Dillon Kelly

The community I was raised in is Flatbush, Brooklyn, the bush, as we sometimes would say. Growing up here as a young boy was filled with happiness. Playing basketball in the street until my hands were pitch black from dirt, running the streets until the lights flickered on, only then to enter one of the buildings that lined my street to continue the fun by starting a game of manhunt, using empty apartments and the rooftops as valid hiding spots. In front of my building either smelled like some delicious food being prepared, weed, or black and mild cigars. A very sweet vibe the rhythm of my community was that of a soca or reggae tune, not the new stuff they play now, more like Buju and Beres or Machel and Super Blue. And to top it off a hint of gunshots and scuffles that ended in stab wounds, increased police presence, and corners lit with candles in the memory of. As I got older I started to realize not all was right and there was a slight disappointment in my community, I would never say hatred. But nonetheless I love it here. I am committed to being a lasting presence in my community because I understand the environment. There is a struggle within my community much to do with socioeconomic status. Most of my community’s population is of people who have migrated from other countries. This creates an atmosphere that requires survival skills to kick in due to the process of becoming citizens. Mothers and fathers have to work and children must go to school, and more than often that creates a structural imbalance within the family. The birth of the illusion that a mother or father will often see as reality is that they don’t have time for much of anything bills must be paid, the goal of nurturing their child’s educational experience falls to the backburner. The illusion that the child will see is that no one cares, this then will either push the child to learn on his or her own or to get discouraged and act out as a result of his or her frustration with grasping the concept of independence at such an early age. In this frustration is where the youth starts to look into things that apply less pressure but can be detrimental to there health and capability for knowledge of self. As the youth gets older the mind state of that child becomes more and more permanent making it difficult to unlearn unhealthy tactics. With this recurring issue I feel it is my mission to disillusion the misconceptions and help bridge the gap between parent, teacher, and child, because it still takes a village. My resolve for this commitment to my community is to structurally change the environment by helping young minds awaken their full potential, and by helping parents better understand the process of learning, it is everlasting, and the success of their child’s growth is a success and asset to our community. In my community it is hard to see the purpose in social justice. It is hard because people are made to