Yesterday I realized My Son Has Become a Man! Don't forget us at EE Waddell HS!!

In attendance at the Save Our Black Boys (ELMP) meeting, my son on his own decided to respond to a forum that asked "What is it like to be a black male and walk in their shoes?" As I sat in the audience I realized it is his time. He started off explaining how he has grown. He said "yes there were teachers who tried to fail me." (He had a tough 9th grade experience, teachers playing rap music in Algebra class and who simply did not care) .

However, he said "I got up and started playing sports." He said "I play football, I wrestle, and now I am in a school where teachers take time to work with us and teach." He said "I know some of you may not know but we go up against schools such as Ardrey Kell High School and they are given everything. He said "they record our plays, they have (state of the art) .... equipment and are taught what and what not to do. They have a football field as big as our entire school and the school system took money and poured it into a new school William Amos Hough High and now they say there is no money and they want to take our little school.

He said "when we recently wrestled against Charlotte Catholic during our tournament the kid bit me and (the referee did not call him on it, so they were cheated again, because he did the same thing a year before and the ref pretended not to see then too)." He said "they keep taking from us." He took responsibility and said I missed my bus this morning (they left at 5 am) but I was going to go back to wrestle (Charlotte Catholic) and get him (meaning win). (However, God had another plan he had to speak.)

He was hurt but he was the voice the community needed to hear. Then there was an advocate from the Guardian ad litem program that stood up and said "yes they deserve an education just like everyone else in this country." So he was a voice that ignited a light in people yesterday, he let people know they are hurting. It is not easy but they are doing what they have to do to succeed no matter what they have been denied and even now as they try to close EE Waddell High School they will still soar like eagles and conquer! What I heard my son say was they keep taking from us and keep trying to be an obstacle but we will keep fighting back and we as a community must do the same in order to win!