They Should Remember

On October 13, 1994 a five year old boy was thrown off the fourteenth level of one of the Ida. B Wells building. This was a crime that hit national news. President Clinton came to visit and also some other famous people came to visit the scene of the crime. Since these people didn’t do anything to try to stop the crime that happens in this neighborhood Lloyd and LeAlan took it into there own hands. They went around interviewing people that lived in the building where Eric the five year old boy was thrown out the window and killed to ask about the conditions of the buildings and the way the housing authority tries to keep them safe. People had negative opinions about there living conditions in the building. They argued that why should they have to board up there windows so that they wont be smashed or why is it that 80% of the building was vacant, that they shouldn’t have to live like this. My questions is with crime happening everyday in this neighborhood and the people in fear of there lives why isn’t the government taking every single family in these building away and knocking the buildings down, and why is it that famous people come to the neighbor when something bad happens but doesn’t try to help out, instead just goes there and shows sympathy to the family but then when they leave don’t donate any money to try and help out the living conditions? Why is it that everyone forgets about major problems in the world but remembers all the little but yet not important events?

Government & Family Issue

Ms. Foley said...
What solutions do you think the government should consider for this community? Whose responsibility is it to change the lives of the individuals living in the Ida B. Wells housing project?

The responsibility to change the lives of the individuals that live in Ida B. Wells housing projects and the surrounding areas should come from the government but also the individuals that live in the community. I believe that some of the responsibility should come from the government because they should be trying to make it a better and safer place to live. They should enforce more police in the neighborhood and clean up the schools. They can also create a boys and girls club that kids can go to, to get away from the streets and have programs that kids can do to work. Not all the responsibility lies with the government. Some of the responsibility lies with the family, they can make sure that there kids go to school and have the right education to be successful in life, and also not let there children go out and stay out to late at an early age so they wouldn’t learn what’s happening in the streets. All these are miner steps that can help the community become safer; enjoy full, and overall much better. Families moving into the housing projects will see that it’s a really great community to raise there children and start a living. With my following answer do you guys agree with it? Why or why not?

Government 2007

In the book Our America LeAlan and Lloyd face problems every days of their lives. Living conditions, killings, drugs, sex, are all problems in LeAlan and Lloyd’s community. Problems that our government should be trying to fix instead of telling people that everything is all right when its clearly not. In past times situations like these weren’t handled and now that the government realizes these issues why aren’t they doing anything about it. They so call claim to be much more focused on making America a better place. But I only see that happing in the rich areas. For example in Boston lately the crime has been over the roofs and after about 150 killings in the city the government has decided to increase patrol in the bad neighborhoods but why is that in rich neighborhoods the kids learn about not commuting crimes, not having sex, and teaching them how to be successful in life. When in the bad community like LeAlans and Lloyd’s the need to be learning about these kinds of things isn’t being enforced. Has the government giving up on the bad communities and the families that are living within them?

Our America

Our America is a powerful book to read. A long time friendship between 13 year old LeAlan Jones and 13 year old Lloyd Newman is one filled of sadness, happiness, and anger. Lloyd lives in the projects with his two younger sisters and his two older sisters take care of the three of them after their mother passed away. Lloyd's father, Michael Williams, a.k.a Chill, is a victim of the "Drinking Problem" pg 71. He claims he drinks only because his family has problems. LeAlan lives around the corner from the projects with his mother, Grandmother, Grandfather, older sister and her baby daughter. LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman have made it their mission to be loud voices from one of this country's darkest places, Chicago's Ida B. Wells housing project. Drugs, guns, money, sex and beer is what lies in the filthy streets and even homes of Chicago's projects.The long life struggle that goes around in South Side Chicago has a huge affect on all America. Its hard how people living in the same world you live in have a completely different life then you there situations are extremely difficult even though they live in the same world. What is the Government trying to do to help these kinds of situtions in life?