Spending most of my life on these 5500/5400 blocks, I can definitely say we probably seen everything we weren’t suppose 2 see early, grew up 2 fast & have probably lost more people than we have left. Some chose 2 leave, a lot didnt deserve 2 go the way they did, but through it all though, I have 2 say that Im very proud of the men that I grew up with. A lot of yall took those losses & learned from it or did time but took it as a blessing because it could of been u. I watched a lot of u niggas go from creep of all creeps lol, least likely to succeed, and the bottom of the barrell when u were at ur lowest 2 husbands, real fathers, & working men. Even if they still hustle most of them have 9-5’s now because they aren’t willing to compromise their freedom or take time away from their families anymore & Im grateful that I was able 2 see these boys turn in2 men frfr. Its a lot of good dudes out here still & I’ll never give up on black men especially the ones that came from the mud or been through hell but never give up. Just don’t give up on yourself & settle, I know niggas with murders on their wrap sheet with good ass jobs now so keep going. This world does indeed work against u, but nothing hurts u more than urself, & when u dont apply urself as opportunities r given. For those of yall here visting remember this will all be here whenever you decide 2 come back again, but worse, so take ur ass back 2 ur new homes b4 this 1 takes that 2nd chance away. & dont let anybody sitting in the same spot u left them in or not doing better than u make u feel like less of a man 4 not doing boy shit u hear me. Enjoy seeing ur kids but dont get stuck just send 4 them this summer because these babies dont need 2 b here either. #ILoveYall #ChangeIsABlessing #NotEveryoneGetsThatChanceToGrowUp #GodIsReal ☺

By:Tottie Jane McAllister