Growing Roses In Concrete Reflection

     Oakland, one of the most dangerous cities, and has the highest crime rates in the United States. It is notorious that people can get killed on the street in Oakland without doing anything. People from the Bay Area and San Francisco are alert and on guard when they get close to Oakland. But does anybody really know what is going on over there besides what they read from the news? What is the flipside of the town that the media and people living outside of the town didn’t know about? The speech Growing Roses in Concrete by Jeff Duncan Andrade, delivered us the images and facts of what is going on and what the young generation is suffering in Oakland today.

“ The point of Education is not to escape poverty, the point of education is to end it.”- Jeff Duncan Andrade

            As they are coming of age in Oakland, the young generation does not feel safe and is forced to experience abject poverty, hazardous neighborhoods and vicious cycles. They are tagged as the plague in society; they seek no help, and have no hope to change their situation, and no direction in life but may continue to be plagued. By that time everybody is confused, and bordering on chaos, Jeff Duncan Andrade started a program called: “Step to College” and gave students extra tutoring, counseling, and one more important thing—Hope; Andrade hopes the young generations can become successful and come back to change Oakland. The ray of hope does light up many students’ lives, instead of dropping out of school and joining the gang, the student volunteers stay after school and get help for homework till midnight. Finally, 24/26 students in the program got into colleges and did make the impossible possible. 

            If the High crime rates and low graduation rates in Oakland are results of not caring; if the sufferings and traumas in Oakland are consequences of ignorance; then, we as the whole society are guilty. And our beautiful excuse called “Scared” is caused by lack of knowledge and trying. If we can share a little bit more caring, a little bit more love, it really can make a big difference, just like what Jeff Duncan Andrade did.

Questions:

1.     Why is it so important to care?

2.     What can we start to do to be a good influence on others?

3.     How can we get people’s attention to what is happening in our community?