A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE BLACKMAN JOHN MELVIN SMITH AND THE FAILURE OF HIS BLACK PARENT'S TO PREPARE HIM FOR ADULTHOOD.

I found a big stack of these fliers one day up the street from the church.

I thought the least I could do was spread the word.

If you want a copy I have like 3 left.

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE BLACKMAN JOHN MELVIN SMITH AND THE FAILURE OF HIS BLACK PARENT'S TO PREPARE HIM FOR ADULTHOOD.

Earlier this year I met John Melvin Smith a homeless blackman living on skid row. He told me his story of how he got there to begin with. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on February 15, 1975 to railroad worker Jim Melvin Smith and waitress JoAnn Mary Smith. John is a dark skin as well as his parents. John is 5 foot 7 and very articulate in his speech. He lived in Little Rock until 1977 when his father moved the family to St. Louis, Missouri. His father found a better paying job working for the railroads. John lived in St. Louis until 1982 when his father moved the family again this time to Los Angeles, California. His father found a better paying railroad job and his mother continued working as a waitress. Both of John's parents are high school dropouts.

John grew up in an almost middle class situation because of parents combined income, especially because of his father railroad job. John lived in the Mid-City neighborhood of Los Angeles in a one story orange Spanish style house with small front and a big back yard. John went to Marvin Avenue Elementary School from 1982 until 1987. He attended Louis Pasteur Junior High from 1987 to 1990. John attended Dorsey High School from 1990 until his graduation in June 1993. He was the first person to graduate from high school in his family. John was a "B" average student in high school thanks to the intensive tutoring at school and his will to succeed. He got a job at Burker King in spring 1993 during his senior year. In 1993, John enrolled in Los Angeles- Trade Technical College with the goal to become a chef. This is when his father started telling him "You are not going to be a chef." , "You should work in the railroad business." John's mother supported his choice to be a chef. There was another problem, in 1991 at 16 YEARS OLD JOHN ASKED HIS PARENTS TO HELP HIM GET HIS DRIVER LICENSE. His parents said they were too busy to help him get his driver license. His parents DID NOT TEACH him how to open a bank account, save money, write a check, pay bills, pay rent and vote.

John refused to listen to his father and stayed in college. His parents started arguing a lot. The relationship deteriorated to the point where John was kicked out of the house in 1994 by his father. John became homeless at 19 years old, lost his Burger King job and dropped out of college. John is a homeless blackman who never had an APARTMENT, DRIVER LICENSE or a GIRLFRIEND. In America is bad to be a blackman to begin with, strike 1. A homeless blackman with no driver license, no car, no apartment and no friends is even worse. The neglect of John's parents to prepare him for adulthood caused his downfall. How tragic.

By: Marissa Maria Dominguez de Leon                                     August 2014 in West Hollywood, CA