skinned woman with curly hair and a very warm and infectious laugh. My father was a tall Japanese man who was very simple and kind. They fell in love, and their union was looked down upon, especially from his family's side. My mother was never accepted as his wife. Not too long after marrying, my father was killed in an
accident. After the tragedy, my mother, a young, heartbroken widow, found out that she was carrying a baby in her womb. She was happy but sad at the same time because my father never knew that I was to be. She told my father's family about her pregnancy, and they still Rikki refused to accept her and acknowledge me, even after my birth. That By Stephanie Bentley was my first experience of being treated differently because of my mixed ethnic background. My daughter, my child, my only one In "The Fourth of July," Lorde describes how she encounters We had good times, bad, boring and fun racism for the very first time for being African American. She discusses her family's first trip to Washington D.C. and before she can fully grasp I remember taking you in the morning to school the open segregation they experienced, she writes about her parents’ And you giving me a kiss even if it didn’t look cool. protective nature. She states, "my mother and father believed that they could best protect their children from the realities of race in america I remember us riding in the neighborhood on bikes and the fact of american racism and never giving them name, much And us doing things together that we liked. less discussing their nature” (sic). As she discusses her parents’ behavior, it reminds me of the way my mother was towards me when I was a child. She was just extra careful and trying to cushion any hard It seems like it was just yesterday, times goes so fast blows of differentiation. Even though as a child I was too innocent to Now you’re grown a young lady at last. notice, not knowing my fathers’ side of the family has always been a difficult thing. As Lorde described her family’s experience in the ice cream shop and being denied service only because of the color of their skin, it struck a nerve with me. It brought back memories of my experience with my own ethnically diverse family at a local Japanese noodle house 7 8
on a warm August afternoon. That day, we were all walking around When our food was finally brought out, our appetites had town, just like Lorde had described her family in Washington D.C., “we disappeared. I tried the soup, and it had a bitter taste of racism. I didn't were a proper caravan, mother bright and father brown, the three of us like it at all. It left me with a bad aftertaste in my mouth. We remained girls step-standards in-between." That day in August, it was my very seated and allowed the children to eat and enjoy their food. They are dark-skinned husband, my dark-caramel son and daughter and I, my too young to understand ignorant behavior like that. As the waitress very light skin toned self, all holding hands. It was a good happy day. returned to the other table and was friendly with them, a spoken word No tantrums and everyone had been enjoying themselves. Then Yuna, caught my attention. She said, “Gaijin,” and looked at us. I instantly our seven year old daughter, saw a noodle house and loudly exclaimed understood everything about her behavior towards us since we entered that "she and her brother were hungry and she was looking at the that simple little uninviting restaurant. “Gaijin” means outsider. I was perfect place for lunch!” We agreed and walked in; the warm and not ashamed or embarrassed. I felt bad for her ignorance, and I wanted savory aroma of noodles and broth was immediately inviting and made to leave that place immediately. We had lost our appetite and now felt all of us realize how hungry we actually were. sick to our stomach, but we calmly allowed our children to finish their We approached the waitress of the small restaurant. It was a lunch. Since in their innocent world they had not caught the waitress' small 'mom and pop' type of shop and it was very tidy and it felt as if behavior, they happily enjoyed their lunch. you were walking right into grandma’s kitchen. There were only about Lorde explains: “Straight-backed and indignant, one by one, my six medium size tables and each was adorned with flowers, and a family and I got down from the counter stools and turned around and samurai-themed soap opera was playing on the television in the marched out the store, quiet and outraged, as if we had never been corner. The older waitress reminded me of an aunt from my fathers’ black before.” This is how Lorde describes how her family felt after the side that I had seen on photos that my mother had kept. She greeted white waitress had refused them service at the ice cream shop for us with a small reserved smile, barely showing any teeth. A few being dark skinned. It is so unfortunate that she as a child had to minutes after we were seated, she brought us cold tea drinks and our experience that type of behavior. That’s how we felt inside as we menus to order. She left in a hurry back to the kitchen, seemingly busy. allowed our children to finish off their meal, like they had never seen a A short while after, a typical looking Japanese family walked in, and the multi-racial family before? I thought that at some point in her life the waitress came out and greeted them very cheerfully and warmly. She waitress who had a very thick accent had experienced some type of then walked them to their table, across the room opposite us. Her racial discrimination. It was just wrong. demeanor was completely different to how she reacted to us, so we So afterwards, I stood up and I went to the register and I asked just assumed that they were regular customers. for the supervising manager. An elder Japanese man came out from With our minds made up with what to eat, we were ready to the back with a chef’s hat on and a small crisp white apron. I told him order, and she was chatting with the Japanese family. I beckoned her that I wanted to pay him only, for our meal. He seemed puzzled. So I and she came and took our order. She took it to the kitchen and then proceeded to explain to him the behavior of the waitress and her returned to the other family and took their order, too. A short while "Gaijin" comment, and how we felt disrespected with our children. He passed and she brought out their appetizers and soups. At that point apologized to us and invited us again to for a free meal on the house my husband and I just looked at each other, with that “I know what’s and told us it would never happen again. I told him no thank you and going on” look. Our daughter Yuna, on the other hand, who is very we paid. We walked out of that noodle house and knew we would outspoken and still innocent on this type of issue, noticed that they never return. We realized that as progressive as the United States is, were being served before us. So she genuinely asked out loud, "why we knew that racism is still alive today in more than one form, but just are they getting their food first, when we were here before them and not as obvious and permitted as in the time that Lorde was living. ordered before them, too?" Even though we had already realized what was going on, we were in a mild denial about what was happening. It was just really weird. It had happened to us before, as just a couple, but never with our children. This was different and more meaningful; our multi-ethnic family was present. It hurt. 9 10
nook enjoying sips of hot cocoa drink is all a consolation. The tingling American Dream muscles in both legs can be easily relieved by putting them up across By Winnie Villanueva the chair in the nook. When eyes get so weary after checking all the bills and reviewing the classroom assignment, the comfortable sofa What is a typical American dream? Provide a roof over the offers relaxation. head. In short, it is to buy a house and provide shelter for the family Your home is where your heart is. Your heart is where your that is the typical American dream. Three out of ten Americans own a home is. It says it all. The dream house, an American dream, it meant house. This is by far the highest of the American dream. A sign of a lot to me. A place where I see myself grow old and, maybe in the stability, good family relation, and security. This is a place where near future, where I will see my grandchildren. I would never live children’s character is built, and foundation of husband and wife elsewhere other than my American dream. In the comfort of my dream relationship. The comfort of the dream house. A house is not a home house, as Kamiya writes, “I will watch the world get old and young, live when there is no unity and respect for each other. and die” (Kamiya 112). All the hard work and sacrifices it all paid off One storey house painted in apple green color. The main towards the realization of my greatest American dream. wooden door is painted with crimson red situated in the south side of the street and faces north. The lawn is covered with neatly mowed Work Cited grass – bright green in spring time, where you feel you can just live Kamiya, Gary. “Life, Death and Spring.” Longman Reader. San there forever. As Kamiya describes in “Life, Death and Spring,” “It’s Francisco: Pearson, 2011. 111-116. good to have a place where you can go to watch the world get old and young, live and die” (Kamiya 112). This is the place, my house. The clean smell of steamed carpet makes you feel so…. My Salvation clean. The smell of sautéed onions in the kitchen makes you hungry. By Kevin Brown The soft, melodious music in the den makes you stay until night. In wintertime, we gather in the living room, light the fireplace and enjoy Are you saved from sin? If not, how about you come to the warmth of the red blazing fire of the firewood. Didn’t enjoy the Jesus? This is what any preacher in a church says to bring new people smell of the gas to begin with. Once in a while, we hear the crackling to Christ so that they may have salvation, which is known to be eternal of the burnt firewood that sounds like a little firecracker on 4th of July. life, in the Holy Bible. Langston Hughes’ essay, "Salvation," explains In summertime, the smell of barbeque is all over the place. Neighbors his experience when he decided to come to Jesus. It made me relate to are holding their own barbeque parties, and sometimes our street is him on a surface level because I went through a similar experience congested with all the visitors’ parked cars. But I would never live when I was young and received my salvation. Mr. Hughes felt liked he elsewhere other than my dream house, my American dream. was forced and pressured into believing he saw Christ by his aunt, The early morning sun catches the glittering dew. The birds peers, and church congregation, just as I did. We both came to Jesus chirping for joy seeing the first rays of the sun. As I look out my back to be pleasing to our parents, though we didn't see Jesus. I was saved window exposing the spacious backyard planted with several apple from sin when I was six years old. Ignorant to the Word of God, but trees, oranges, lemons and the big old tree which serves as a nesting convinced by the fear of God, gave me a spiritual and moral place for birds, this is the place where I want to grow old. The big old awakening. tree sheds off the leaves. Leaves fell on the ground in contrast with the I began going to church when I was six years old. I had no green grass in the backyard in the fall and grew back in spring. Spring idea why I was going to this church in Los Angeles on Avalon and warms the heart, for it is in springtime you’ll see new leaves which 120th Street, when I lived in Rialto, CA, which is in San Bernardino signifies a new phase in life. All is new. County. My mother would wake me and my sisters up at the crack of Owning a house and doing what you want to do is a dawn so that we could get picked up early by a church friend, Sister realization of an American dream. Long years of hard work to save up Flossie May. This routine has been done before which is why I thought towards the down payment and sacrifices are all worth it. Coming we were going to visit my nanny who stays in LA. No, we were going to home from work, tired and hungry, knowing that you’ll be seated in the boring ol' church. I'd rather sleep in, but Mommy didn't give me a 11 12
choice. Just like any other six year old child, I was upset because I me, but nothing" (Hughes 159). I felt what he should have felt and I thought the weekends were my days off from getting up early and was much younger but scared straight of my consequences of not avoiding school, and you're telling me I have to go to Sunday School? I having my salvation. I knew I was going to get everlasting life as my was reading at third grade level when I was five; I couldn't have been faith grew from my fear. I repented for my sins and felt comfortable that bad in class to deserve an extra day. Of course I couldn't tell my enough to acknowledge Jesus even if He came like a thief in the night. mommy that. As she would say, "This ain’t no democracy. This a My dad was so proud of me and my sisters that he wanted to get right dictatorship. Do as I say with no lip, or I'd bust it." So from that point on with the Lord and had received his salvation the following Sunday. my late night Saturdays were gone. I had a new bedtime, so I can be I was saved from sin when I was six years old. Although I efficient in the early morning to get ready for Sunday school. was ignorant just like Hughes who felt like he lied to the church, his In Sunday school, I learned about how God is a good God peers, and his aunt, I somehow thought on a spiritual level with the and how He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins. At that age I Lord, I believe, which is why I understood what was happening to me felt eager to understand why God would send His Son to die. My mom spiritually and that I wouldn't have to see Jesus literally to be saved. I explained that we would learn more in church. So I went into morning also believe that I had a better teacher to help me understand the point service thinking it would be like second Sunday class and boy was I of receiving my salvation as I was taught by my own mother in whom I wrong. The service was full of singing, praising, and people falling out share a special kind of bond and not my aunt. Perhaps you can say I everywhere. It had got to the point where my mother started speaking faced my fear and gained my faith. in tongues and crying which confused me because I thought that Jesus made us happy and not sad. The order of service was in the program and I felt like Hughes’ friend Westley where Hughes says he whispered "God damn! I'm tired o' sitting here" (Hughes 159). I was ready to go as well. I felt like I'd spent my eternal life in this one service. After the Jesus Pastor was done preaching, it was time for altar call where my pastor Charcoal on paper, sounded just like Hughes’: "Won’t you come? Won't you come to 18 x 24 Jesus?" (Hughes 158). by Jennifer Deese My pastor said we don't know when Jesus is coming back, and it might be tonight, mistaken for a thief. All we have to do is accept Him as our Lord and Savior, and we will have eternal life in heaven. As the pastor said these words, in my head I was thinking, “Wow, why would Jesus want to come steal from me?” I thought He loved us, so I want Him to love me so God can forgive me for my sins. I want to live for eternity and go to Heaven. I knew my sisters would follow me if I went up and received my salvation and maybe I can save my dad, too, who didn't come to church. I wanted to be pleasing to God, and I knew that I would if I accepted His Son as my savior. I just felt my spiritual awakening-- and understanding that my mom isn't uneducated so she knows best, and she was giving me that look like I better take my butt up there, although I had felt like I was going to do the right thing and was scared that if I didn't, not only would my mom be upset, but I'd also be displeasing to God-- I went and accepted Christ that day. I felt my moral conscious unlike Hughes as he continued, "And I kept waiting for Jesus, waiting, waiting--but he didn't come. I wanted to see him, but nothing happened to me. Nothing! I wanted something to happen to 13 14
