 |
| Photo by Benjamin Gandhi-Shepard |
I don’t know if Briana, one of my Sweet Potato Project teens, was really all that surprised to see me step on Metro Bus #74. We both live near O’Fa
“If the money’s not there,” I tell
them, “we have to get creative to make it work!”
In other words, the youth know I’m an
ordinary guy who’s trying to empower them to do something extraordinary in
their neighborhoods. Personally, I think it’s important they know that someone
who looks like them, lives where they live and faces the challenges they face
still has the power to make a difference.
“So,” you might ask, “what can a guy
who drives a crappy car and rides the bus teach kids about “entrepreneurism?”
My answer is three-fold. First, I’ve
lived long enough to know that my current situation doesn’t define me. I’ve
been to the top of my professional career here in St. Louis; I’ve had the
limelight and stature but still felt a huge void. Today, I live a more
challenging but much richer life.
 |
| Photo by Benjamin Gandhi-Shepard |
Secondly, I’m not the only influence
in their lives. We've brought all sorts of successful entrepreneurs and
professionals to class to share their stories, advice and expertise. And lastly,
I maintain that part of being an entrepreneur, is having the determination and grit
to outlast the hardships and creatively use whatever talent, skill or gift you
have to beat back obstacles and make your own way.
The Sweet Potato Project is an
entrepreneurial endeavor. And I’ve told the SPP teens that they’re just as
responsible as the adults in ensuring its success-not just for them but for
their siblings and the next generation. I tell them with all sincerity that
they are “urban pioneers” charged with creating future opportunities and jobs
for others in North St. Louis by planting produce and proving that we can turn
our yields into marketable products.
The students have shown me that they
get it and actually appreciate that I think they can make such change. For
instance, last year, 2012, we actually ran out of money before the summer
session ended. I will never forget; it was a Friday and I explained to the 15
kids we had at the time that we could no longer pay them their bi-weekly
stipend and we’d have no hard feelings if they chose not to show up the next week. On Monday, I was the first to arrive.
Not a single student was there. I was heartbroken. Then at 9am on the dot, one
student walked around the corner, then two, then another and another. By
9:15am, all 15 showed up. The beautiful thing was they showed up with ideas:
“Mr. Brown, let’s have a carwash to
raise some money; Mr. Brown let’s do a dance or a skate party or …”on and on
they went. Priceless!
This, I believe, is part of what makes
our program so unique. It’s geared to motivate and inspire those young
people-most from the poorest zip codes in our city. They have been stereotyped,
dismissed. They or their neighborhoods have been written off, considered loss
causes. I know that-even if they’re not involved in the illegal drug trade -our
kids are sadly aware of its existence in their neighborhoods. They know that it’s
a sure way to make money. We challenge the media’s glorification of the
“gangsta lifestyle” by stressing there’s opportunity right outside their doors.
But they must tap into the hidden and unexplored potential they have inside and
outside in “the hood.”
 |
| Photo by Benjamin Gandhi-Shepard |
We have to stop underestimating these kids.
They can quickly assess who’s “for real” and who’s talking down to them. We may
be well-intentioned as hell but when we solely focus on the negativities of
their peers or poor neighborhoods; we’re putting down their parents, siblings,
friends and places they live, laugh, play and struggle and find comfort. A few
of my kids have a hard edge and I know why. At young ages, some have lived
lives that make my childhood look like recess in Ladue. Let me give you a
couple examples:
Once, I had given Darryeon, 19, a ride
home. As I approached his duplex off Grand near the big white, water tower, I
noticed a detached bumper, broken glass and car parts all over the street in
front of a dented light post. “Oh man, someone had an accident in front of your
house, huh?” I said.
“Ah, no, Mr. Brown,” Darryeon answered-disturbingly
nonchalant, “They were shooting last night and somebody got shot and hit that
pole.”
One of my students, Frederick, lost
his brother to violence during our summer session this year as did Charnell,
who told us her brother was brutally assassinated gangland style two years ago.
Another student, Nadia, said she saw
folks shot near her front lawn in North St. Louis.
