By
Sylvester Brown, Jr.
As a boy, I knew,
without a doubt, that I’d be dead at the age of nineteen.
My feelings had nothing to do with my impoverished, crime-filled chaotic, life. It was because my mother and the adults of our religion, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, all believed that the world was going to end in 1975.
My feelings had nothing to do with my impoverished, crime-filled chaotic, life. It was because my mother and the adults of our religion, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, all believed that the world was going to end in 1975.
Surely God knew my “impure”
thoughts. I knew I wasn’t going to make the cut when vengeful Jesus and the
four horsemen of the apocalypse came to, as prophesied, wipe the wicked from
the earth. As I knocked on doors preaching salvation; as I participated in religious
meetings five days a week, my teenage mind was mostly consumed with S.E.X. In
brief, I was one of the “wicked.”
After
1975, when the world remained the same, I hadn’t. I had already dropped out of
high school, had my own car, my second apartment, 4th job and had
basically “lost my religion.” To this day, I am respectful but skeptical of any
individual or organization that professes to “speak for God.”
***
Why am
I writing about my ancient history? Well, at 62, I’ve been questioning my
mortality-what I’ve done in life and what I think I can do before I slip off to
the great unknown. I’m not seriously ill, I don’t think I am anyway. But as the
old saying goes: “life is promised to no one.” Lately, I’ve been taking
inventory of who I am, what I do and trying to make sure that the next 10 or 20
years are spent doing what I truly love: writing, communicating, sharing
stories.
As many of you know, I’ve
been operating the Sweet Potato Project (SPP) for the past eight years. It’s an
extremely rewarding endeavor, but it’s outgrown me. It needs a better parent,
someone or something that can give it the expertise and resources to reach its
full potential. The idea of teaching kids to learn entrepreneurial skills
through growing and selling fresh food and products, to start neighborhood businesses
and reclaim disadvantaged neighborhoods is still valid and worthwhile. But it
needs to be backed by a movement of motivated black people who believe they can
accomplish the goals of self-sufficiency and community responsibility. This is
not a new idea. It was preached by Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, Malcom X, Martin
Luther King, Jr. and many others.
This past year, I’ve met with the heads of religious, educational and community
organizations trying to convince them into bringing SPP under their wings. I’m
still operating the program, particularly the land-ownership part of it. Through
an agreement with Grace Hill Settlement House, we have a few vacant lots available
in the College Hill Neighborhood. I’ve joined its “Peace Park” initiative where
Grace Hill and Washington University have launched
a community-led effort to renovate areas surrounding the North Grand Water
Tower. Before
the year is out, I am committed to giving a few promising young people or a
youth group vacant lots with a donation to help them prepare the land for food
growth.
***
Going back to the start
of this commentary, this shift in my focus with my nonprofit reflects the life
I’ve led. Once I survived Armageddon, I adopted a sort of “Just Do It” attitude
long before Nike patented the phrase. In 1987, after books and reading rescued me, I followed through on my desire to make sure no
person who looked like me would be as ignorant as I was
about my people, my history or the events shaping my world. So, I started my own
publication, Take Five Magazine. If not for it, I would not have been hired as
a columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. If not for the P.D., Tavis Smiley wouldn’t
have hired me to work with him and other authors of his book company, Smiley
Books. If not for being in the environment of some of the nation’s most prestigious
“black thinkers”-Smiley, Dr. Cornel West, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Tom
Burrell, Al Sharpton and others, I wouldn’t have been inspired to start a
program aimed at investing in our youth and salvaging poor neighborhoods.
In summary, everything in my life, “good and bad,” happened for a reason. My “Just Do It” philosophy
has its ups and downs though. During its 15-year duration, Take Five never
made any real money. What it did was win a lot of awards and bring a cadre of
gifted writers, editors and loyal readers into my world. Most important, it allowed me to learn how to write on my terms.