doubled in value on the island. Traditional clothing is mainly worn on the island, but some individuals wear t-shirts, pants, and shorts. The After Effects Of a Children on the “little rock” would play outside half-clothed; moreover, Sunday Dinner they would be barefoot on dirt and rocks. I assumed they were used to that lifestyle, a part of their childhood sense that they were having such By Michawn Browning a great time. The children would play with different objects from Sunday dinners are just too great children in America. They either made their own toys or played with The food that is served, has a unique taste whatever they could find playful. In the river, lake, and lagoon, is where individuals would swim, fish, bathe and do their laundry. I myself had a Macaroni and cheese is the cheesiest swim in the river along with my grandparents, where I enjoyed myself And vegetables are the healthiest very much. I have a partial remembrance of what it was like, fresh cool But there’s nothing like the dessert water and capturing that moment with my grandparents. Which of them all, is the sweetest Living in a small island, everyone is likely to know about everyone’s business. In other words, no one can keep a secret. The Sunday dinners are the next best thing women in the island are talkative and have a liking to gossip; Next to Thanksgiving additionally, most men on the island have the same thing in common. Followed by the eating Every day on the island, I would hear rumors, stories, and gossip. When I would wake up, I would hear my great grandmother singing her You get something we call black folk syndrome favorite church hymn. I could hear the birds chirping and the sound of Which is when your body shuts down everyone waking up chatting and preparing meals. I remember hearing Your eyes close tight children awaken early playing outside cheerfully along with the sounds and you just want to be alone. of animals. I had a humble feeling from everything I observed. Children from ages 12 and up would be responsible for their families’ chores;
they were disciplined and obedient to their parents. I was not surprised,
but I had a sense of guilt. I thought of myself as a spoiled American
brat. I could sense some of the children my age were a bit jealous of My Sense of Identity me coming from America, but I paid no mind to it. Besides that, the By Desiree Lavea sounds in the island were very different from what I would hear in the In my homeland, many would describe the island of Samoa States. as “paradise.” The island is small and filled with coconut trees, palm The wonderful aroma of my cultural food is what I miss from trees, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, animals, along with many fruit trees. the island. The smell of the foods was just so different from what I was Because the island is very small, everyone is most likely to know each used to in America. I was quite fascinated at what the people on the other or even be related somehow. Furthermore, the people of the island would eat and how they would cook it. There are small island lived in hut-like and modern-like homes that they built businesses in America that sell Samoan foods, which I rarely eat. themselves. An island filled with green, blue, and brown-skinned However, it is very delicious and I would recommend for others to try. I people. A place I call home that gives me a sense of identity, even could smell the animals in the island, when I am near the farm, and I though it is not really my home. could smell the animals that are being cooked. Samoa did not have the In the beautiful island of Samoa, everyone helps each other resources America had, but they knew how to survive with what they with everything. Everyone participates in performing chores, such as had. In each person’s home, there is a scent that it contains. I wouldn’t cooking, farming, and building homes. This was a daily routine for each call delightful, but it was not disturbing at the same time. I know if I ever family. There was a sense of unity in the island. There are very small smell it in America, I would automatically think of the island. businesses around the island; furthermore, the value of a U.S. dollar is 15 16
Lastly, Samoa, my homeland, “does not really have seasons” Love also can be hurtful Love can be a strength (Kamiya 114). The weather in Samoa is humid. It is summertime all in many different ways. Love can be very short year long, and it is never winter. You can barely feel the touch of spring Sincerely. in length whereas “You can exist without spring, but it cramps your soul” (114). Love can be spontaneous The only touch of spring I would feel is the drops of rain. It rains often Love can be outrageous on the island, yet the weather still remains warm. I would go outside Love and experience the feeling. As I feel the rocks under my feet under my Love can be “stole” sandals, I walk in the rain feeling free. When I first got to the island, I Confessions Love can be sowed thought I lived in a much better condition than my people. As I by Danny Andrew Love can be a verb observed the lifestyle they lived day by day, I realized it was the only Westbrook Love can be a word lifestyle they knew and that that they were survivors. They knew that Love can be fun Love can be quiet they had nowhere near the lifestyle of Americans, but they did not think Love can be sad Love can be honest of themselves as less fortunate. They lived and raised a generation to Love can be very hard to Love can be loyal know and teach how to live life. I thought that it was poverty, but I was explain Love can also be spoiled wrong. It was a peaceful lifestyle on the island. Love can be anonymous Love can be your own I was not born where I am traditionally from; however, it will definition or expression always be my home. My roots will always remind me about where I Love can be very painful come from. My brown skin and long thick hair will identify who I am to deal with just don’t take love for wherever I go. Love “can” be a lie? granted it can be many Work Cited Love can be “lust” things you might think Kamiya, Gary. “Life, Death and Spring.” The Longman Reader. 9th ed. Love can be very hard to But love is life and life is New York: Pearson, 2009. 111-116. trust living so love your life Love isn’t equal you live “Love Is” Love is respectful. Love is individual “I love you” Love is like a rose. By Erica Monique Greer Love is spiritual. Have You Seen the Peaceful Side of America? Love is real and has Love is courage, it takes By Jasmin Espejo meanings. courage to love. Love is helping others Wouldn’t you like to know of a place where you can relax, Love is adorable. who are in need who find inner peace, and be face to face with nature in America? The Love is blind. can’t do for themselves. beautiful sight of the green wilderness will amaze you and you won’t Love is cruel. have to hear the noisy city nor the smell of smog that suffocates us all Love is with in the heart Love is colorful. every day. It’s very quiet, and you get to come into contact with the and soul. Love is emotional. fascinating landscape nature has to offer. There are so many trees Love is bonding with two Love is faithful. there to see when you first step in to the forest. Everything you have people. heard in fairy tales that talks about a magical forest will look as if it’s Love is kind. Love is a gift from God, the real thing once you see it yourself. The experience outdoors will Love is loyalty. the creator of all people. surely make you stress-free. Love is passionate. “It’s good to have a place where you can go to watch the Love is dangerous. Love is patience. world get old and young. Live and die,” writes Kamiya (Kamiya Love is powerful. 112).That place exists with bright green trees that are almost blinding, 17 18
plants so healthy that will look artificial, and the open air fresh from the mechanically, too many minds changing mechanically” (Kamiya 112). mountains. Clean untainted water from the stream is a change of pace There is always a place to escape all with an astonishing environment from your normal life in the city. It is very different from the busy city on the peaceful side of America. America has, but it isn’t the only thing it has to put forward. The Work Cited animals being so close are such a fascinating thing to come across. At Kamiya, Gary. “Life, Death and Spring.” Longman Reader. San night you can see the dazzling stars shine brightly and the fire pits Francisco: Pearson, 2008. 111-116. being lit to illuminate the darkness. The trees sway ever so gently in the dark and you can hear the rattle of the branches brushing against each other. It’s not a frightening feeling but rather a soothing one. The fragrance of the forest will awaken your instincts and you Sophia will notice more of how wonderful the place is. It’s clean fresh un- by Jonathan Palencia intoxicated air that smells like pine trees and plants. It is something new to your nose because it’s the real thing, not like the pine tag you have hanging in your car. The aroma of food being cooked in the morning is very different from your home because it’s in the open air. The burnt wood makes it feel more of an outside sensation. You can Of Gardens and Such feel the warmth of the sun’s rays as if it were a blanket cradling you in By Vonice Berry the morning while the trees sway tenderly in the wind. You can hear the stream dancing to nature’s rhythm. The birds chirping isn’t as annoying as in the city; these have a melody to We will tend properly this garden go along with. If you stay still you can hear the branches rustling and Plenteous soil rich beyond earth the leaves on the ground, crunching of leaves that little animals step Bloom the brilliant on. You can hear the wood crackling after being lit on fire. It’s the voice Violet-hued visions of nature. You can’t have all this quietness in the city and unwind the Oversee each blossom whole day, so that is why there are places in America where you can Beneath Oak foresight take it easy. There are many activities you can do while you are viewing Pour forth Love nature at its best. Hiking is very recommendable to clear your mind or Saturate word to just delve into your surroundings and after you explore you can relax Seek truth to your full content and all your senses become sharper. “You begin to Elevate wisdom see that beauty is just a surface effect,” while there is also a feeling of Keep promise freedom, a feeling of profound peace (Kamiya 115). America has many Cultivate knowledge places where you can see this exquisite sight and you may visit or even camp out there anytime as long as you respect the rules. There is a sense of divine in nature but you have to see it yourself to enjoy it. Embracing My Culture It’s a peaceful mood; it’s a relaxing feeling. By Melissa Ramos Being able to experience the wilderness with no city sounds How much do you remember your childhood? As for me, it from cars on the street, construction work, or people yelling talking loud seems as if it were only yesterday. I can still smell the scent; I can still as they please is an encounter one would love to have. No electronics see the structure of her huge home. Today, embracing the vivid or vehicle can bring you inner peace like the world of green. As Kamiya memories are all that are left, for I often visited my grandmother along explains, “When you live in the city, the world is blocked from view. Too with my other siblings. Being around my grandmother’s home always many buildings, too many people, too many lights changing reminded me of where I came from, a beautiful culture. 19 20
Arriving to her home, it would be difficult to miss her elegant vintage furniture. My grandmother was a very sophisticated woman. Her color came out in her home, and self presentation. She wore Herminia colorful dresses, with laces and some with flower print; she always by Nancy Silva added another touch of color with a rose in her hair. There wasn’t a day I didn’t see her look elegant. She often said she had to always be prepared and look her best even if she was at her worst. Her home also consisted of millions of photos, like an art show. Often her photos came with stories, stories that made us scared, happy, and sad. In “A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood,” Ortiz Cofer tells of a tale told by her grandmother based on “La Loca.” My grandmother often spoke of a story as well, but this one was based on a character called “La Llorona.” In both stories a women is left at the altar, except one goes crazy and one just seems crazy. She told us of all the things my mother would do, and how she used this tale to scare Joy her. Little did she know she scared me as well. As my nana told these stories, I could hear her birds chirping (For Diana) beautifully through her kitchen while she battled with the dishes, tons of By Carrie McClain dishes. When we made these visits, we took advantage of my grandmother’s homemade tortillas. The neighbors would comment through the dark fences, “que rico, smells so good.” Like in the story Ortiz Cofer states, “at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, the hour of café con She said, “I don’t think I’ll ever be happy.” leche. The women in my family gathered” (Ortiz Cofer 118). The And I didn’t know what to say. difference is that for my family it was the tortillas and frijoles, or the delicious homemade pies. These gatherings in my grandma’s kitchen I wanted to put on the “sleeves of love” were the best! Sit her down Even if I can no longer make these continuous visits to her And give her the words of what a home, she marked my soul. My childhood is one of my best memories, and sometimes I wish I could go back, but I can reminisce. You learn a Wise woman would say. lot from the things around you, and I learned to not forget as “The memorizing creaks and groans of the rockers, and the women telling But I’m not wise their lives in cuentos are forever woven into the fabric of my And I may be just imagination” (Oritz Cofer 122). My culture stays with me wherever I go, As foolish as she is. because where you come from will always be a part of who you are. Work Cited Ortiz Cofer, Judith. “A Partial Rememberance of a Puerto Rican But a wise person once told me that it is Childhood.” The Longman Reader. New York: Pearson, Joy I must obtain. 2011. 119-123. Happiness will come and go. It is fleeting. But it is Joy that no one can take. 21 22
