"Amazing Grace" by Jonathon Kozol (reflection)

"Amazing Grace" written by Jonathan Kozol portrays the dangers in the streets of Mott Haven, in South Bronx. Many people that live in the South Bronx are living in broken, crowded and rat-infested apartment buildings. Not only are the apartment buildings disgusting, but in Mott Haven about 4,000 heroin injectors live there and that does not include the amount of people who are positive for HIV/AIDS. Children are raised and surrounded by families who participate in drug-related violence, the spread of AIDS, and suffer from depression and anxiety. Kozol questions, "What is it like for children to grow up here?" (5). It is so unfortunate for the children who grow up in neighborhoods with high levels of poverty. These children living on St. Ann's Avenue experience living in such bad conditions such as danger and death. My father was born and raised in the Bronx, and it is scary to think how the streets and buildings are filled with diseases and murderers. Luckily my father did not live in the South side, however he was exposed to the violence and rat and cockroach infested homes in the East side. On the other hand, I was born in Queens, New York and only lived there for two years. I have many family members who still live there and love the city life. As a child, I watched many movies made in New York and my father shared many stories with me of his childhood, my dream was to live there. Until this day, I ask my father why we did not continue to live there and he says, "it was best to leave New York, when you are older you will understand why." Kozol mentions a woman who helps addicted woman and their children who says, "Why do you want to put so many people with small children in a place with so much sickness? This is the last place in New York that they should put poor children. Clumping so many people, all with the same symptoms and same problems, in one crowded place with nothin' they can grow on?" (11). Children do not chose to live in this type of environment and parents sometimes do not have a choice to leave the area. These innocent children who have to be surrounded by these issues still do not lose hope no matter what they go through. This is what Kozol talks about throughout his book. "There are children in the poorest, most abandoned places who, despite the miseries and poisons that the world has pumped into their lives, seem, when you first meet them, to be cheerful anyway" (6). I learned from my parents that no matter how low you feel, no matter what you're going through, keep a smile on your face. After reading this story, I feel so blessed for growing up in such a quiet small town with little to no violence. My parents sacrificed a lot for my little brother and I and I am thankful we were never forced to live in such conditions as the children in South Bronx.

Above is a picture from a rooftop on 139th St. between Cypress Ave. and St. Ann's Ave.