Growing up in the 'hood, your early years are filled with essential struggles and challenges. When I say 'essential', I’m not proposing that every person should at one point know what it means to live with the troubles of financial scarcity, segregation, and economic inequality. I don't believe anyone should worry about making ends meet, limitations in their circumstances, or feeling disempowered by social standing.
What I mean by 'essential', is that growing up in the “hood” or “ghetto” signifies a default way of existing with systemic hurdles that one becomes heir to. I can remember a number of days—sometimes lasting months—when we didn't have enough money for basic utilities like heating and electricity. And those incidents weren't a result of bad financial decisions; in fact, most days we operated on a strict, terribly frugal budget. Or days when our unassuming car, the one we relied on to get around on weekends, would be found vandalized and destroyed. The harder memories were made up of moments concerning violence and injustice. Black and brown men and boys were motivated to be "hard" in their stances, exposing them to gang-involved activity and harmful masculine cultures early on. Cultural mixing sometimes generated strife and being ethnic prompted certain white kids (who later were part of white-flight) to bleakly utter slurs like “paki” or the "n-word." Further, as if being poor wasn't enough, coming from an immigrant household would lend itself to other hurdles.
This is not to express a totality of experience that seems disparaging—it's part of the reality. Surely this was a distinct yet common pattern of living, and perhaps on a larger scale, needs to be reflected as a structure of conditions created from a select set of beliefs and regulations. And while our neighborhoods, race, or adversities do not duly define who we are, they can in fact, fortify resilience, one’s mission, and the ability to endure beyond limits. To quote Tupac, "Just cause you're in the ghetto, doesn't mean you can't grow." 🌱🚪#yadunknow #416 #hood #innercitykid
📸 by the illest kadeemellis✨ - big him up!! 👊🏾