Sirens from the police cars were filling the alley as another patrol car came to the same area. I kept walking down on Sixth Avenue, and there was a family gathered asking for spare change. Next to this family sat another group asking for change and performing as a live band, with one playing the guitar, one playing an off the beat Poverty in Downtown Los Angeles drum, and a teenage girl singing a solo. The teenage girl in her soft By Paul Nganga voice addressed the small crowd that was forming to “I’ve never lost my fierce grudge against poverty. It is the listen to her and said “one most savage of all human afflictions, claiming victims who cannot day I am going to make it mobilize efforts against it, who often lack strength to digest what little and I will be out of here.” food they scrounge up to survive,” writes Gordon Parks in his essay As Gordon Parks writes in “Flavio’s Home” (95). In downtown Los Angeles, a city known well for his essay, “someday I its glamour and riches, tall buildings, and successful businesses, want to live in a real poverty is clearly seen in the eyes of homeless people. Poverty hits house, on a real street with every part of the world without discriminating. In Central City East, well good pots and pans and a known to us as the Skid Row, we see the devastation of poverty in bed with sheets (99). homeless people who occupy this area. People without basic Everybody wants to get necessities needed for survival. out of poverty. Nobody Walking down on Fifth Street, I see homeless people sitting really enjoys being poor. on pavements talking among each other, some screaming at the top of ◄Herminia their lungs. A homeless man nearby is pushing a shopping cart filled to by Nancy Silva the brim with blankets and a handful of empty bottles, and while he was passing by me he asked, “ are you done with the bottle in your hand?” The smell of urine and feces interrupted the soft music I was I nodded yes to him and extended my hand to him. He grabbed the listening to. There was a lot of squishy, oozing garbage and the stench bottle and continued down the street with his cart. I walked down the of hundreds of unwashed bodies. Cigarette smoke and smoke from street. I saw a couple all drugged up with syringes lying on the road exhaust pipes of cars passing by made my eyes sting. Elbows were side. The couple was clinging to each other motionless, wearing dirty rubbing as we passed each other and a crusty hard hand of a urine-stained clothes with unwashed bodies covered with dirt and mud. homeless man reaching for me touched my hand. “Help,” he cried. “I “They appeared frozen in an act of quiet violence”, writes Gordon need food.” As Gordon Parks writes in his essay, “The world behind us Parks in his essay (97). At the end of the street stood a man selling seemed like a bad dream. I had already decided to get the boy Flavio drugs to his customers, and in a flash of an eye, I saw a police patrol to a doctor and as quickly as possible” (98). I then decided I was going car approach and two police men jumped out and arrested that man. to help the man. I took him to McDonald’s fast food place where I He was put in handcuffs and thrown in the back of the patrol car. I saw ordered a meal for him. The man was very thankful and had a big smile another man digging in a nearby trash can. He removed a half empty on his face when he received his food. can of Pepsi cola and started drinking it. Poverty does not discriminate; it hits every part of the world. In America, the land of opportunity, and in Los Angeles, one of the world’s largest cities, there is poverty: people with no food to eat, no shelter to live in, and no clothes to wear. Poverty keeps growing, “keeps growing, multiplying, spreading like a cancer” as Gordon Parks writes in his essay (95). As I left skid row that day, I decided to attack poverty whenever possible. As Gordon Parks writes, “In my 23 24
wanderings I attack it wherever I can--in barrios, slums and favelas” LAUSD is the primary school district which my son attends (95). for his higher education. A school district in need of funds in the excess of over five hundred million dollars. Our governor continues to Work Cited allow the passing of pink slips to teachers that are already under Gordon Parks. “Flavio’s Home.” Longman Reader. New York: Pearson, compensated, overworked, and underappreciated. What type of future 2011. 95-101. do our children foresee without an opulent education? “Raise the taxes”, our governor says. The lower classes (minorities) are always the recipient of these tax increases. They are now cutting programs for Los Angeles: Imminent Eradication inner city childcare and head start, so we can’t work. Phase one of By Michael Ridgeway these politicians’ plan to compel us into modern-day slavery. The American Dream, Los Angeles is falling into the devilish City of Angeles, right? A far cry away from the heavens of hells of governmental devourment. To counter this, Dr. Martin Luther which my city seems to claim its name, Los Angeles. Poverty stricken King states hopefully, “We Shall Overcome” (Dr. King, 1965). Are we streets from a rebuilt downtown to a broken down crime-riddled Watts. able to in a society where when we take one step forward we’re truly My city is sinking into the ocean on dry land. Liquor stores on every placed two steps backwards? I suppose this is the never-ending war corner remind us of just what section of town we’ve entered. The between good (Los Angeles) and evil (Government). There has to be a rotating blades of the ghetto bird (police helicopter) fill the night air. In better way to solve these mundane issues that have plagued us for so “Flavio’s Home,” Gordon Parks writes: “If you get caught up here after many years. We have to be a voice in our communities. If we don’t dark it’s best to stay at the da Silvas’ until morning” (98). Similarly to stand for something, we will fall for anything. “Flavio’s Home,” some parts of Los Angeles are best not to be caught in after sun down. Hey, this is Los Angeles. Work Cited Local gang members convene a short ways away outside my Parks, Gordon. “Flavio’s Home.” The Longman Reader. Eds. Judith bedroom window engaged in psychobabble merriment. Shortly after, Nadell, John Langan, and Eliza A. Comodromos. 10th ed. thunderous echos of gunfire ignites the excessive drumming in my New York: Pearson/Longman, 2012. 95-101. chest. Sirens wail in the distance as I sadly feel the pain of another lost soul taken by the streets in my city. My faith drains from me like the puddles of red fluid which secretes from the lifeless body of a Los Angeles: Skid Row young male whose mother embraces her first born for the last time. By Racquel Staine-Willis Parks writes: “Papa says ‘El Cristo’ has turned his back on the favela” (101). The faith has diminished in my district, vanished in my habitat. On any given day in any random city in the United States, Christ himself no longer watches over us here. you can find a relatively high number of homeless people. The My uncle, my mother’s brother, scurries through these deadly homeless population in the County of Los Angeles is by far the highest streets for that off-white rock that he claims deadens the pain of a numbers in comparison with other states. Los Angeles’ homeless severely injured rotator cup obtained while on tour in Vietnam. Parks population is at a shocking 90 thousand which has jumped from 8.4 writes: “It kills me. The doctors don’t help because I have no money. thousand in 2003, of these 90 thousand 82, 291 have made their home Always talk and a little pink pill that does no good. Ah, what is to in the downtown Los Angeles area’s Skid Row. America seems to have become of me?” (Parks 98). The health care system for us is as lost interest in their own people’s suffering while moving across the worthless as a penny with a hole in it. My uncle is not able to obtain world to feed and clothe other countries. Blue Cross, and Medi-Cal isn’t footing the bill, so he turns to the glass In a similar picture as that painted in the essay, “The Storm penis (crack pipe) and inhales the poisonous smoke for relief from a This Time,” “seeing the box stores, warehouses and motels with their society which he no longer fits. Ashamed, disappointed, disgusted are roofs ripped off or caved in, downed trees and broken street signs, the feelings that overwhelm my spirit under these circumstances. If I houses whose roofs are covered in blue tarps and high rises with glass can think of these just imagine how my uncle feels. windows popped out like broken eyes” with seeming no end to the 25 26
damaged city no time frame when help will come so is Skid Row. A fifty not quite see or maybe the wall. I was intrigued by the way everything block area in the shadow of Los Angeles’ downtown skyline, a far cry and everyone seemed to be in their own world. There was a familiar from the promised land of endless opportunities which underscores the sound that really upset me, and it was that of a tiny baby who I later debt of social crisis that has ravaged our fair city. As I walk slowly found was 6-weeks old and was starting his life on the street. I was at through the poverty stricken downtown streets of Los Angeles, I find first saddened by this encounter and that emotion quickly turned to myself overwhelmed by the air of despair and sadness. Skid Row is a anger. What was going on? How could this possibly be happening in city within a city where the homeless have made their sanctuary. As I the land of the free and the home of the brave, the promise land. walk down one street after the next there are men, women, and The feeling of depression soon overwhelmed me. I found children out there living on the street or in cardboard boxes that were myself wanting to open the biggest home for the homeless. I wanted to made into makeshift tiny huts. The more fortunate tenants seem to take everyone home with me especially since the lady with the baby have struck gold because they have actual tents. There are tents and said the reason she is out there sleeping and she had a tent was boxes on the left and on the right some of the tenants are sleeping in because most of the shelters are and have been full. I simply should bags on the actual concrete. They have obviously had a long night not understand how this could be--all the money we spend on nothing. because they sleep as if they are in a nice cozy bed. I notice that the Why is it that we cannot get a woman and her baby a fine place to tenants have a certain familiar friendliness with each other. They stand sleep? On any given night we can be up watching television and there around and chat like neighbors on any given street in America seeming is an infomercial that is asking for money to help a dog or cat, or even somewhat at peace with their situation. I myself cannot continue to to help a child somewhere in Guatemala. I am perplexed by not ever walk on the sidewalk. I move gingerly to the street. I do not want to seeing a commercial where someone is asking to help the people— disturb their semblance of serenity. There are people everywhere. The men, women, and children--right in our own back yard. number of the 82 thousand plus people is like that of ants on a hill; they I believe that we need to consider that if we cannot help our are moving along in a chaotic uniformity; do not disturb them and they own people how is it that we are finding ourselves across the world will not disturb you. There are children and adults alike--no trying to help other nations. It seems like a complete disservice for us discrimination for the gender, color, or creed on those streets. to overlook what’s right under our noses. It is America’s duty to take The smell is so overwhelming in some areas. I cannot quite care of Americans, the humans then the animals. Subsequently, if make out the actual combinations of aromas. I can just say that I am there is anything left over then we help the outsiders. Never should it quite sure there have been many bathroom breaks taken in some area be the other way around. The City of Angels has skid down the Row too close to home. It is also quite clear to my nose that there are not indeed. many opportunities to freshen up. The smell of sour bodies, breath, and urine is only beaten down by none other than the all too familiar Work Cited smell of some sort of cheap beer and even cheaper liquor combination; Helvarg, David. “The Storm This Time.” The Longman Reader. Eds. which has been taken down too early in the day. Those residents who Judith Nadell, John Langan, and Eliza A. Comodromos. 10th have had their spirits for the day are the very ones that I find myself ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2012. 103-108. having very merry conversations with. The more friendly residents of skid row make it a point to When Anger Erupts approach me, “what you doing down here, pretty?” asks a tall By Chiquita Wright gentleman who introduces himself to me. He seems to be very “The Storm This Time” by David Helvarg reminds me of the interested in what a girl like me was doing down there. I explained that L.A. Riots. As I watched the news one afternoon, I was shocked at the I was observing and he told me that “Everybody down here is crazy, sight of anger taking place in Los Angeles. While I heard continuous but don’t be afraid,” he said. “I got your back.” He became my guide reports on the television, I became bored and decided to take a walk for rest of my trip. There seemed to be a lot of mental health issues outside to my front yard. Much to my surprise, the anger then spilled going on among the individuals. A lot of the tenants were lost in into my own community. The reaction to the Rodney King verdict conversation with themselves; some were fussing at individuals I could opened the door to violence. The verdict itself was unjust. Was the way 27 28
