Street Witness with a Testimony

Hood Life

Growing up in the ghetto wasn’t the life that I desired to live, but as my mom would always say, it wasn’t where you live, but how you live.

I had three older brothers, and two younger sisters. As children, we grew up in a place where it wasn’t easy growing up. When I walked out of the door of my home, there was always a fight awaiting us. The fights were always meaningless. The apartment complex that we grew up in was called The Palms. This complex was designed for single parents who were in a low income bracket. My mom worked, but our rent was only $13 per month, excluding utilities. I remember struggling to the point that sometimes we did not have new shoes or clothes, but my mom made sure that what we had was clean. She also made sure that we were awake every morning by 7am to prepare for school, no matter how drunk she had gotten the night before. We were always on time for school too. My mom loved to party and drink, but on the other hand, she loved us.

Between the six of us my oldest brother Larry was the most laid back of the bunch. He avoided trouble most of the time unless he was provoked. Larry was the one who always assisted us with our homework. My second oldest brother Quintrilies gave my mom many problems. He was the one who took no mess from anybody. It was always one person in the hood that nobody bothered and that person was him. My mom would always say to him, Quint, I don’t want any problems out of you today, do not pick anything up to throw at anyone, or else! My brother had an issue where he liked to throw things at people, such as rocks. Anything that he decided to throw at you was guaranteed to hit you. I can remember hearing sirens, and watching my mom make her way to the back of the Palms, because she knew it was Quint in trouble once again. On this particular occasion, he was angry with a girl; he picked up a rock, aimed it at her eye, and nearly knocked it out. My mom pleaded with her family not to press charges on Quint. If it wasn’t Quint in trouble, it was me or my other brother Eddie that was born right before me. If we weren’t fighting each other, we were fighting another big family, The Browns. They were the bullies in the complex. Their mindset was that they ruled the Palms.

I distinctively remember an episode when I was around eleven or twelve years old, that one day while I was on the playground, one of the girls from the Brown family came to the playground and told me to move because she wanted to play on the swing that I was on. I pushed her and told her no; we began to fight. Her sister LaTonya witnessed the fight and jumped in to help her sister. Before I knew it, my brother Eddie was on the scene. He had a long cord in his hand and yelled Yall better get off of my sister! He began to swing the cord at them. No matter how much Eddie and I fought each other, when it came down to protecting each other, we always did so. Eddie and I were like glue, wherever I went he went. Many people thought we were twins because we looked so much alike. My mom called us by our nicknames, Bop and Keyonna. Every day she would say Bop and Keyonna, no fighting today and stay away from those ditches!

My brother Eddie was a lot like our father; he loved to fish. Growing up, we did not have our father in our lives. We didn’t see him much. I always felt that everyone deserved a father that played an important role in their lives. He never came around on our birthdays, Christmas, or any other special occasion. He never even picked up the phone to say happy birthday, I love you or Merry Christmas or anything else. I can count the times on one hand that he came to visit us; not very many. My mother told me that on one occasion when I was around five years old, he came to see us and me and my brother were jumping all over him because we were so happy to see him. My mom said that he would say Diane get her so I can leave. My mom grabbed me so he could leave. I must’ve known that it would be a while before I would see him again. My mom said that I would feel so sad after he left. Coming up as a child fatherless, makes me believe that is why me and my brother Eddie were so close growing up. My brother was always a bit weird. He would make a fishing rod out of string and a hook to go fishing. He always had the pleasure of dragging me along into trouble with him. One early morning turned into a late night. Me, Bop and two of our friends from the Brown family were supposed to be going fishing, but instead decided to go swimming in the lake. Someone told our mom, Diane, I thought I saw your son and daughter back there in the lake swimming with two other children. Minutes later, all we heard was my mom yelling Bop and Keyonna! and her footsteps quickly coming toward us. Bop, that sound like Momma and he replied Shut up, that ain’t momma! There she was with the longest belt ever; she beat us all the way back home yelling Don’t yall know that it’s gators and snakes in that lake? You both could’ve been killed! I blamed Bop for making me go, but I never went back again. Living in the projects back then, we had to create things to do for fun. Going fishing was one of the things we liked to do most. We did not have to go far because there was a lake directly behind our complex. I was more like a tomboy, and so was my friend Tonya. We always hung around the boys. Instead of playing hopscotch, we played football with the boys. As soon as we were tackled by the boys, we ran home crying. The first thing our parents would say is Yall should not be outside playing with the boys. Yall should be playing hopscotch or jump rope with the girls."

