GROWING UP: I was born in Bellflower, CA then moved to Maryland. I have been back in LA for 5 years now. Maryland was quiet and a bit slower. I enjoyed that aspect of it.
CURRENT GIG: I am 13 yrs old and in the 7th grade at Parras Middle School. I like intramural sports teams and the best part of the day is getting out of school. I like social studies, because we learn about what we can do as people and all the mistakes we made. Hopefully we don’t make them again. I like to play basketball and watch Netflix. My favorite shows are “Lost”, “Breaking Bad”, “Last Man Standing” and “My Name is Earl”.
EXPERIENCES WITH RACE: There is one kid in my neighborhood who asked me if he could call me the “n” word. I think he just wanted to get a reaction out of me. I just looked at him for awhile. Calling people certain words is basically calling us less than human. It is hurtful and I don’t want to be experiencing that. I am not ok with racism and I am not going to just let people talk with me however they want to, even if I have to fight back to protect myself.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Going to school is important and I am figuring out how make it on my own. I like to say “The Lord is my Shepherd”.
Photographed by Renee McMahon