the community responded unjust? How can we settle this? As I looked into the sky, I saw huge grey clouds of grey Compton: The Perspective smoke. The entire city of Compton was on fire. As Helvarg asked, By Raymond Ventura “Where are we on the map?” (Helvarg 104). It was almost as if we were “It’s good to have a place where you can go to watch the world entering the last day on earth. The loud sounds of sirens from both get old and young, live and die,” writes Kamiya (112). Knowingly or police cars and ambulances filled our neighborhood. It felt like a scene unknowingly I believe we all have this place, a “thug’s mansion” as Pac from a movie. It was hard to believe all the events I observed on T.V. would call it, where observation, tranquility, and thoughts may freely made it into my own backyard. People all over Los Angeles felt blend for conclusion of mind. The world turns and the people scramble, Rodney’s pain. Civilly, it could have been expressed a lot different. but what unfolds? Beauty through my eyes as I stand on a block of my Along with all the commotion, I began to see people riding so-called ghetto. down the streets with stolen T.V.s and furniture on the roofs of their I stand on a block off Compton Blvd. and Atlantic in the city of automobiles. Much like Helvarg states in his essay about visiting this Compton almost day or nightly. Posted up against the car with my scene of Hurricane Katrina, “I tried not to breathe too deeply” comrades, Chuy and Eazy with nothing to do, but smoke up the street. (Helvarg105). More smoke clouds began to fill the air. I wasn’t sure if I The occasional, usual vagabonds stroll through on a regular crossing should go back inside or continue to witness the madness. Both the street while trying to avoid all the cars speeding past the yellow Hispanics and Blacks were all getting along in one unity. The looters light. Surrounded by a few liquor stores and a lot of taco stands. It were displaying consideration for one another. would appear that 11:00p.m. and my slummy city has no desire to Just as Helvarg noted in “The Storm This Time,” “Three years sleep yet, and the sheriff well aware is cruising up and down the street. ago I made a decision” (Helvarg 108), to prepare my family, including It’s no wonder I smell the stench of crooked swine with myself, for any emergency that could occur. I put together a badges. The stink they carry in their odor seems to bother me more earthquake kit, along with an emergency evacuation bag. A crisis, such than the smell of urine left by crack heads a few squares down. as the riot, can break out at any given moment. Experiencing the L.A. Through the smell of the carne asada tacos being cooked on the Riots also seeing what happened in New Orleans brings about a corner and all the fumes from passing cars, the smell of herb still gets feeling of preparedness. The times we are now living in today are a lot us pulled up on by the cops, though they don’t bother us much seeing different from the past. Although the media over plays some stories, it’s how they’re usually looking for pistols or wider quantities of weed rather all informative information. Planning ahead can prevent misfortune. than just a cigar full. The conversation would usually start with the cop After all the smoke cleared, there were several arrests asking “anything worth my time” and me responding “only if you want resulting from all the looting that took place. The Asian business to take a drag”. Nothing else is said and they pay no mind to us and owners took a big hit. The hit not only affected the business owners, head straight. After about four or five rotations my nostrils can’t seem but everyone in Compton was involved in the loss of local stores and to pick up any other smell, but white smoke. business. All the L.A. Riots really represented was how to burn down It may just be the THC in my system, but my ears always our entire city in a day. Some business owners were able to rebuild, pick up on any noise I choose to narrow down on. Along with my few while some had to simply walk away. The L.A. Riots was a lesson we carefree rants and my boy Eazy’s side commentary about passing do not want to repeat. How could we have settled this? Can we avoid females such as “damn she bad” or “why don’t she come over here,” further riots in the future? Now we see how things can have a domino we can hear helicopters and sirens. One probably heading towards the effect throughout our state. Violence is never the answer. There are deceased and the other looking for the soon-to-be-captured. Those ways to take a stand in a positive manner. sounds are always triggered by the sound of some sort of hand gun. Work Cited The loudest sound to my ear drum, however, would be the slow Helvarg, David. “The Storm This Time.” The Longman Reader. 10th ed. burning of my tropical trees. I’ve yet to hear a crackle. I make it a point New York, Pearson, 2012. 103-108. to extract every stem. It appears that the breaking down of cannabis can cause very sticky fingers. Although I can’t complain. I couldn’t drop my blunt even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. I would hate for my blunt to touch the 29 30
ground. It’s bad enough the smoke is hitting my lungs. I wouldn’t want it Ensured that you'll be able to eat to be dirty. The cool breeze and sitting on my hood. I feel completely at Making all the wrong sacrifices peace. Taking all the wrong chances Beauty is in the beholder’s eye. By using my senses to observe my surroundings thoroughly, I classify my area as gorgeous (high or not). I couldn’t feel more at one with the culture me and my Living life fellow people embody. I perceive all that is good or bad, life and death The way you've been told you'd be happiest through which I attempt to gain personal growth. Too much to tell going In competition with people you don't like on in this slum. Seeking admiration From people who don't like you Work Cited Kamiya, Gary. “Life, Death and Spring.” The Longman Reader. San Marilyn Monroe Francisco: Pearson, 2008. 110-117. by Luis Mota Failing at happiness Success Half Life Love By Ellizabeth Weissmann Fake smile Over real pain Life is half lived We’re going at half speed You’re not what you thought you'd be Half satisfied As a little girl Half happy Married Haphazardly Or at least in love Convincing ourselves Just careening One purchase at a time Crying Of our success Existing When we've seen our bank statements Wishing you were living someone else's life. Mercedes-Benz Flat screen TV Poem about My Own People $1,000 purse By Lonnie Manuel $5,000 spending limit My own people are the people who accept me as a people. Who will $35,000 debt open doors to see the world as it is, with the fresh smell of the earth $300 in your account after the rain, the flowers and the fragrance it brings. The harmony of And you haven't even the birds as they sing. This alone gives the entirety of what my own Paid your people represent in the earthly realm. My own people are the people Gas who have hearts of love, minds of understanding, and wisdom in its Electricity sincerity. My own people are the gift that is not wrapped not do they have ribbons to indicate a gift wrapped package, but are people who Cell phone 31 32
are born with gifts wrapped in love and packed in wisdom so they can My mother was a lady who taught me that to be a great be moved from criticism, to a better individual. leader you had to be a great follower first. The feeling I got from just seeing how she carried herself made me want be the best man I could be. “I peeked over my comic book at my mother,” states Ortiz Cofer Man-child: My Experience (121). I would sneak and do certain things so I could get an By David Richardson explanation out of her which I could counter with a smart remark. Can a man be born in a child form? Many people think it’s a Peeking around the corner while she would be in the kitchen telling me progression from a boy to a man; however, I say otherwise. Men are how I should regulate myself as I get older was a hobby of mine. made at various ages because some are forced earlier than others Sometimes I did not like to make eye contact with her because I knew through life experiences. ”I may have been eleven and twelve years she had the stare that could turn you to stone. Freeze you in your old, at that difficult age when a girl was no longer a child who could be tracks and make you think twice about anything you were planning to ordered to leave the room,” Judith Ortiz Cofer writes (119). do was her gift. She could give me a scornful look, but out of love The age of eleven and twelve was the same age I began to which would make anyone feel bad for going against her word. make my transition to manhood. “It is not like it used to be when I was Ultimately, the results in the end were my mother made me a a girl Mama announced,” states Ortiz Cofer (119). My mother would tell better man than I would have turned out to be on my own. I had my me that as I continued to grow. I realized at a young age that I would share of faults and growing up to do, but I was never left to the side have to mature rapidly to become successful before it was too late. when I didn’t meet her standards. My mother taught me how to be a Talking to my mother on the cool hardwood floor in my family room, man and was a father because I didn’t have one growing up like most gave me the sense that one of these days my role would be the same should have. There were cold and lonely nights where a father figure as hers. The adamant tone she used made me poke out my chest as I should have been; however, the love and warmth from my mother began to soak up the words she said as a sponge. I was still just an made it up. The life lessons I’ve learned also made me realize some of eager listener though because I know that her head filled with strong jet the things I need to complete and things I need to let go. Consequently, black curls possessed a lot of knowledge. I studied her as she made my mother has been my backbone to the man I am today beginning at moves from room to room with no hesitation. She knew just the right the manly age of eleven or twelve. things to say to change the tone of the day to pick me up and comfort Work Cited me. She instilled into me confidence that no one could break with the Ortiz-Cofer, Judith. “Partial Remembrances of a Puerto Rican powerful words she uttered. Childhood.” The Longman Reader. 9th ed. New York: “I just sat up as straight and stiff as I did at La Escuela San Pearson, 2009. Jose,” states Ortiz Cofer (120). I could see the fierce attitude and confidence she demonstrated through her words. Her hands were moving so gently through the air as she went through her story, but yet the movements were so precise. It was like she was whipping me with Poverty: My Story words. I was able to see the attack and her groom me with what she By Rodney Bunkley was proclaiming. I looked around the living room, and there were pictures of my grandfather in army attire and a strong salute pose, What is poverty? It is being engulfed in a life where upward mobility which made me feel proud to become a man. I was growing with in class is a one out of a million chance. Being poor and residing in passion, with the will to materialize a man through the ages of youth dingy surroundings is nothing to take lightly. Few people get the that I was experiencing. I could see my mother walking towards the chance to make it out of the hood. I’m from Lynwood, California, and I kitchen and moving forwards with unbreakable faith telling me how I can say this from personal experience. Living in a place of poverty can need to structure my life to be sufficient. I saw pain in her eyes though bring forth a lot of dreadful obstacles that a person has to face if they through my elder brothers and sisters who had made terrible decisions choose to escape it one day. before me. Every day, there is a tough sight to see. Every time I go to school, it is as though my life is gambled with, in an infested pool of gang 33 34
members. For instance, one morning I was heading to school to take the surplus amount of factories and restaurants that generate an an exam for one of my classes, and, out of nowhere, two Crips jumped excess amount of smoke clog up our atmosphere. out of a red Camaro and tried to jump me. I was all by myself, and I These are the reasons why it is so hard to escape or live in poverty. had to fight off two people with a bag full of books strapped to my back. With poverty, come all the outcomes which poverty created. I’m not Luckily I wasn’t hurt, but the experience was traumatizing. When saying that I live in the most terrible area, as things that are naked to gangs aren’t the problem, then a person is forced to deal with the the eyes of most are crystal clear to me. The way I grew up had happy trouble of thieves. My older brothers have been robbed at gun-point, times, but a lot of hard times followed along the way. I am successful our bikes have been stolen, and, on top of that, jewelry has been gone in plenty of ways, but I continue to struggle as much as I succeed. It’s missing. But don’t get me wrong; half of Lynwood is nice-looking and not impossible to make it out, but, overall, being a poor person creates I’m proud of where I come from, but half of the time the way people tough challenges and a harsh reality for those who are neck-deep. mistreated this neighborhood over the years made it appear somewhat Those who are drowning in this life struggle everyday just to stay diminished. I cannot count all the times that I’ve had to walk across a afloat. I think the author said it best when he stated, “I’ve never lost my bloody, dead dog or cat smeared and abandoned all over the curb like fierce grudge against poverty. It is the most savage of all human dirt. This reminds me of Gordon Parks, “Flavio’s Home.” While they afflictions, claiming victims who can’t mobilize their efforts against it, were walking throughout the slums, one part said, “We sidestepped a who often lack strength to digest what little food they scrounge up to dead cat covered with maggots. I held my breath for an instant, only to survive” (Parks 95). This is the life of a poor person in a nutshell. inhale the stench of human excrement and garbage” (Parks 99). Works Cited Some of the sounds can often be annoying, but also dangerous. Parks, Gordon. “Flavio’s Home”. The Longman Reader. Nadell, Judith The number one sign of danger in this neighborhood, and all other et.al., eds. 10th edition. Longman, 2011. 95-101. neighborhoods, is gunshots. I recall one time where I was headed to a banquet with my family and heard a sound similar to firecrackers, but Depression from Oppression when we turned around it was actually a drive-by. The second sound By Jachin Wallace to be aware of is police sirens. When those sirens on the police car go off, they mean business. I have seen kids almost get run over in the While traveling through the packed, mean streets of Compton middle of the street when policemen were chasing a getaway car down observing the diminishing neighborhoods bringing evidence of poverty Long Beach Boulevard. The third sign, and most annoying, is kids and oppression, the pure unadulterated beauty brings yet a bad yelling. Children are lovely, but they are a lot to handle. I live right by judgment on life: transients seeking shelter in broken down vehicles, a school, so I hear them all the time. They run through the streets, sheets replacing curtains that covers the windows bringing eye sores, bump into one another, and scream at the top of their lungs. In some squatters over running homes, which have not been occupied replacing cases it’s cute, but in most cases it’s pretty annoying. It is similar to the broken down doors with pieces of plywood to keep the cold air from when the story said, “Two other girls burst into the shack, screaming bringing chills throughout the night. Brenda is the name of her eldest and pounding one another. Flavio jumped in and parted them, ‘Shut daughter and her son is named Brandon. You ask why the names are up, you two’” (Parks 96). so close? Well, that’s from poor articulation skills, and no family When walking around through everyday life, things that a person support or encouragement to educate one’s self. Her father wasn’t touches can be pretty unattractive. One example is when I was in high around and her mother was a woman of the streets, therefore being school. The books were overused, graffiti-filled, and worn down. inadequate as a role model. She started sexing at a young age, being Education is education, but it’s much harder getting an education when sixteen with two children and pregnant with a third: the oldest being pages are missing from some chapters. Nevertheless, I did get a three while the second child is one, with a fetus slowly developing , decent education because the teachers were well prepared. What that can depress anyone. bothers me the most out of all these things is the things that pollution She clutched her baby tightly in her right arm while holding does to our environment. Thick, black smoke out of these diesels and strongly to the hand of her oldest three year old child. For the lack of limbs she could not comfort the hungry fetus that move endlessly in her 35 36
