Here's what it's like being a teen in the era of Covid-19 and the battle against systemic racism.
At a New York basketball court splashed with vibrant street art, a glimpse of relief emerges.
Businesses, schools and much of public life ground to a halt as Yonkers hospitals filled with patients and even medical staff became ill themselves as they battled on the front lines. In all, more than 1,200 people in Westchester have died from the coronavirus. To explore what this moment means for them, The Journal News/lohud gathered more than 20 Yonkers teens at the community center to document what's on their minds, visually and in words. We asked them to share their perspectives on the coronavirus, on the fight for racial equity and on what it means to experience both realities at once.
So when the summer heat dissipates, the four embark on the evening journey that typically leads them to the scenic bike path. They pass ducks and butterflies and listen to the wind in the trees, sometimes getting so lost in the journey that they wind up two villages away. Maybe an arts career would make more sense, some family members and friends have suggested. It would certainly be safer. Although the twins vehemently condemn the killing of Floyd, some have questioned whether the two young Black men can become change agents in communities of color.“People don’t understand why you want to go into certain fields,” Keon says. “Our 'why' has a lot to do with what we experienced. ... There’s a reason I want to go into this. I’ve prepared my life for it.
But the memories of those turbulent times remain, and they've weighed heavily in the twins' decision to pursue a career in law enforcement, where they hope to enact police reforms. Since the pandemic started, he can't get the sleep schedule right. He finds himself munching on hot Doritos in the middle of the night, and his body has been protesting his nocturnal habits with heartburn and headaches.He's recently started jogging, heading out just before 9 p.m. with his mom for a nighttime trip to the local high school amid the guiding glow of streetlights and headlights. There are fewer people out that late, and it feels safer that way.
It was worth swallowing his worries, he says, to help support his family and sock a little away for a brighter tomorrow. “Prince, can you come downstairs?” “That happened out of nowhere. I was just talking to her," Prince says."And then the next thing you know, that happens. … I was just shocked."These days, Prince spends more time with his family. He meets some cousins and a couple friends for a picnic at the waterfront; they'll eat wings and play catch, listen to music and imitate the moves of Pop Smoke, a Brooklyn rapper gunned down in February. He was a year older than Prince.
It's there in the impromptu catch sessions she and her grandfather hold in the backyard. When the season returns, she's set on joining the softball team. “I didn’t want to bring any germs home to her since she is dealing with cancer," he says."But this pandemic has accelerated my degree of, I guess, being very cautious.”
He aspires to be a civil rights lawyer and spends his time reading and learning about race relations. He is donating money from his summer job to bail funds for arrested protesters. He joined a protest and lifted his voice with others to the sky. She is Dominican, with Black and other ancestry, and has long struggled with understanding and embracing her identity. Colorism and racism also play a role in the Dominican community, Natalie says, which added even more complexity.
“Even my family, like, they started getting more aware. They were like, ‘How can someone go jogging and just be killed? That is something that is not OK,'” she says. “'People are just doing everyday things and just being murdered.'”
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