AS: How Long Will They Mourn...

For 5 years of my adolescent life I lived @ 28th and Kentucky Street in the West End of Louisville. I attended the Parkland Boys and Girls Club every day accept holidays for so much of my life that it was literally my second home. Crossing the railroad tracks over to the 3200 block of Greenwood, I would encounter 2 dudes who would terrorize me every day. It's always funny and ironic in movies when the little fat kid gets bullied, but this was literally my real life. Chased and teased everyday by Chris Buckner and Michael Bland. This is a tribute to the memory of Mike and every other victim of my neighborhood.

I was no different than anyone on my block, as a matter of fact, I was likely a little less fortunate. When the Bo Jacksons came out and everyone was rocking them, I was still wearing LA Gears and Fila. When Cross Colors was the thing to wear, I was in 4th Street attire (KNOCKOFFS). But yet and still every day after school I would congregate with the guys from the neighborhood in front of Whiteys. Whiteys is the store smack dab in the middle of kentucky and Greenwood on 32nd Street. Penny Candy, Quarter Juices, Sunflower Seeds, Grippos, Tahitian Treats, etc... this was a staple of my child hood. We would crack, rap, race up and down the block, break into abandoned school buildings, steal baseball cards, just basic adolescent foolishness. Everyday when the club got out and I walked home, Chris and Mike would tease me, and chase me across the tracks. We never fought, and they didnt catch me often, but they were a huge obstacle in my childhood. I HATED these guys as a kid.

When I got to high school, my parents moved out to Shively, and my interaction with 32nd street was minimized. This was around 1996, and this is when i can assume that gang activity was introduced to the neighborhood, i was'nt there, and I was beginning to focus on whether or not I was gonna go to college. They all went to Waggner, I went to Ballard. My friend circle was then introduced to people from everywhere but the West End, and i was no longer a part of the culture of my old neighborhood. Years passed and people began dying... shootings and violent activity plagued the men from this area, and many of the dudes who taught me how to be tough, crack jokes, and be cool were all slowly becoming extinct.

Well 12 years Later, I'm a college graduate and haven't seen many of these guys since 1996 and the death of one puts it all into perspective. I am blessed. If I never knew how God had his hands on me, I know NOW. I could have went in the same direction as my comrades, but God. I Mourn the Death of Michael Bland age 27 from 32nd street. I wept this morning for all of the men who are trapped in the cycle of violence and feel as they have no way out. I am not optimisic about the possibility of resolve and a stopping of the violence, because now people want revenge. Mothers will continue to cry, and my brothers will continue to die. When you get a chance say a prayer for my brothers and all who continue to fall victim to the streets.
-AS