stomach from deprived nourishment. Unable to find shelter from lack of “Brenda’s got a baby, but Brenda’s barely got a brain. A monetary earnings, lack of monetary earnings because she had no damn shame the girl can hardly spell her name. That’s not our education which has led to depression from oppression, and “It keeps problem, that’s up to Brenda’s family: But I just showed you how it growing, multiplying, spreading like cancer” (Parks 95). With every bus affects our whole community” (Tupac). With no father, baby daddy or stop and freeway under path occupied, no vacancies in any of the significant other, she’s classified as a lower class, single, insignificant nearest shacks, and with every abandoned car filled, Brenda faces her black mother. Brenda decides to change her disposition and find her biggest troubles yet. No one attempting to help her with shelter or food position in society, because before she was born society lied to her. so she continues to search feverishly for refuge as the night closes in. Society told her that she was a product of her environment but with the The smell of un-bathed bodies drifted with the swirling wind Lord in her life she found out she was heaven sent. The asylum of the into her nostrils and began to make the feelings of hunger turn into a church gave her and her children a sense of hope. feeling of illness, for who could eat after such a horrendous smell? Compton is full of impoverished people; we co-exist together Brenda searched endlessly, until she came across a small brown box while hoping for a better way of life and opportunity to present itself with one flap missing that had been discarded behind the local grocery instead of continuing to be depressed by oppression from our store. Constant sounds of emergency vehicles passing yet neither oppressors. police nor firemen stopped to check on Brenda. They were far too busy worrying about the sudden outbreaks of burglaries and fires for them to Work Cited care for a lonely soul. She placed the Parks, Gordon. “Flavio’s Home.” The Longman Reader: San Francisco: box which will become her place of Pearson, 2009. 95-101. fortitude for the night on the oil soaked concrete that was saturated with small pieces of garbage. In Them Grande Apartments By Shante Harrell I grew up in them Grandee apartments. I have seen fist Untitled fights and shootouts in them Grandee apartments. I walked the streets in them Grandee apartments. As a by Bryan Ortega child I watched the gang bangers bang and sag low in A prayer is the most power she has left. Down on her knees them Grandee apartments. Sometimes as a child I wished she dropped. Clutching tightly to her children, she began to pray. my mother would move out them Grandee apartments. Despite the constant sounds of helicopter blades slicing through the You ask where is the Grandee apartments ask around and freezing night air, people in her position are fighting and screaming some might say it’s the Yankee stadium. over shelter, babies screaming stretching their lungs to capacity with cries of help, “God please save me and my babies from these streets. Lord, please show me the light to the way out of this terrible life.” “Long "Little Mary Jones” lines waited at the sole water spigot. Others waited at the only toilet on by Geraldine Hernandez the entire mountainside,” just as the penury lifestyle that Brenda has been pushed into does not give her freedom of laboratories nor Beauty Queen of only fifteen. fountains that might quench her pallet (Parks 98). Another night for Looking so pure and clean, Brenda and her children with no sense of security or nourishment, little did many know she would end up as a fiend. there is but little hope when your depression has stemmed from Many boys whistle and holler oppression. she gives out her number to every guy who says he would call her. Although she was very pretty, unfortunately babygirl wasn't so witty. 37 38
She was so thirsty for the attention, hearing her name mentioned from Compton. born and raised and damn proud of it. i am who I am in a bad way she still did not ask any questions. and I’m from where I’m from, a product of my environment, but looks Her naive self grew up to believe are deceiving. Misunderstood due to my respect and honesty . that chasing after boys was a her life's relieve. disrespected because of your lack of consideration and always Seven boys later, she gained about fifty haters. honestly lied to because your honest lies show me your false truth. Still she did not care, she still thought that letting boys lay on top of her was fair. I’ve been confused and in the dark but now I understand. my voice will Why sell your soul young one? never be heard. my inner beauty will never receive appreciation So you can have a few thrills and couple nights of fun? deserved. people are oblivious to my nature. my kind. we are defeated. She starts to feel funny tired of silently screaming for your, for our, for you. just you. simply and down there she realizes she no longer smells sweet like honey. your acknowledgment not appreciation of our high expectations She goes to a clinic and gets herself checked. excelled." I am fucking defeated so thank you, my kind..non-existent" Little did the pretty girl know her hot nights were a negative effect. Her legs were opened wide as she tells the Doctor that she has nothing to hide. He looks at her and shakes his head as he writes her a prescription for some meds. She asks him what was wrong with her. He tells her that she caught an STD and that’s for sure. Lady with a In much major disbelief this pretty little girl cried her eyes out as she went to sleep Dragon Skull not realizing that her past actions would cause her a present full of grief. by Jose Madrid
Defeated By Shonte Hobson
High expectations excelled but appreciation is not existent amongst my kind. We are un-cherishable treasures, simply used for your insatiable Rage pleasures. one of a kind i would say but there’s been many before me, others just like you, just too blind to see. By Heather Ceja
Privileged because of my privileged skin, and tight eyes and perfect all at once, smile and all my other qualities but you seem to not notice the this disgusting feeling swells up inside of me. important ones like my intelligence, honesty and values. my respect, rage - personality and heart. LIKE ME. i am a rare diamond surrounded by this is all i can see, feel, hear, and taste. beautiful plastic but you cannot see because what’s "me" is something you’ve never seen, I’m unbelievable, my kind. my head starts to throb. nothing is in its rightful place. Judged because my kind openly embraces the consequence the the room is shaking, melting in front of me. another’s pleasure. my son is no mistake, just an early blessing born in a cursed state, of mind people have that is. stereotyped because I’m why must this happen so often? 39 40
From different colors every bone in my body feels broken. To different shapes, i am moving too fast, But we will always find that long path or am i moving too slow? That leads to a variety of choices, sounds smash into my ears - To make our own history everything is too loud, too harsh, too much. breakdown is approaching. i want to erase those perky, stupid smiles. Women i want to stomp out all the empty carefree laughter. By Cynthia Horton the rage must also consume them. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CAN KEEP YOU SILENCED. RAPE CAN TURN YOU INTO A APE AND YOU WILL NEVER i want a cure. ESCAPE. THE PAIN OF A DISEASE YOU CAN NEVER i want a solution. BELIEVE. THE ANGER WITHIN WON’T LET YOU WIN, SO i want justice for this unrest in my heart, in my soul, in my RELEASE LOVE, LAUGH AND LIVE AND IN YOUR HEART mind. YOU WILL FORGIVE. yet there is only this rage. i blackout. i lose. i scream. i hurt, myself and others. DD by Alicia Gonzalez the rage overwhelms and then i'm left with nothing, except the bill from all the damage i have caused. i am embarrassed. i am afraid. i am alone. i am a victim of myself. The Emergency Room
By Jaime Yoshida Life One of the most undesired places to go is the hospital. When By Cintia Tostado people think about the hospital the words that come to mind are sick Life is sometimes hard people. An even more undesired place to go is the Emergency Room within the hospital. I believe the word to describe this place would be Always trying to figure out who we are anxiety. According to an online dictionary, anxiety means distress or But if we look at our family uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune. This We will find all kinds of backgrounds definition defines the every sight, smell, feeling in this room which is created by the possibility of bad news. In “The Storm This Time” by 41 42
David Helvarg, the hurricane caused a severe sickness that brings (103). The communication from the police to the people is similar to the hundred of sick people into the Emergency Room. Sitting in the doctor and their patients. In order to try to stay calm in an anxious and Emergency Room is like walking into the aftermath of Hurricane loud environment, direct communication is helpful. Katrina; it creates the feeling of anxiety which overwhelms every The longer I wait with my sister, the more inpatient she individual whether sick or healthy. becomes. I can feel her left hand squeezing my right wrist. My arm As I wait next to my older sister in the Emergency Room, I starts to feel hot and puffy. She is starting to feel the pain in the lower see a little girl with her mother in front of me crying because of pain in part of her stomach. I quickly yank her hand off of my wrist to talk to the her foot. She is wearing a pink dress with white flowers and yellow nurse at the front counter. She tells me to write down on a small square stars arranged randomly all over the fabric. On her left foot, she has post-it where my sister feels the pain. While using the cold silver pen I athletic white tape wrapped around her ankle to the bottle of her foot. can feel my blood circulating in my wrist and the redness starts to fade On her left foot, she is wearing a sparkly black sandal with a shiny away. As my sister becomes more tense, I feel hot and anxious. Sitting silver buckle on the side. I also noticed a tall skinny nurse with long on the hard cold chair helped me contain a tolerable body temperature. black hair tied up in a messy bun, wearing a pair of plain black scrubs, I never noticed how congested the room felt with all the people walking nervously out from the double doors and to a young couple. squeezed into one room. “Unable to drive far in the debris chocked They immediately stand up, pause for a few seconds, and dash as streets, I get out of my car, half expecting the sweet, rotting smell of quickly as they can toward the double doors. All over the room there death. Instead, I’m confronted with an equally noxious odor.”, writes are people young and old, waiting anxiously for their names to be Helvarg in his frantic state (104). The odor after Hurricane Katrina is called. After viewing a similarly chaotic scene, Helvarg writes in his like walking into the Emergency Room; it makes the experience twice essay: “It reminds me of war zones I’ve been in after heavy street as bad when you are hit with the smell of sick people. Bad smells fill fighting. There are trees and power poles down, electric lines hanging, the environment with feelings of negativity. The odor fills us with the metal sheets and street signs on mud-caked pavement, smashed cars, feelings of death and uncertainty. boats on sidewalks and torn-open houses, all colored in sepia tones of Through all the worrying and panicking that the people bring grey and brown” (104). Observing the Emergency Room is like reading into this room, it is no wonder why people dread the Emergency Room. about Hurricane Katrina: people sitting and running around where they It is amazing to see how history has changed from patients being do not belong, nurses and doctors anxiously moving from room to hopeful to demanding and impatient. Now that there is a cure for most room, children and adults with severe injuries and sicknesses, and illnesses, people are starting to become unthankful for medical paramedics storming into the hospital. The hectic environments cause advances we have today. The hopefulness that people used to bring to chaos in New Orleans and in this Emergency Room where I am sitting. the hospital has evolved into a feeling of anxiety which is the reason As I am waiting to be called, I am overwhelmed with different why the Emergency Room is one of the most undesired places to be sounds. Once again the little girl in the pink dress catches my attention. today. From “The Storm This Time,” it is easy to connect anxiety to She is obnoxiously crying at the top of her lungs which sounds similar natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and everyday settings such to a dying cat. Her mother is tapping her left shoe repetitively on the as the Emergency Room. floor creating a thumping sound that is hard to tune out. I can also hear running noises from the shoes of the paramedics behind the double doors; the screeching and rolling noises filling the room from the stretchers fill the room. One of the nurses who was in the waiting room ran into the doors. As the doors opened for a good minute, I could hear the paramedics yelling that the man had tripped and fallen down two flights of stairs. Listening to the nurses give reports to the patients reminds me of when reading about Hurricane Katrina. Helvarg writes: “A police spokesmen assures listeners there are still 20 to 30 roadblocks around New Orleans and 11,000 guardsmen in the city” 43 44
Children of the Universe “Underdog” By Carlos Ornelas By Carlos Ornelas We the children, Conceived in a musical universe Be an inspiration not an imitation Umbilical embryos connected to stereos And take on the world with no intimidation. Mom’s stomach was my first kick drum Keep a long reach without limitation, Songs written to the beat of her hearts tempo You never know the extent of your destination. Nine months later, mom is pushing and can’t get me out They had to open up her belly to take me out Never give in when life becomes painful, Finally I was pulled from a C-section When life becomes cruel, unpleasant and hateful. And they slapped me in the backside and cut my Stabbed in the heart by those you thought faithful, connection Power within keeps you balanced and stable. Stepped in the world butt naked Now I’m just another artist out here trying to make it Time is the cure for the wounds we endure, A child from the universe of music The remedy making us strong and secure. Got talent and not afraid to use it Scars are the photos of memories past, Misunderstood since the days of infancy Although they might fade, they always shall last. I guess my brain waves had their own frequency My heart beat varies in b.p.m.’s No matter the baggage, keep walking the road, And produces sound tracks for revolutions Regardless how heavy the troubles you hold; Seeing the world metaphorically And never forget the lessons of history, Our dreams are made of sub-conscience poetry Sometimes the underdog leaves with the victory. As we grow from a seed to a tree P.X While musical rain drops fall upon me Emotions and teardrops make oceans I don’t make love I compose it It’s a matter of picking the roses Petals fall down so beautiful Sing joyful songs at my funeral, to the sounds of my The Joker universal musical. P.X by Ricardo Villeda
