By Maureen Kelleher/LISC
It’s not as if the 7th-graders at Perspectives-Calumet Middle School
are strangers to street violence. But still, the man in front of their
class a few weeks ago grabbed their attention in a way their teachers
often don’t.
"I was shot in the head, and it's only by the grace
of God that I met any of you all,” said Joseph, now 41, who’s serving a
six-year sentence for drug-related offenses. “I was 14 years old, 15
years old. I've been gangbanging all my life. My mother got out of bed,
drove to the hospital, had a heart attack in the parking lot and died.
I got shot in the head, but my mama died."
Courtney Lewis listens intently to Keeping It Real. Photo: Maureen Kelleher
Joseph, in a coma, didn't wake up until long after the funeral was over.
He
and six other men convicted of nonviolent crimes are part of Keeping It
Real, a Safer Foundation program, focused on prisoner re-entry to
society, through which offenders talk to young people about the
mistakes they made in their lives and what those mistakes cost them.
Their
appearance at Perspectives came after students approached Elev8
Director Michelle Mason about creating a forum to discuss critical
issues that affected their daily lives.
Mason called the
Chicago Police Department’s 6th District for advice and, with
AmeriCorps member Tiffany Horton, invited Keeping It Real to meet with
two Healthy Lifestyles classes on September 25.
Chicago Police Officer Maudessie Jointer, who works with the police and the Safer Foundation, warmed up the crowd for Joseph.
"Anybody
here like the police?" she asked. In both classes, less than one-third
of the students raised their hands. When she first started Keeping It
Real, she told them, she didn't like young people either. "Back at the
time I wasn't feeling young people,” she said. “I could not stand
teenagers."
Nor did she want to repeat the same-old messages
from teachers and parents: stay in school, get good grades. But her job
at Safer was in the same building with a Y, and one day she brought
about half a dozen students in to have pizza with transitioning
offenders. That was seven years ago; she now coordinates 21
presentations monthly.
Officer
Jointer appoints Tyler Cannon timekeeper. For 15 minutes, she leads the
discussion, then turns it over to students for questions. Photo: Maureen Kelleher
"Anyone know someone locked up in jail?"
Almost
everyone did. Some were family members. Jointer introduced the seven
ex-gang members from Keeping It Real who are in a work-release program
and expect to complete their sentences for drug and weapons possession
within two years.
"Anybody here been arrested?"
In the
first class, not a hand went up. Jointer and her companions applauded.
"This is the first school in seven years we have gone to that nobody
has raised a hand," she said. “That's a beautiful thing."
Jointer
asked if anyone was in a gang. Again, no hands, but that didn't
surprise her. "Let me ask the question another way," she said. "How
many of you know someone in a gang?" Everyone raised their hand. "If
you hang with gangbangers, other people consider you gang-affiliated
and will hurt you just like they would hurt them. You know you're
choosing this for your family. You GD (Gangster Disciple, the largest
street gang in Chicago), your mama GD, your grandma GD."
Jointer
then asks the students to talk about the people they know who are in
gangs. Her message had some immediate impact. "Since you put it like
that, he was my friend," said one boy.
The offenders explained
why they joined gangs. "I was looking for love in all the wrong
places," Joseph said. Though the comment sparked a few giggles from
students, they and the speakers before them share an understanding of
the powerful hold gangs have on people around them. Many students said
they have relatives and friends in gangs; four of the speakers joined
because they had friends or relatives who were already involved.
Then
Jointer asked her companions what they gained from joining a gang.
"They helped me get my ID on," said Shaun, a 28-year-old now serving a
seven-year drug sentence — referring to his prison ID. "That ain't the
kind of ID you want."
Four of the men had been shot or stabbed
as a consequence of their gang involvement. Mike pulled up his shirt to
reveal scars on his side and back. "My intestines, they was all hanging
down to here," he said. Three had family members who were attacked as a
result of their actions.
Healthy Lifestyles teacher Crystal Hill brought Keeping It Real to two of her 7th-grade classes. Photo: Maureen Kelleher
For
most of the two sessions, students had the opportunity to ask their own
questions. "Did you enjoy it?" asked one, referring to the gangster
life.
"Most of the time I was scared to death,” said Payton, a
44-year-old near the end of a 12-year sentence for cocaine dealing. “I
tried to front like I wasn't, but I was."
In the second session,
Payton described how his mother's house was shot at twice by rival drug
dealers. His story sparked a student to reflect on how a family
member's drug dealing provoked rivals to shoot at his grandmother's
house. "Why you hating on somebody just because they have made more
money than you have? Just be grateful to God you're alive."
Though
this young man's family life has been hard and he already has had a
brush with the law, he wants better for himself. "I want to go to
college and play ball. I'm just mad. I've got a lot of anger in my body
because my mom and dad died, and I didn't even get to say my last
words."
"I'm really impressed with how well you all speak," Payton responded.
At
the end, Jointer had some words of encouragement for the youngster.
"Man, you a powerful speaker. If I ever see you in my line of work, you
getting a straight-up beatdown, because you're supposed to be doing
great things. I don't care how crazy your family situation is, you keep
doing what you're doing, because you're supposed to be the next Les
Brown, the way you speak."
After the second session ended,
Payton shook the young man's hand, and Joseph gave him a hug. "It was
great," he said afterwards. "It let me get my feelings out, so all this
anger, it's all gone." Half a dozen other students also lined up to
shake hands with the speakers.
Meanwhile, Keeping It Real has been invited back to Perspectives for three more presentations.
"I'm
thinking about how to bring this to other Elev8 schools," said Mason.
"It engages the students. It's some good information."
