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When you step your loafers in the 60628 like Barack Obama did from 85-88, we'll talk organizer in Chief. https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1184504426058436608
The 100s still Has a lot of work to do, but I challenge Sanders and AOC to take a tour of my old neighborhood... And brainstorm some solutions. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/magazine/obama-poverty.html
The porch is different, the railings used to be wrought Iron but this was my parents First home, there 4/83 We stayed in the first floor and our tenant stayed upstairs; Everybodyhates Chris remind me of my childhood. In back my pop's work car and family car sat in the driveway.
We had NO clue... No one in Roseland Did that the best president of our lifetimes would be around the corner (a minute drive by car) in a church shaping his political views. Roseland and Altgeld Gardens (pops was a operating engineer there until early 85) was Barack's projects.
That park across the street from that church Obama worked out of was called Palmer. My two brothers and sisters frequented that park often. There was a running track with dark color gravel, i used to practice sliding out my royal blue Huffy I got for Christmas 86.
My oldest brother, via my father's first marriage split time between Living with us and his mom in Englewood. By 86, my Brother became a Gangster Disciple (all the discipline my pop gave wasn't enforced by his mom) so we started house hunting in the south Burbs. July 88, we left.
What my parent DIDN'T do was sell the two flat. Pops went and got his baby sister and her family out the Robert Taylors... They took the first floor and none continued to occupy the second floor. Rose and was breaking bad, but the Taylors was fixing to become hell on Earth.
So my family went from Roseland to a village 90 percent white, at the time, was the first black family on our block, surprised how patriotic and CONSERVATIVE it was. The school district was the first outside the deep south to be forced by LBJ to bus 20 years prior.
Seven miles separated my parents two properties in July 1988... But it was TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS, YALL. I started learning Code switching at SEVEN! 
The way I talked to my friends back on Indiana was totally Different from the new white kids i encountered
The way I talked to my friends back on Indiana was totally Different from the new white kids i encountered
The move was made To get my brother away from a rapidly declining environment. He lasted in the lily white suburbs until October 88. He became depressed, despondent and after a Painful family meeting (his kid brother didn't take it well) Mel Jr. went back to live with his Mom.
My father isn't here anymore, but My brother is. I think that Summer of 1988 out of Roseland and Englewood saved his life. Pop also made sure when he went back to live with his mom, HE STILL RAN SHIT. Junior learned some painful lessons trying that Sailor father of ours!
So, the challenge for community organizers and democrats today is how do you best improve a neighborhood where folks won't feel the need to leave? How do you best serve the residents?
Barack himself went back to school as he didn't have the answers.
Maybe she will.
Barack himself went back to school as he didn't have the answers.
Maybe she will.