45 46
When the devil tempted me successfully to drink excessively I still woke up the next day, When I’m broke, walking on a tight-rope, down to my last smoke, chin down to my chest-plate, Just when I’m about to give in, I ask him for advice and he Felix shows me the best way, by Daniel Felix I saw the light shine on the worst day of my life and it turned out to be like the best day. Stressed out, going through it in my alley-way, But thankful, God granted me a happy day. -PX- 7.12.11
Poem: Poor Thing “Good-looking” By Daranisha Perry By Carlos Ornelas First I lost my job on January 2, 2011, I will never forget. God granted me a happy day; After that everything went downhill. Without help from the county or Sallie Mae Now I can’t even pay my rent for February. Who said God doesn’t love me because I don’t go to Dang now I have a three day notice. church on Sunday but smoke in my alleyway on I don’t have no where to go I can’t go to Keisha house. Wednesday? ...When God gave me a blessed day I guess I’m going to have to live in my car I have no food. Feeling like I know all the answers on test day I don’t know what to do at this point. Or like I just got an A on my essay Now I’m getting food stamps and now I can eat but I’m still But I still feel the need to ask this question… homeless. For many years I’ve walked round’ the world with an attitude, Poverty So why do I deserve this gratitude? By Keauna Howlett When I smoke a pack of cigarettes everyday And yet still God granted me a happy day… Poverty is evident across the globe. It has become a very Even though I have bills that I haven’t paid controversial issue. Questions may generate as which financial status And I curse twenty times on an average day indicates poverty? Who creates the barriers? Who proposes the Plus I have bad habits and profane thoughts solutions? Indeed one’s poverty may also very well be one’s reality. And I keep going back to the same spots; With the current down fall in the economy are we ourselves in a safe I go to mass every other Ash Wednesday haven? We may be closer to living in poverty than we think. With a current trip to Malvern, Arkansas, a small town outside of Little Rock, But yet and still God gave me a blessed day. 47 48
having only been there an hour, I came, I saw, and I was ready to toward me. I turn to see Auntie Tavie and stated “Which way is the leave. “It keeps growing, multiplying, and spreading like cancer” (Parks nearest hotel?” Understanding that I was totally in shock, she smiled 85)—poverty, that is. and replied, “All Gal”. My Initial glimpse of my aunt’s home reminded me of the stories I read of old slave cottages. The surrounding was so unfamiliar that I deliberately hesitated with every step. Instead of the concrete sidewalks that I was used to, the pavement was a large red dirt road. Untitled The trail leads straight to the front door. Leading me was the dust in the by Luciano Duran air that blew with the same cycle as the wind. Grabbing the handrails alongside the porch, I noticed that they were extremely loose. It’s caused the rail to rock back and forward with each grip. Once on the porch, with two steps you would go from being outside to inside of the small building. The front room was a very small, but a cozy area. That’s the phrase my aunt would use to jazz the small area up. The room was filled with vintage antiques that were passed down from generation to generation. I waited as my aunt transformed her sleeping bed into the family couch. The windows were covered with bed skirts filled with dust from the months past. Compared to “Flavio’s Home”, this “said more to me about poverty then a dozen poor fathers” (Parks 96). Impatiently, I walked towards the back door to satisfy my As for the poems I write curiosity of the many sounds of the backyard. The glare from the By Carrie McClain sunlight blinded my eye sight. The front and back door were aligned with one another. The meeting point of the two sun rays were as bright There is a piece of me in every poem. Yes. as the light flickering after coming from a deep sleep. I step closer and closer to the back door gently pushing it with ease. In between the pigs There is a piece of me even if I am wrong and hogs squealing, the chickens and roosters chirping, you could hear Even if I am bitter the wind whistle. The cows’ moos echo along the many acres of land. I Even if I am saddened overheard my Aunt Tavia proudly state, “You see how fat them hogs By the state of my done got? It’s ‘bout time to take them to the mill”. I knew from past Surroundings, or my experience once they were taken to the mill, it would be lights out for Circumstances. them all. Unknown by the animals, their entire purpose was only to provide future meals to the family. As in Flavio’s home, “Even the dirty water was not wasted” (Parks 96). There is lust and understanding Overwhelmed by the newly found limits of poverty right here There is charity and doom in the greatest country across the globe, I stood there in the center of There is even immaturity the backyard puzzled. How could this be? Why is one of my favorite Sitting here with me in this room aunts living like this? These living conditions were unbearable. It was clear to me that this had become her very own reality. She had been as There is an unladylike squalor that the old timers would say, “set in her ways.” Being judgmental would have only worsened the conversation, right along with being sits amongst my shoes that I usually inappropriate. Like Parks, “Frustrated we could only watch. There was avoid, but sometimes stomp upon nothing we could do to help” (Parks 99). I heard footsteps walking to keep away until June. 49 50
We the People There is a ribbon of selfishness
That Is tied around my neck By Cara Tyler that you never see. And I am glad.
For if you knew would you The problems of the African-American Love me back? community are many and varied; lack of cohesion is one
of the most prevalent. How can this be resolved? As a
child, I always knew that were many eyes watching me, guiding my way. Those senses of community no longer exist. We no longer see ourselves as connected; we are all ships sailing in the dark, never acknowledging the other. With this change, the lack of cohesion brought harmful conclusions: rape, murder, ignorance and the breakdown of the African-American progressive Untitled movement. The ideals of the past, respect for oneself, by Luciano Duran family and community were no longer promoted. In this essay the problems and ideas for solutions will be Society discussed, and hopefully taken to heart. When the ideas By Monica Johnson of the group over the individual take root, the problems will resolve themselves. Cold days in the city The largest obstacle is the idea that it is “none of Reminds me of why I have to leave home my concern.” This idea is the source from which all the Kind of make me afraid of where I’m from issues spring from. We see every day wrongs happen and Compton where even in the summer time do not remark or react to them. We see children and Cats are cold adults abused every day and ignore it. It is none of our The people around me either selling drugs or getting blowed concern. The solution is to have this behavior and the Days and months goes by I see kids wandering the streets person perpetrating the actions ostracized and rejected. Like why they can’t have what they have Only to know that what they had is what they have The crime happens because it is tolerated. Our silence People still struggle but have the same hustle makes this behavior acceptable. Once the people Liquor store getting robbed at gun point committing these vile acts are ostracized, the fear of The party girls just wanting to have fun being shunned will be a significant deterrent against The city is cold committing the crime. This is stage one of the process. I don’t fit in here some days I just want to run There are others to be addressed. Don’t get me wrong I’m proud of where I’m from Lack of respect is the second major issue and/or Just not proud of what Compton has done society is teaching respect for the wrong behavior. Yesterday, I witnessed an elderly woman sitting at the 51 52
bus stop; teenagers were standing next to her smoking Untitled and talking. Profane words were being spoken; they By Vonice Berry seemed not to notice the elderly woman. We see this scenario played out daily; and ignore it, as if we have no Oh, that dreams would consistently congregate responsibility for each other. What should have been Around what the heart finds purest passion done? The parents should have instilled the value of All acquired along life’s teeming journey/s respecting adults, and themselves and others. The Each direction gained community should be an extension of the parent’s Tantamount to that imparted tutorials to the children. The expectation of greatness is phase two of the process to building cohesion, but not the last. African Dance Circle The last issue is the idea “it’s all good.” The idea By Stephanie Bentley that if it’s acceptable to me, everyone should agree with There is this place that is known as the whatever I want to do. A mother wants to sleep with drum circle which gathered in Lemeirt Park on the multiple partners without protection; this decision affects corner of Crenshaw Blvd. and Vernon Ave. where more than just her. This is a common problem in our one could hear the drums being beaten in a society, when the right answer is obvious and you can’t rhythmic, melodic sound before arriving in the make the person choose the right road. There are several park. answers to this dilemma. First, the community must Men get together and form a circle and promote the ideal that every member of society has beat their drums in a fast pace or a slow graceful value. Second, the mother must realize herself worth. African rhythm. They play the drums beautifully. Third, the mother must teach her children how valuable They beat the drums as if sending messages to they are. The solutions to this issue are simple and have someone far away. been proven to be successful. Both men and women, usually women, get In conclusion, the proverb “it takes a village to in the middle of the circle and dance to the beat. raise a child” is shown to be true. In all these issues the Hands go up in the air and down reaching toward the ground in a sweeping motion. Hips sway from solution was not found in the individual, but in individuals left to right and legs move constantly sometimes working in concert. In my own life, the expectation of looking as if one is jumping. respect, honor and discipline helped to guide my choices. Women wear their hair in a natural style, When the right behavior is shown, explained and whether it is curly or coarse. Some wear braids in expected, it becomes second nature. This is my hope for their hair, and some tie their hair in scarves, the future. usually a material that will match the African attire they have on. You would hardly see anyone with permed, pressed or weaved hair. If you did see someone with hair processed, one would know that they could be first timers. 53 54
Once in the center of the circle women would start something about people selling items without a sellers to dance automatically as if entertaining the men. They permit and somehow the whole event stopped altogether. would dance to the beat of the drums until they got tired The drum circle had gone on for years and was like after about 30 minutes. The music is known to really nice to see black people coming together, such as supposedly have healing power so people would dance for the black panthers, who I didn’t know still existed, coming good health. together in unity and peace. Sandals were worn in the circle or one could enter in their bare feet. If you went in the center barefoot you Poem would have to be careful that no one would step on your toes and you would have to make sure no glass or sharp By Ifeoma Okongwu objects were on the ground. This circle was never videotaped because videotaping was not allowed. All I want is to dance Food was served. Someone would cook red beans Dance, dance and dance from the soul and rice and bring it to the park and serve it asking only Boy! Can you move your body? for donations only, no cost so if one didn’t have that much The ground is wet but there’s no stopping me money he or she could still eat well for a one dollar Better watch out ‘cos am gonna thrill you. donation. Shabazz Fish Market would be selling delicious fish and fried chicken from their catering truck. They The wind blew through the traffic like laughter would park their truck on the side of the park. I feel the heat and began moving my joints People would sell used books written by black This feeling can only be expressed authors for little money. You could find all types of No one can stop me, not even the cops books. There were books about slavery, some about Not even the traffic lights, am gonna thrill you slaves, and some about freedom from slavery. Novels from Eric Jerome Dickey and E. Lynn Harris would be for We are unstoppable sale. We are unbeatable Love would be in the air. Rarely one would hear profanity. Very rarely. Love surrounded the place. Just responding to the rhythm of our souls People were always peaceful and happy. There was This wonderful dance, a medicine to the soul healing, food and knowledge in books. Sweet spirit dance that comes from within, am gonna The sounds of a drum circle would have anyone in thrill you. an upbeat mood. There was no way to feel bad after hearing the drums playing. One couldn’t help but feel Expressions through Poem good being part of the drum circle. Even if a person By Tremain Shelton didn’t dance, they’d still feel good. If a person could play Marvin Gaye sold billions; no hesitation did he sell billions. the drums in an African style they could play regardless of Shocked the world with integrity, his voice had people lifted race. above gravity. Lyrics like come get to this, got to give it up, I’m It was a nice place to go on the weekends until your puppet had me spending money, but of course a budget. one day the police came through and stopped it. They said Knowing he’s a part of my family’s tree; knowing for certain his 55 56
soul roams free. Even though we never met, I feel you’re still The Importance of Family hear after I steal my parent’s cassette. By Timothy Parker
