"About ten years ago, she called and said she needed us (our family) to move to Memphis to help take care of her because she was getting older. When we moved here and said, 'OK, Granny, we're here now; how can we help you?', she said, 'Baby, I don't need any help. Just live here in one of my houses and pay me rent.' So basically, she tricked us to get us here (*laughs*). Now our family lives in Orange Mound, I work in Orange Mound, and I love my community. Since we moved to the South, my boys have been able to see other black men who own their own businesses or who hold positions in government, and those people are role models for them. We didn't have that where we lived before, and it's really important. My children have done well here. In fact, my oldest was just accepted to MIT."
"My full name is Tiana Esther Helen Pyles. I say my middle names with pride because they are the names of both of my grandmothers. I grew up in Massachusetts, but my parents sent me to the South every summer for the southern experience. My grandmother, Queen Esther, who lives in Orange Mound, would take me around and talk to me about the history of Orange Mound: what is was, what it had become, what was still there. She had a lot of pride in her community.
"About ten years ago, she called and said she needed us (our family) to move to Memphis to help take care of her because she was getting older. When we moved here and said, 'OK, Granny, we're here now; how can we help you?', she said, 'Baby, I don't need any help. Just live here in one of my houses and pay me rent.' So basically, she tricked us to get us here (*laughs*). Now our family lives in Orange Mound, I work in Orange Mound, and I love my community. Since we moved to the South, my boys have been able to see other black men who own their own businesses or who hold positions in government, and those people are role models for them. We didn't have that where we lived before, and it's really important. My children have done well here. In fact, my oldest was just accepted to MIT." "My best friend plays with me. Today on the playground, we played 'Family.' I was the mom and she was the cat."
"I'm gonna be a doctor because I want to help people feel better. And I wanna be a singer and a mom with 9 kids."
"Our children are always watching us. If we, as women, allow men in our lives who mistreat us, then our daughters will believe that's how men are supposed to treat women, and our sons will believe that's how they are supposed to behave as men. It's up to us as parents to model healthy relationships for our children."
"My mom was molested by her father from the time she was 3 years old and then was raped by the nephew of a family friend when she was 19. As kids, we knew that our mom had been raped when she was younger, but we didn't know that any children had been conceived. It wasn't until last year that she told me I had been born as a result of that rape. When I heard the story, we embraced and cried. I hurt so much for her that she had held that pain inside for so many years. For the first few weeks after she told me, I couldn't eat anything; the thought of that happening to my mom made me physically sick. And then there was the emotional fallout; I'm still dealing with it a year later. If my relationship with God hadn't been so strong, it might have pushed me over the edge. I'm working with sexual assault victims now. It's something I feel called to do. I truly know where they've been." Reginald's mask and the accompanying story about his mother, "V.P."
"April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. These masks were made by survivors of rape, incest, domestic violence rape, and other forms of sexual assault. Some of the masks are divided in two: the creators show how they felt before and after the assault or how they felt on the inside and what face they wore on the outside. There's a written explanation with each one. People who view the masks, read the accompanying accounts, and realize they are not alone may find the courage to tell their own stories. Doing so can give them power over their lives again, although some of that trauma will always be with them. "Many victims stay silent; they're ashamed to come forward. There is still such a stigma around the issue of sexual assault. They're afraid of the victim-blaming, of hearing questions like 'What were you wearing?' 'Why didn't you leave when everybody else left?' ' Why were you the only girl there?' 'How many drinks did you have?' 'Why did you wait so long to tell someone?' We want to get the message out that regardless of your character or behavior, no one deserves to be raped." FB page for the Memphis & Shelby County Domestic and Sexual Violence Council: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MemphisShelby-County-Domestic-and-Sexual-Violence-Council/494090767336199
Isabella: "I'll tell you a joke for a quarter. What are the only keys that don't open doors? Piano keys!"
Benjamin: "Why did the golfer wear two pairs of pants? He was afraid he'd get a hole-in-one!" "The most difficult time in my life was when I moved to the U.S. from Mexico. I was 12 years old, didn't speak a word of English, and was having to start my life all over. I knew God would help me if I didn't give up, so I kept trying. He let me know that this was just the beginning."
"I was so full of anger and questions. Have you ever read the story in the Bible of Jacob wrestling with God? That's what I did. I wrestled with God. It didn't happen all at once; it was a process and it took time, but slowly my anger began to be transformed into love."
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