Part Two of Two: Ten Things I Learned Over Winter Break
This week, our trip is serving at SRVS Preschool, an inclusive preschool for children of all able-ness, and at Knowledge Quest, an after school program that serves the underprivileged kids of South Memphis.
6) Segregation is still alive
During our time in Memphis, our MAB group was fortunate enough to receive a tour from Mr. Downey: A wonderful man who grew up in South Memphis his whole life and who now works at Knowledge Quest. During our tour, we saw every part of Memphis. We saw where Dr. MLK Jr. was shot, where Elvis' favorite sandwich is served, where St. Jude's Children's Hospital is, where downtown Memphis is, where uptown, midtown, and soulsville are. Every one of these places was within minutes. One minute, we would be around huge mansions with streets of well kept stores and community resources, and within just a few roads, we would be in the projects, where the children we served came from. We could tell the difference from primarily white schools from primarily black schools, and when you look at a map, the disparity between areas is incredible. It felt like we were in two different states. And we felt so ignored. Memphis is screaming for help. It's glands swollen with sore history of a soulful town. A town with so many attractions hidden by the past and present of its silenced people. We all pretend that racism and segregation is over; we sweep the issues of our Americans under the rug to collect and create larger issues. We have a city that is in need of us, but "People are afraid of what they don't understand," said Mr. Downey. And what could be more misunderstood than a city that was so recently so rich in culture and music and dance and creativity and is now a ghost town from the outside, windows boarded up as if no souls are left to stir. But, I am here to tell you Memphis is still alive, and the soul is still very present in the streets and sidewalks of South Memphis.
7) The rest is still unwritten
No one said it better than Natasha Bedingfield. No one knows how many minutes they have left here. No one knows what will change their life forever: for better or worse. Unfortunately, we, as humans, cannot see the future. For me, this makes me anxious. I hate not knowing what my life has in store for me. The wonderful kids we work with are normally seen as stuck in a cycle. These kids have this life simply of the zip code they were born into. Their fate has been determined for them, and there is no changing it. It's always a negative outcome that is seen for these kids. Even though these kids are so excited about going to college, so many people brush them off as dreaming too big. But the future hasn't been made yet, and these kids can still succeed and go to college. Personally, it is hard for me to focus on the future as being positive, but why not? Literally no one, not even the people who work at the fortune teller store in Nashville, can tell us what our future holds. So why waste time? If it hasn't been written, why waste time trying to read the spark notes version or staring at the blank page before you? Why not open up the dirty window and let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find. Just go. Just fight. Just win. Because the rest is still unwritten.
8) You can't control what happens on the outside, but you can control what happens on the inside
During our tour of Memphis, we saw many historical places to our dear friend Mr. Downey. We heard so many terrible stories about his childhood and his world. We learned facts that aren't written in history books, and we realized that our world is not very easy to change. We are still fighting Dr. MLK Jr.'s dream fifty years later. There are a lot of current events that are really terrible to think about. We speak about them, share opinions, and try to change them. We cannot stop everything that is negative from happening in our world by focusing on the problems others create in our world. The only way we can create a new world is focusing on ourselves. We can control our actions. We can control who we are and how we treat others. We can control who we serve and how we want to serve. We cannot sit inside and hope for a better tomorrow where there are no more disparities. Service is about taking action, not trying to control the world. It's about doing what you can to serve others, not judge and be judged. Because if you're not in the moment and you're sitting around wondering why the world has so many issues, you're on the outside looking in.
9) Do not underestimate the power of a volunteer
When we walked back into Knowledge Quest today, one of the kids raced up to us and embraced each of us individually. We hadn't seen her since Wednesday, but she remembered us all and was so excited that we had come back to see her and spend more time with her. She could not wait to dance with us again and braid our hair again. She showed us her report card and was showered in praise for the improvement she had made in her grades. And the best part? For me, it was when Hannah and I (Ellen) went to dance clinic and learned and taught dances. We didn't learn any of the kids names, nor did they learn ours, but we understood everything about each other. No one judged each other or laughed at our white dance moves. Instead, we worked together to get to know each other on such a deep level. Less that black and white and more about being humans with loving hearts.
10) Be aware of your various privileges and use those to serve others
Regardless of ability, humans are humans. At SRVS, we experienced all sorts of abilities. There were kids all over various spectrums of abilities. We met kids with limited mobility and kids who have seizers and kids who have autism or Down syndrome. We had kids who couldn't communicate and kids who tried to communicate but we couldn't understand. Going into these classrooms, a few of us felt pretty apprehensive and nervous about working with abilities we had never seen before. But by the end of the week, we rewired how our brains worked. It became more natural for us to chill out and not be nervous about what to do. We realized how privileged we are to be able to speak and say what we want and even more importantly, say what we need. I think it is just important to treat all humans with respect. Find out what someone needs from you to communicate and do it. Whether that's sign language or keeping the lights dimmer or not slamming a door, we can make others feel comfortable.
Regardless of socioeconomic privilege, we all face issues. Some of our kids didn't get dinner at home, so their snack at Knowledge Quest was dinner. Some of the kids didn't get food over the weekend, so they would stuff their back packs with milk and pears. Getting a C in their class would be like getting a 4.0. Their expectations were skewed due to their circumstances. We had to change the way we viewed the world to better serve these kids.
We realized that no matter the service, putting yourself in the other person's shoes is so important. Curing your own ignorance is like putting out a fire. During or time, we were told volunteers are like fire fighters. We come rushing in to save the day and put out the fire.
Thanks for reading,
xoxo MAB Memphis 2
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