A loss of a family member is always hard, no matter the International Waters situation. I lost my grandfather just over four years ago, and before this loss, I did not believe the previous statement to be true. I was not close (On the campus talk of Dr. Velina Hasu Houston) to him, nor had I seen him in over ten years, but he was my grandfather. Upon my decision to attend the funeral I faced many By Naty Requena mixed emotions, those of rejection from my long lost family, and those Where are you from little one? of grief for the loss of a life. However, I did make the right decision, as I Are you from America or Japan was welcomed with open arms. This loss helped me to realize the We don’t know but we could think about it importance of family. March 12, 2007, started as another typical Monday at the El How do you look? Camino Fire Academy. I progressed through the academy’s daily Like an American or Japanese routine and returned to my room to find a missed call from my father. I just don’t know To give some clarification, my relationship with my father was not Where I come from always in existence and to receive a call from him typically meant If from America or Japan something major had occurred. As many different things crossed my mind, I dialed his number and anxiously waited for his answer. I can I don’t know how I look, remember the depressed tone of voice as he spoke, “I’m afraid that I As an American or Japanese have some awful news. Your grandpa passed away last night.” The only thing I know is Although I had no contact with my father’s side of the family in the past That God placed me in the right place ten years, my heart sank. “When is the funeral? Is it okay if I come?” With an American and a Japanese I struggled to make a decision for two days, whether or not I On a big boat to America from Japan would attend the funeral. If I were to attend the funeral, would I be accepted? If I chose not to attend the funeral, would I be satisfied with International waters… I don’t know why? my decision? The lack of communication between my father’s side of my family and me was not for a lack of affection towards one another; no ill feelings were present to my knowledge. The lack of communication was due to a disagreement between my mother and father that occurred during their separation. A direct result of this disagreement led to my mother taking me from my father. After a lot of Bruce Lee contemplation, I choose to attend the funeral. Portrait I arrived at my Aunt Kelly and Uncle Howard’s home, around By Joshua Scott eight o’clock in the morning on the day of the funeral. The entire family met there to travel to the church together. My emotions were running wild as I prepared for the day, and as I walked through the door, to my surprise, I was welcomed with open arms. My Aunt Kelly ran to greet me, “Timmy, it has been forever! How are you?” At that moment, I sighed a sigh of relief. As the family arrived we slowly gathered in their great room; and although the somber emotions loomed, every one of my family members greeted me with great excitement. I knew at this 57 58
moment I had made the right decision. I knew I was a part of this Immigration: Broken Borders, Broken Lives family, no matter the time that had passed. By Jackie Delouche As soon as everyone arrived, we left for the church. The United States is a country founded on the principle that Emotions were high as we arrived, and everyone was overwhelmed by all people are welcome here. The bronze plaque inscribed at the base the amount of people who turned out to support us at this difficult time. of the Statue of Liberty that reads in part: “give me your tired, your The service commenced at approximately ten o’clock in the morning poor, your huddled masses” may have to be changed. The United and I never felt more a part of this family than at this moment. All of my States is suffering an economic crisis that has disabled its native grandfather’s grandchildren sat together, including me. During the citizens. Because of the current prolonged recession, people are service all of us were named and a picture was shown of each of us losing their homes, businesses are closing, and the unemployment rate with our grandfather. My biggest fear was that I would not be included is reaching levels not seen since the great depression. In addition, as a part of the family seeing as I had not been for the past ten or more schools are overcrowded, protesters are holding sit-ins, and social years. However, this was not the case. They proved to me I was one of services expenditure is at an all-time high. While the United States them. Government chugs mightily through the muck filled streets of this Following the service, the entire congregation proceeded to recession, one-million newly arrived legal immigrants, and another the burial site at Riverside National Cemetery. This was a very somber estimated 3 million illegal immigrants, will cross the border and make moment, in which very few words were spoken. Upon completion of his this country their home. This will further exacerbate an already dire interment into the memorial wall, those who wished proceeded to our economic situation and propel the U.S. government and its people’s grandparent’s home for a reception. During this time, I was told story way of life closer to the brink of collapse (The Economist). The time after story about my grandfather and all of the crazy and fun things that has come for the United States to shore up its borders and immigration he had done. No one could speak of him without a huge smile on his or policy and return this country to the land of opportunity it once was. her face. Through these moments I grew closer and closer to my newly Immigration has become a hot ticket item. What used to be a found family. I felt a connection I truly had never felt with any other taboo subject that was off limits and addressed only occasionally in individuals before. As I prepared to leave, my cousins insisted that we hushed tones, has now come to the forefront of the 2011 presidential would stay in contact. None of us could believe how much time we had debates and captured the attention of the American people. This has lost with one another all because of a dumb fight. happened in part because a few states like Arizona, South Carolina, I learned a lot from this experience, but most importantly, Utah, and Alabama have initiated their own anti-immigration law. family is family and they will be there for you always. I was able to Arizona, for example, has initiated proposition SB1070. This law would regain relationships that I truly had no idea I was missing out on. allow law enforcement officers to stop and check the immigration status Through this experience, I learned that there is no time too long to of anyone they suspect of being in the county illegally: “savage.” keep a family apart. Although things will get in the way, losing a family Today, the Supreme Court will hear the case Arizona vs. United States, member will remind you just how important family is. brought on by the Obama Administration, which will determine if states
have the right to pass and implement their own immigration laws, a duty that had previously been that of the federal government (Sacks). To truly understand why immigration has become such a contentious subject that has pitted state against government, Republicans against Democrats, and citizens against their neighbors, it is necessary review the magnitude of the problem. Between the years 2000 to 2010 the United States population grew from 281.4 million people to 308.7 million people. In those 10 years the population grew Jim Morrison by approximately 9 percent and added another 27 million more people by Alejandra Chavez to its roll (Census). Hispanics were the single largest ethnic group to increase its numbers. Their population grew from 35.3 million people 59 60
in 2000 to 50.5 million in 2010. This constituted a growth of nearly 43 not want. However, in her book Debating Immigration, author Carol M. percent (census). On the other hand, the non-Hispanic population Swain writes: “The oversupply of labor is not confined to dead-end increased its numbers from 194.6 million to 196.8 million people during jobs. It also includes the technology sector where foreign workers this same time period, a modest gain of 5 percent (Census). compete with more highly educated Americans” (Swain 186). As The United States can no longer afford to allow massive legal evidence she points to a 2001 report that found one in four researchers immigrations in this country let alone the millions of illegals that sneak at I.B.M.’s Yorktown’s Height lab and two in five researchers at Bell across its borders each year: “In 1972, The Commission on Population labs were new immigrants on work visas. At the same time, many Growth of American future recommended the restriction of the total unemployed native researchers with the same qualifications were number of immigrants to 400,000 annually” (Westoff). However, this unemployed (Swain 186). Job loss by immigration is no longer recommendation was never followed through with. According to the confined to the Blue Collar sector; it now increases the supply of United States Census nearly 3 million people have immigrated to the workers across the spectrum of the labor force (Camarota 142). United States every year from 2000 to 2010 (Census). Another point of contention surrounding the immigration Under law the United States Government can issue 675,000 debate that has brought a collective gasp of disapproval and animosity visas a year for family members; 140,000 for employment; 70,000 for is that large numbers of immigrants needing assistance has put a strain refugees; and 50,000 for “diversity” visas given to countries which sent on an already overburdened social services department. Linda fewer than 50,000 migrants in the previous five years. There is no limit Chavez, former director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights sums it to the number of visas issues for immediate family members. The up passionately: result is that since 1990 the number of visas issued for permanent The Immigrant landscape today is very different than it was at residence is approximately 962,000 a year (Economist). the turn of the century. Yesterdays “Huddled masses, Hidden within these statistics is the bottom line, the essential yearning to breathe free” were not thrust into the bosom of problem. The United States has reached its critical “carrying capacity”. the welfare state. Advocacy groups did not demand This is the ability of the government to provide necessary goods and immigrant entitlements that increase public costs and private services, such as water, electricity, and social services to its residents. resentment. We must curb both the abuses and anomalies of According to “B. Meredith Burke, immigration author and senior fellow current system. (Chavez 36) with Negative Population Growth in Washington D.C. when a state or Her appeal was to get rid of useless reform measures and examine the Nation lets its population grow above the ‘Carrying Capacity’ level it current entitlement programs that “entrap immigrant and native sets itself on the path to ecological self-destruction” (Eldredge 136). generations alike” (Chavez 36). Why all the negative feeling and backlash against Immigration is a controversial topic. Every day the public is immigration in general and illegal immigration in particular? It comes bombarded with television, news, and radio reports of real life people down to economics. The United States has been smothered by an just trying to live the American dream. U.S.A Today’s December 5 ongoing recession since 2000. Schools are overcrowded and front cover story tells the plight of a woman who, after living in this underfunded, people are losing their homes due to foreclosure, and the country for 20 years, was torn away from her children and deported unemployment rate stands at a whopping 8.6% or 13.3 million people back to Mexico (Welch 1). Recently, there were reports on both local (Bureau of Labor Statistics). and national news program about the plight of a University of California In short, immigrants are taking American jobs. And this has honor student and president of his class, who was illegally brought into made many Americans afraid and even angry. According to Carol M. this country as a child. He had lived an exemplary life: class Swain, professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University, Valedictorian, college class president, and honor student. These during the time period from 2000 to 2004 there was a net drop of accomplishments would make any parent beam with pride. But his 500,000 native workers in the United States at the same time there little secret was discovered. Now both he and his parents are in was a net increase of 2.3 million foreign-born workers holding jobs jeopardy of being deported. Jessica Valdez, a close friend and fellow (Westoff 140). A common misconception is that job losses are in low student, sums up her views with this personal recollection: paying, menial, physically demanding fields that most Americans do 61 62
A friend of my cousin was recently deported. He got a traffic Etzioni, Amitai. “Hispanic and Asian Immigrants: American’s Last ticket and accidently missed his court date. His wife is now Hope.” Debating Immigration. Ed. Carol M. Swain. New the single parent to their four children and is on welfare. York: Cambridg University Press, 2007. Print. Before, he was a hardworking man, paid his taxes, stayed Rodriquez, Richard. “Closed Door.” Arguing Immigration. Ed. out of trouble, and took care of his family. Now, this family Nicholaus Mills. New York: Simon and Schaster, 1994. has been torn apart. The wife has no husband and the Rothstein, Richard. “Immigration Dilemmas.” Arguing Immigration. Ed. children have no father. They cry every day and ask why. I Nicholaus Mills. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. Print. think Mexicans are being unfairly targeted. In any nationality Sack, Mike. “Arizona Immigration Law Faces Supreme Court Ruling.“ there is always a bad guy, a criminal. Most of us are just Huffington Post. 13 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. Print. trying to make a better life for our families. (Valdez) Swain, Carol M. “The Congressional Black Caucus and the Impact of The American people will decide how to answer the immigration Immigration on African American Unemployment.“ Debating problem. The result could be the building of a Berlin wall between the Immigration. Ed. Carol M. Swain. New York: Cambridge United States and Mexico and a police state. Or the people will decide University Press, 2007. Print. that the Government should work with its southern neighbors and find Swain, Carol M. Introduction. Debating Immigration. Ed. Carol M. an equitable, humane, and beneficial solution for both countries. Swain. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print. Richard Rothstein, a research associate at the Economic Policy Valdez, Jessica. Personal Interview. 2 Dec. 2011. Interview. institute in Washington, D.C. proposes several solutions: invest in a Welch, William L. “Deportation Tear Some Families Apart.” U.S.A Mexican development plan, slow agricultural liberalization, subsidize Today. 