Reality Check

"A Playstation costs more than a chopper" (Song by A Rapper Named Bilal.)

Two former students were shot Monday by their neighborhood convenience store.

I learned this during 5th period yesterday when T raised her hand.
"Ms. Craven, you knew C.A.? Who went here last year?"
"Yeah."
"You know what happened to him?"
R and A's expressions change. A puts her head down on her desk.
"No," I say, starting to worry.
Another student on the other side of the room raises his hand.
"I know what happened to him. He got shot!"
He said this with the eager pride of a game show contestant who knew the right answer.
The other kids reacted with scowls and sucking of teeth.
"How you gonna say that like that?"
Tears began leaking out of A's eyes.
They've all been through this before.

It's okay this time- I mean, okay in that neither boy died. Not like M last Spring. Not like D in fall.
One of them has already been released, and C is still in the hospital with wounds in his shoulder, abdomen, and leg.

It's mind boggling.

I forget sometimes, even being around them every day, how dangerous their worlds really are. This year there's a lot more laughter in my classroom. The kids talk about music and food and parties and parades. They write essays about family dinners with hilarious and tragic descriptions of parents and aunts and uncles getting drunk. They behave often with the naivete and energy of 3rd graders, and occassionally with the wisdom of people much older than that.

In a meeting of a Ladies Leadership group, I asked the 12 girls how many of them heard gunshots in their neighborhoods.
All of them raised their hands.

______________________

This Friday the Human Rights Film Festival begins in New Orleans. Last year, it brought about a few great connections with local artists and organizations working for social justice in the community. I'm excited to see what transpires this year.