Dispatches From The Kwanzaa Kid: How the Grinch Stole Ujamaa

Here’s a lie you often hear: “I grew up in the hood. And because I was smart, all the cool kids and the gangstas bullied me and beat me up.” If you talk to anyone who ever knew me, none of them would describe me as cool. Even though I was the least intimidating person you would meet, I didn’t encounter much trouble because I didn’t live in “the hood.” No one lives in “the hood” or the “ghetto.”It’s a fantasy of people who never lived in places surrounded by people of lower economic means. People who live in the inner-city apartments don’t think they live in “the ghetto.” Your home is your home. Your neighborhood is your community. And usually, people who have been condemned to live in impoverished areas will try their best to help others escape that fate. They’ll try to prevent the star basketball player from getting involved in gang life. They’ll protect the smart, nerdy kid who reads encyclopedias for pleasure and never celebrated Christmas. I grew up in a place where my neighborhood was an actual community. If you lived on my street and they cut your lights off, people would actually take up… Read full this story

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