5 May 2011: 1. Print. the development of small industries in rural Mexico, aggressively Westoff, Charles F. “Immigration and Future Population Change in defend Democratic countries, enforce minimum wage, health and America.” Debating Immigration. Ed. Carol M. Swain. New safety regulations, and increase labor standards in immigrant industries York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print. (Rothstein 48-63). Savage, David C. “Supreme Court to Review Arizona Immigration America has a long tradition of welcoming and accepting immigrants Law.” Los Angeles Times. 13 Dec. 2011. Print. from all over the world. But its borders are broken and so are its people. The time is now to act on a progressive, realistic, and humane immigration policy. The time is now to return this country to the land of The Benefit of Immigration opportunity it once was. By Rodolfo Siordia mmigration has been a big issue this country has to deal Works Cited I with. It’s been going on since the Europeans came over to explore this Borjas, George J. ”Tired, Poor, on Welfare.” Arguing Immigration. Ed. country and then settle here. This country belonged to Indians, and Nicolaus Mills. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. Print. Europeans came and just took over. The book Brain Gain by Darrell Bureau of Labor Statistics. www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nro. Camarota, Steven A.”Immigrant Employment Gains and Native Losses, West states, “From 1820 to 1920 nearly 30 million foreigners arrived in 2000-2004.” Debating Immigration. Carol M. Swain. New the United States” (West 2). This movement transformed America by York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print. supplying labor for the great industrialization movement at the time. For Census Bureau. www.census.gov/prod/Cen 2010. the past 200 years, immigrants have been coming to this country and Chorez, Linda. “ Immigration Politics”. Arguing Immigration. Ed. have worked. This country has seen foreigners come, succeed, and Nicholaus Mills. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. Print become wealthy. While now many immigrants get here in many ways, “Dreaming of the Other Side of the Wire--American before the immigrants would cross the Atlantic Ocean and the first Immigration.” Economist. 12 March 2005. Proquest significant monument they would see was the Statue of Liberty. By Research. 30 November 2011. Web. sending immigrants back to their country, the economy in America is Eldredge, Dirk Chase. Crowded Land of Liberty: Solving America’s taking a tougher hit. In Alabama, they passed a law that illegal Immigration Crisis. New York: Bridge Works, 2001. Print. immigrants are to be arrested by police officers if they can’t show proper documentation. Some believe immigrants come here to obtain 63 64
benefits from the government, but in reality that’s not true. So many work. For many that pass by the Statue of Liberty to get here, they see people see immigration as a concern for America, but in reality it’s an it as the start of their American dream. advantage for America. As we can see, immigrants are contributing a lot to the Although citizens believe that immigration is ruining this American communities. They are working in the fields; some have country, that’s not true. West states, “According to one study, 25.3 children attending school, so they can have a better future that they percent of the technology and engineering businesses launched in the cannot get in their native country. This law is prohibiting families from United States between 1995 and 2005 had a foreign-born founder” living the American dream. One article states, “Families are fleeing (West 14). This shows that immigrants play a big role in our country Alabama, teachers are comforting the panicked children who are still in because one-fourth of the nation’s companies are founded by people school, and crops are rotting in the state’s fields” (Hing). With this law that weren’t born here and got here illegally. These foreigners are instead of gaining money the state is losing money. No one is working creating companies that are opening up jobs. A researcher observes, in the fields and I don’t think a White-American or an African-American “According to the studies immigrants-founded companies produced would go down there and work for 5 dollars an hour. Alabama is hurting $52 billion in sales and employed 450,000 workers in 2005” (West 14). their economy instead of fixing it. Also the school districts get money These numbers show that immigrants are a major factor to America’s for each child that attends school for the day. Since immigrant’s economy because they are making so much money and are able to children also attend school, the school gets money, but if children are offer jobs. Other American based companies are taking their jobs to not attending they lose on that, too. They’re separating families which other countries for cheaper labor. At least the foreign born founders are is wrong and unethical. Therefore, students can’t concentrate in school giving back to the country by staying here and producing jobs. because they don’t know if when they go home their parents are going Immigrants have come to this country in many different ways. to be there, or if they’re going to have money to eat, since their parents Some cross a river, while others cross countries, some oceans, and can’t go work. some arrive here by plane. The Europeans that came over 200 years I interviewed my friend Miguel Garcia. His dad was deported ago would see the Statue of Liberty first. The Statue of Liberty is a when the company he was working at was raided by ICE. The major monument of America. Kellaher writes, “Today’s immigrants may deportation of his dad took a toll on the family because his mom and he not sail by the Statue of Liberty. But many still come for the freedom had to start working to support their household. He says, “It was tough and opportunities it represents” (Kellaher, Coming to America). for me because I had to leave CSUDH to help support my family” (Garcia). He wants to become a P.E. teacher, but his dream is put on hold until his dad comes back or his family has to move to a cheaper house. He states, “But it’s uncertain if my dad is coming back because of the drug cartels in Mexico. Innocent people are dying every day” (Garcia). By deporting immigrants, the government is sending them to a human slaughter house because the drug cartels are just killing anyone in their way. They come here to earn money and have a better life for their children. We have the law in Alabama, HB56, that is a big concern for many immigrants there. This gave the right for officers to ask for U.S. documentation. Immigrants can’t even go out because they’re being pulled over and arrested. Because of this law immigrants are fleeing Figure 1. The Statue of Liberty the state, leaving everything behind to go and start new somewhere Thus, many immigrants come here to live the American dream, which else. is to be free, become successful, and live a good life. Others come to get away from the violence that is going on in their home country or to 65 66
immigrants, they are losing money in more than one way. Immigrants also come here because they want to live a good life that we have and are working for their necessities. Some of the children of immigrants have to drop out of school because of deportations of their parents. West writes, “Seventy-four percent of Hispanics thought immigration was a good thing, compared with 59 percent of non-Hispanics whites and 55 percent of African American” (West 99). This shows that not all of America believes immigration is a bad thing. In conclusion, I don’t think we need to get rid of immigration; we need to modify our policies.
Figure 2. Citizens protesting law HB 56 in Alabama Works Cited Bill Text for HB56.
Continuously whispers in my ear. Who can say amongst Is Compton Really All That Bad? my peers that you By Aaron Williams Whenever people ask me where I’m from, they always seem comprehend my plight ? So don't hate congratulate, that I to be shocked at the answer. I’m from Compton, CA (and pretty darn grasp what others proud of it). I suppose the reason is that people assume my personality is incongruous with all the things they’ve heard about Compton. I’m sure you’ve heard these types of things yourself: it’s may only be in wonder of. “ghetto”, that it is a breeding ground for gangbangers, pimps, and drug
dealers, that it is a scary place to be (much less, live). You’d think that Dedicated to all the haters. anyone who grew up here could not possibly turn out as well-read,
polite, and cheerful as people think I am. They only know half of the Culture story though. There are problems, yes, but anybody who thinks that’s By Monica Johnson all there is couldn’t be more wrong. Is it my soft brown skin? Anyone who could only picture negative things about Compton, who think there’s no culture or history here, has never seen Or the flow of my hair the Olympic Monument at Alameda Blvd. Perhaps they don’t know the Is it the shape of my curves? history of the city as a ranch or haven’t seen the legacy of that The way I speak evidenced by the many horses one can still see being ridden around Or the way I wear my Levis jeans town. Compton even has the only exhibition cricket team in the world What makes me, me comprised entirely of North American-born players, the Compton It’s more than my skin Cricket Club. To see these things is to know that this city is a “Hub” of culture (pun intended). Like the favela of Catacumbo in “Flavio’s More than my hair Home”, the city which is thought of as poor, low-class, decrepit, and More than my shape “no place for strangers after sundown” (Parks 98) is only of few miles More than my voice from affluent neighborhoods and actually contains rich traditions and It’s my history who makes up me the way I am history of its own. It’s who fought for me A personal tradition of my own used to be sleeping in the Those who gave me the freedom to be who I want to be backseat of my mother’s car on the way to church. My lullaby was the sound of the train. We’d get caught on the way, always having to wait See and say as I please until it clattered past before finishing the short journey from our house My hair and skin is only an accessory to our church. To me, the rumble of the iron wheels on the tracks was See when I think of me it gets deep like the staccato heartbeat that let me know the city was alive. It I don’t see just me I see the slave and the hard workers combined with the sounds of the booming car stereos and created Who fought for me what to an outsider might sound like a cacophony but was to me the I see Martin Luther King Jr, walking so I would have a reason the city even existed. Compton has always been, to me, a city of music. My neighbor across the street could be counted on to blast better future than he her old blues collection at top volume on Sunday afternoons, while next I see everyone who’s invested in me door the celebratory sounds of mariachi could be heard late into the My ethnicity culture race is just a symbol of me night. The cars rolling by would blast rap music, including the eponymous “Straight Outta Compton”, which fed into my sense of pride; after all if the radio could make a jheri-curled rapper rich and 69 70
famous simply by screaming the name of his hometown, that name Work Cited must a powerful one to invoke, indeed. Parks, Gordon. “Flavio’s Home”. The Longman Reader. 9th ed. Brief Even though I grew up in Compton, I spent much of my time ed. New York: Pearson, 2011. Print. in Long Beach, with the families of some of my more affluent friends. Ironically, I’ve always associated the major difference in the two with the temperature more than any decoration or furnishing. My friends’ houses were always cold; my house was always warm. The heater Black on was on more often than not, and it always worked. Even if the “nicer” Both Sides, houses’ systems broke down, my mother refused to let ours do so. The warmth infused the house, and reminded me I was home; I felt Plus Brown: safer and happier in my “dangerous” neighborhood than anywhere else. My neighborhood was dangerous as well; I lived right down the Portrait of street from gang territory: the notorious Kelly Park. When I leave, it Mos Def can feel like “the world behind us was a bad dream” (Parks 98). That by Tyler Sims never stopped me from walking there with my old, beat-up basketballs to shoot around by myself; the rough skin of the ball somehow comforted me when nothing else could. If ever I was feeling particularly stressed out, angry, upset, or afraid, I could come here and push the ball around and always feel better. The feeling on this court is What We Are electric; sometimes I think I can feel my skin tingling. My senses are heightened; I can feel every individual bump on the ball’s surface, and smell every musky, wet blade of grass. I wonder if this is the way all By Cara Tyler the successful athletes from Compton feel when they play in Compton, on their own courts. I wonder if Brandon Jennings, Tyson Chandler, or From January to December, from New York to California, the Williams sisters ever feel what I felt, and if so, maybe there is a little From north to south, the question “What are we?” is constantly magic in these parks, and maybe that’s what makes our players so asked, pondered and searched for. strong. What we are is not easily seen. It’s hidden, hiding, covered by I’m not sure what to call that quality of the town called the our ignorance, by our pride, selfishness and greed. Hub City that makes its denizens so proud to shout it out in their songs, their interviews, their books, and their biographies. I just know that a Our lack of love for one another place can’t be all that bad if it provides a main transportation hub for What we are cannot be found in a 40oz, our Range Rover, one of the biggest, most important cities in the United States, if the our Nike’s, people who represent it can change the social landscape, break the Benjamin’s in our pockets or through so many barriers and become so successful at anything and diamonds in our teeth. everything they want to. Maybe it is the toughness of growing up here It can be found in our Family Reunions, relationship and regard that pushes us to excel in sports, in music, in politics, and in art. For for each other. whatever reason, Comptonites (Comptonians?) continue to defy and in It can be found in your mothers’ arms, your fathers’ laugh, and course of time define the American Dream. It may not seem like the your sisters’ smile biggest, best place to come from, but if you do, you can go as far as Or your brothers’ advice. your dreams will take you. What we are cannot be bought and sold It can be grown and cultivated with care.
Magazine Submissions * Compton Literary / Arts Journal Humanities Division, Building D, Room 31 Registered students can send up to three contributions 1111 East Artesia Boulevard with these steps: Compton, CA 90221-5393
1. Go to www.turnitin.com.
2. Select “New User” and “Create Profile” or if returning user “Login” and “Enroll in a Class” ******* 3. Access Code: 2877409 To send poetry, spoken word art, song lyrics, essays, 4. Password: writing short stories, plays, artwork, sketches, and photography, see inside back cover. 5. Select Poetry, Essays, Short Stories, Plays, and then “Browse” your computer desktop or flashdrive, “Upload,” and “Submit.”
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