My mom purchased our clothes from Miami, FL. Me and my sisters had long hair, and my mom would braid our hair and dress us alike. Antissha was born after me, and after her my baby sister Victoria was born. My mom husband, who is the father of my last two sisters, was like a father to all of us. We all attended an elementary school called Mollie Ray. I loved school as a child, and my grades were pretty good, but I was also the class clown. My favorite teacher was Ms. G, my art teacher and I was her favorite student; even though I couldn’t draw. My favorite subjects in school were actually Science and Math. Ms. G believed in me, and knew that I would be successful in life. Some weekends, my mom would allow me to go to her house.

I also enjoyed writing essays. During my third grade year, the Orange County School District set up a contest to see who could write the best essay about drugs. The winner would be selected to go to Washington, D.C. to meet President George Bush Sr. Out of all of the students in the entire school district, I was selected. I will never forget the day when the principal, Dr. M. and one of the teachers named Ms. S. from my school came to my home to share the news with my Mother. She could not believe it; she told everyone in the Palms Apartments. Dr. M. and Ms. S. assured my mom that she did not have to purchase anything; she just needed to make sure that I was ready to leave on that day. My mom was the proudest woman in the world that day. My aunt Mary, my mom’s oldest sister was a hair stylist. The day before my trip, she styled my hair very pretty in what we call candy curls. Everyone in the salon was smiling, and my mom and auntie were bragging saying my baby is going to meet President Bush. My mom was so happy, that she had to celebrate the evening before I left. As a result, she woke up late with a hangover. The next morning, we heard knock, knock, knock at the door. Diane, Diane, get up, this is the day! yelled my mom’s friends. It’s time for Damekio to get out of bed and prepare to leave for Washington, D.C. One of my mom’s friends named Cathy came into my room and told me to wake up. I heard lots of tumbling and rattling noises, then my mom yelling Oh my God, I don’t know where I put her dress! Ms. S. had purchased me a dress for the trip, and gave it to my mom to keep until I was ready to go. My mom’s friend Brenda was at our house. My mom told her to make sure that I brush my teeth, put lotion on my skin, and to make sure my hair was neat, while she and another friend looked for the dress. After thirty minutes of searching, my mom walked into the kitchen, and reached to open the cabinet and there my dress was amongst the salt, pepper and canned goods. Everyone burst out laughing. My mom’s friends said Diane, what were you thinking? My mom responded saying I knew that my baby was leaving in the morning to see the president, so I wanted to make sure her dress was in a safe place.

After all the searching, Dr. M. and Ms. S. would arrive less than fifteen minutes later. I was so excited that my poor little heart dropped, while I said to myself They’re here, they’re here! My mom and her friends walked me to the car, and I can distinctly remember a tear rolling down my mom’s face as she kissed me goodbye. I looked at her and said Mom everything will be alright. Ms. S. chimed in and said, I will take good care of her. As we pulled off, my siblings, and my mom’s friends waved goodbye.

When we arrived at the Orlando Airport, Ms. S. asked me if I was okay. I told her yes, but I was just a bit afraid of the plane. I asked Dr. M. how long the flight was, and because he could sense that I was afraid, he responded Not very long. Before I knew it, we were on the plane headed to Washington; our stay would be for three days.

