Children are the Future
This final half of Evicted
was primarily focused on children.
The whole book was wrapping up. We got to see some recovery
stories (Scott moving into his own apartment and staying off heroin), some
“recovery” stories (Crystal losing her house and her monthly SSI checks but
becoming a prostitute and savoring her religion even more), and some really
tragic endings. The thing is, there was only one good ending that involved
children. The Hinkinstons moved into a house in Brownsville, Tennessee after
the birth of Malik Jr. Every other family with kids gets a terrible end.
Arleen, one of the first tenants we meet in the story, has
many children (shown in my first nonfiction microblog). When I made that
character map, I noted in my written explanation that she only interacted with
two of her children in the story. Since then, I’ve learned that the rest of her
children were taken by Child Protective Services and placed with other
families. In this half of the story, she interacts with Boosie, another one of
her children. He and Jori do have a sibling dynamic, but it’s clear that they
don’t see each other often. The children that Arleen still has custody of, Jori
and Jafaris, are taken by Child Protective Services in this half as well. They
come back once Arleen gathers the money to put electricity back in her
apartment.
Another mother in this story is Pam Reinke. This half really
highlights how racism affects her life. People with terrible lives always want
someone to hate and blame for their problems. Pam and Ned (especially Ned)
blame people of color. Unfortunately for them, they’re looking for an
affordable living space for them and their 4 ½ children. They can’t afford to
pick and choose how white their neighborhood is. They still try. Eventually,
they get one, but Pam is unhappy. Ned treats her and her children, especially
her mixed children, horribly. Pam is still racist but she’s a mother first. She
feels like a failure of a mother for letting her children be called awful
things. Yet, she believes she’s tied to Ned. She needs the income and can’t
leave him. She tells the girls “that Ned is the devil” with the hope that they won’t listen to him (Desmond
239). We’ll never know if it’s enough.
Vanetta Evans is a new character in this half and a mother of
three. She lives with Crystal. We don’t see a lot of her in the book, so I
don’t have a lot to write here, but where she ends up is pretty tragic. At a
low point in her life, she went out with some friends. Her friends decided to
rob some women and tasked Vanetta with taking the bags. Vanetta, confused and
scared, agreed. Her story ends with her going on trial and being sentenced to
nearly 7 years in prison in front of her children. It’s a short, sad story.
Once the cycle of poverty begins, it’s incredibly hard to get
out of it. It’s hardest for women who, more often than not, are mothers. All of these women were teen mothers. According to the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, 59% of teen mothers
never complete high school. When a
teenage mother is impoverished, she raises her children in poverty. Typically,
her children will never get what they need. This can lead to several problems
from depression to malnutrition to simple lack of education. According to Committee
on Adolescence and Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption, and Dependent Care, the
child also has a 25% chance of becoming an adolescent parent in turn. Not only
do these teen mothers go on to live awful lives, but they set up awful lives
for their children.
Children are the future. This is said over and over again. However, looking at the lives of Arleen, Pam, and Vanetta, there are certain children who are not being taken care of. Teen mothers and their children in turn are leaving school and leading lives that will only continue the cycle of poverty.
That doesn't sound like a real future. Not to me.
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