In summary, everything in my life, “good and bad,” happened for a reason. My “Just Do It” philosophy
has its ups and downs though. During its 15-year duration, Take Five never
made any real money. What it did was win a lot of awards and bring a cadre of
gifted writers, editors and loyal readers into my world. Most important, it allowed me to learn how to write on my terms.
When the Post tried to
concoct a reason to fire me in 2009, I held a press conference and resigned. I
told union officials not to fight to get a job back that I no longer
wanted. It was a pride thing. But it cost me
dearly. Working for Tavis was cool but I wasn’t getting the kind of money I did
at the newspaper. I lost everything, new cars, benefits, my house and,
eventually, my marriage crumbled.
 |
| 2009 Press conference where I announced my resignation from the Post-Dispatch |
I’ve spent the past
decade rebuilding my life. I’m at a meager but comfortable place. I know I am loved and I give love in return. Who can ask for more?
SPP, however, has become a burden. When I started the program in 2012, my goal was to simply educate kids while paying them a summer salary. That worked out fine until 2016 after I incorporated the project, created a board and recruited a competent volunteer CPA. She alerted us that we had not been paying payroll taxes for the students. We started paying those taxes but, unfortunately, penalties and fines had added up and the IRS had no sympathy for our nonprofit, no matter how noble our cause. It came after us...hard!
SPP, however, has become a burden. When I started the program in 2012, my goal was to simply educate kids while paying them a summer salary. That worked out fine until 2016 after I incorporated the project, created a board and recruited a competent volunteer CPA. She alerted us that we had not been paying payroll taxes for the students. We started paying those taxes but, unfortunately, penalties and fines had added up and the IRS had no sympathy for our nonprofit, no matter how noble our cause. It came after us...hard!
 |
| Some of the students of the 2012 Sweet Potato project class |
It’s funny, when people
read or you tell them that you have IRS issues, they give you that sympathetic, terminal cancer patient look and write you
off. Maybe I’m naive but I don’t see the
problem as insurmountable. IRS agents will work with you to resolve the issue. And
that’s what happened. We’re almost caught up on all our taxes and prepared to make an “offer of compromise” on the remaining debt.
Still, the entire
process has sucked the fun out this endeavor for me. I just want to hang out with
young people, motivate and empower them. My “strengths” do not include
administration, fundraising or delegation. The Sweet Potato Project
would be better suited under the umbrella of a larger organization with the
people and resources to take it to its designated place.
My friends at Good Life Growing and Gateway Greening have perfected the art of teaching people the best way to grow and market food. My energies will remain focused on empowering people through land-ownership and working to make sure food is a self-sustaining economic engine in North St. Louis.
My friends at Good Life Growing and Gateway Greening have perfected the art of teaching people the best way to grow and market food. My energies will remain focused on empowering people through land-ownership and working to make sure food is a self-sustaining economic engine in North St. Louis.
So, coming full circle,
I’m again at a point of change. Early this year, I self-published my first
book, “When We Listen.” While restructuring SPP, I managed to complete my first
fiction novel. There are a good six or seven books left in me. Apparently, I still have a
lot to say, write and share. I will
always be the visionary behind SPP and I still plan to be its spokesman, point
person and, hopefully, play some role in its long-term mission under new
leadership.
***
In summary, every challenge in my life came
with the promise of renewal and the wonderful opportunity to craft my own
destiny. Nothing I’ve done happened without the kind, benevolent and like-minded
people who believed in me. You have diligently supported this twisty, curvy, strange but blessed journey.
The kid who didn’t
believe he’d outlive his teens is still here. He cherishes the fact that misinformation,
poverty, career challenges and personal setbacks molded him into who and what
he is today.
For this and more, in this next unknown phase of life, I am eternally
optimistic, humbly grateful and blessed beyond my youthful imagination.
************************
Sylvester Brown, Jr. is a former columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, founder of the Sweet Potato Project, an entrepreneurial program for urban youth and author of “When We Listen: Recognizing the Potential of Urban Youth.”
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