In flight I remember a very nice flight attendant giving me bubble gum to chew for my ears sake. I cannot remember much about my trip to Washington, D.C., but I do remember that we took lots of pictures while we were there. I finally met the president, and shook his hand on day three of the trip. I was able to talk about the essay that I wrote about drugs on national television.

When I returned from the trip, I could hardly get out of the car before everyone was bombarding me for information. Everyone was so excited, they all shouted I saw you on television Damekio, were you nervous? I replied Yes! My mom hugged me tight and told me how proud she was of me. After a long day of talking to friends and family members, I was anticipating sitting with my siblings and mom one on one to tell them how much fun I had. They asked me a million questions. As a child three days was a long time to be away from home. When I returned to school, I received the award for best essay. To accomplish this as a child was the greatest feeling ever.

Life as a Teen

My Mom made the decision to move our family out of the Palms Apartments in 1994; I was fourteen years old at the time. My mom said living in projects for thirteen years was enough; it was time for a change. We moved into a house in Pine Hills, on Roger Babson Street. The house had four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. By this time, I was about to complete my last year in middle school. As a result of the move, I was no longer living in the Meadowbrook Middle School zone; I was zoned for Carver Middle School. I was sort of angry that I had to move to another school, I would miss all of my friends. However, it really didn’t matter because I would be entering high school for the new school year.

I was already known very well as the girl who knew how to dance when I arrived at Carver Middle School. I participated in a group called Young Blacks in Action (YBA). The group was governed by a gentleman by the name of Floyd. YBA was a priority in my teenage years. I also started attending dances for teens. The dance was always held on the last Friday of each month. The dance was open to teens ranging from ages fourteen to sixteen. I was required to make good grades, and complete my chores in the home. I made my grades and chores a priority since I loved being part of YBA, and participating in the dances. My mother gave me much freedom to participate in these events because she trusted me. We had a good relationship, I could confide in her about anything.

There were days that I awaited the monthly dance at the Smith Center to arrive with anticipation. I was like a kid in a candy store, I was extremely elated. There was also a competition with girls against girls and boys against boys. I can distinctly remember going to the dance, and when the time came for everyone to gather into the circle for a contest, I would be one of the first to step foot into the circle. Everyone observed me and whispered to the person standing next to them as if they were saying That is Damekio from Mercy Drive and she can dance. My demeanor was as if I wasn’t afraid or shy at all. I could hear the gentleman by the name of B.T. who hosted the monthly dances, over the intercom saying Yall scared? We need someone to compete with Damekio. Every time that I competed with the girls I was undefeated. At the end of the contest, both winners from the girls and boys competition would get into the circle and dance together. At the end everyone applauded us. We won tickets to Universal Studios or Walt Disney World. The attention was on us the entire evening.

During the time that I participated in the monthly dances at the Smith Center, I met a young man named Terrell from a neighborhood called Carver Shores. He was very popular in his neighborhood. As I made mention of him to my mom, she asked Can I meet him? Mom whenever you would like to I replied. When I informed Terrell about what I had told my mom, he said I told my mother about you too, and she wants to meet you as well. When I introduced Terrell to my mom, she said Keyonna he is a very handsome young man. He favors you and Bop and looks like he can be you all’s brother. Terrell and I burst into laughter. I was then introduced to his mom, and she said that I was beautiful. I blushed and said Thank you Ms. Jackie, you are beautiful as well. My mom loved Terrell like a son, and his mom loved me like a daughter. Terrell’s mom was certain that we would be together for life. When I became involved with him, I began to skip school and such. My mom was not cognizant of the fact that I was skipping school until my grades began to decline. My mom was frustrated with me, but even then she did not give up on me in spite of the things that I had previously subjected her to. She had to render punishment of some type, so she refrained from allowing me to participate in any extracurricular activity. She also snatched my phone privileges as a result of me being on the phone all day and night with Terrell. However, in my