jo and matt
Matt is my only child born to me. When he was three I adopted my Korean/Black 5 year old daughter. And that was the beginning of him going from the oldest to the youngest. Thirteen more teenagers came to live with us. Most of them from a Violent Offender program. Matt was the only child not of color. Oh and then there were the refugees from Vietnam too. Matt is a rock, loving, compassionate and aware - now my partner in business for four years.
It was a blessed adventure. I Got to help a young man incarcerated as a young teen go on to finish high school and college, a first for his family. I felt the heartbreak of those returning to families that offered no opportunities because of the broken system and the environment. The program lost funding because it was unpopular - so recidivism increases. The experience of being a mother of children of color in the 80's & 90's gives you a taste of what racism is when you are born white and privileged.
- Jo
