West Englewood Narrative

For many parents, the birth of a new child brings joy and glee. However for my father, I was a burden made by his late-night illegal activities. West Englewood is an area many people have not heard of - it’s tucked inside the southwest side of Chicago. During the day, the people of Englewood would wake up to the smell and sound of gunshots and burning tyres. Police officers would parade the streets in their well-ironed uniforms and the alleys would be covered with bright and colourful graffiti of sayings and images, which I didn’t understand at the time. When night came, Englewood was almost non-existent submerged in darkness with signs of light through the flickering street lamps. Many residents locked their doors and stayed at home, afraid of the evil the dark brought. Amongst this, I was born. I was born on 31st of December 1984 at exactly 11:59 pm, my mother died immediately after my birth. I was named after the notorious ‘ Baby Face Nelson’- Papa said, “even though Nelson was part of “the Crackers”, he had done enough crime to be considered part of us, the “Niggers”.

After Mama died, there were only three of us left: me, Daniel and Papa. Papa was the wingman to the infamous “ Kevin “, whatever Kevin said Papa was known to do. Together they controlled the gang, “ Black P Stoners”. There were almost 40 …show more content…
The town continued with its same routine. I got dressed and started walking to school. When I arrived at my classroom, Mrs Walker had a pitied expression on her face and sighed as she looked at me. I walked up closer to her and asked, “What was wrong?” She replied by saying “Your father has taken you out of school, my dear”. A jolt of pain went through my body, I felt like my dream was slowly leaving the grasp of my hand. I asked, “Are you sure, Miss?” She plainly nodded. I ran out of the classroom flinging the door open. I ran straight home where Papa was standing