We work to get the youth to see the
economic opportunity within the chaos and realize that they are best-suited to
capitalize on these opportunities. Our first mandate is to have them read the
news and start the day with a conversation about local or world events and
activities. It’s interesting how most want to talk about ghastly crimes,
shootings, murders or what’s going on with rappers, sports figures or
celebrities. I push them to go deeper-tell me what disciplines it took to make that
rapper or sports figure successful. I ask that they read about new social
media, gaming or electronic technologies and how they can make their lives
better. If they want to talk about shootings, I urge them to explore the
socio-economic factors in particular neighborhoods that breed crime, hopelessness
and violence and come up with solutions.
 |
| Click image to read student's bios |
Unless you point it out, our youth have no idea how they already influence the world. Their music, gestures, slang and clothing styles have been greedily co-opted by mainstream society. You can’t even go to a football or baseball game without hearing hip-hop music. Our kids, no matter how poor, manage to find the deals to stay sharp with coordinating tennis shoes, shirts, skirts, hair-dos and more. We had a class assignment this summer where they were asked to develop their own media campaigns. Within two hours, the teens came up with product ideas that could make billionaires like Russell Simmons or Jay-Z even more billions. We happened to have a chemist in class when one of the teams detailed their idea for eye and hair color-changing candy. The chemist was blown away. His colleague is currently working on a variation of such a product, he told the class.
This, my friends, is the sort of
genius, that’s walking our streets, filling our classrooms that’s being mostly
ignored or unnoticed.
Again, I know why. Our kids have a lot
of “stuff” that they bring to over-crowded and underfunded classrooms. These
distractions keep them from making real world connections between what’s being
taught in class and what they can apply in their own worlds, neighborhoods or
blocks. Unfortunately, many who see no urban application; tune out at early
ages.
The 25 kids I had this summer sent me
home sometimes with no voice from yelling, no energy from dealing with their
issues and no idea how to inspire or keep them engaged and motivated. But then,
the next day or the next week, they’d arouse my hopes. Each kid had a journal
and as I read their reflections, I was uplifted by the little things-a speaker,
an entrepreneur’s visit, a group discussion, a business visit or something else
that really made them think.
There was that first day of class when
I heard one of my young men-a former gang banger-say he’d quit the gang after
his little girl was born. This youth turned in a passionate essay about
senseless deaths in his community and how he wanted to play a role in ending it.
Among their other talents; Charnel is
a gifted poet, Mirramoni is an illustrator, Frederick is a wannabe comedian, Keyundra
is a tenacious cook; Barry and Myke are my strong, dependable leaders who can produce
music; Zavier is a mischievous kid who happens to speak German. Micheal is an
all-around scholar and athlete. Jason, Jonetta and Darryeon have amazing work
ethics. Charles, Andivar and Nadia are smooth (too smooth actually) but they
have that unique and magnetic gift of gab. Elesha, Briana and Jenea were just
three of the headstrong young women in class who demonstrated the ability and
discipline to plan and execute events. Keon, Raheim, Martez, Paul, Darion and
Keith are all jocks, who were quickly distracted but, with direction, showed me
that they can indeed step up as valuable team players or go-to workers.
 |
| Photo by Benjamin Gandhi-Shepard |
What I love about this grassroots
effort is that the youth are designing the program. I interviewed the 2012
Class and they helped me tweak what we were doing. Some of our kids walk from
one part of town to the Penrose Neighborhood where we held classes. The last
thing they wanted to do was sit through long lectures when they arrived. So we
worked to build in self-esteem-boosting, get-out-of-your-shell, conflict
resolution exercises and activities and took them on as many on-site business
visits as possible. We walked blocks in the Central West End and in North St.
Louis neighborhood to write down and reflect on the different types of
businesses, services and billboards in each area. The idea was to get the teens
thinking about commerce, advertising supply & demand and ways that they
could implement what they admired in high-income neighborhoods in low-income
communities.
The point is, for nine weeks, these
young people had their worth validated. Don’t get me wrong, we didn't change
the trajectory of their lives in less than three months. We just planted a
seed. We allowed them to dream from where they are, not from where we hope they
will be four or eight years from now.
Early this year, I told the North Area
Community Development Corporation's board that I had serious doubts about starting the
program again this year. With no start-up funds, I just didn’t think I could
rebuild my career while raising money to operate the program. Then last year’s
kids started calling, wanting to start up again and bring their friends. I
committed.
 |
| Photo by Benjamin Gandhi-Shepard |
We've had some very positive media coverage
this year and I've been contacted by some promising funding sources for 2014. I've also made contact with some wonderful organizations such as Gateway Greening, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and
several corporations. Collaboration with these agencies and funding sources
promises an even more structured and rewarding program next year.
This year, we had “friends of friends” –
young people who came to class, listened to speakers and participated in our
exercises without pay. The Sweet Potato Project youth and their friends are actually
showing me what they need to succeed. We are indeed onto something powerful.
It’s kinda scary but I've made the commitment
to stay focused mainly on raising the funds to finish out the year, start
weekend classes, harvest the produce, get products into distribution, build the
coalitions and partnerships that will help us create a programming structure
that can motivate and educate the youth while addressing their many, many
needs.
 |
| Photo by Benjamin Gandhi-Shepard |
Comments