Taking a village to raise a child: The power of a NURTURING community environment

 

Pine Bluff, Arkansas.   I’m sure most people have to go online or break out a map to figure out where the hell this place is located.   It’s a small town (roughly 45,000 people) in the southeast corner of Arkansas that sits on the Mississippi Delta.  It’s about an a 1 hour and a half from Mississippi (to the east) and about an 1 hour and a half from Louisiana (to the South).   Arkansas is considered the western most state of ‘the South’.   

And Pine Bluff, Arkansas is where I was born and raised.

As I look back on my early years, I didn’t realize the nurturing environment I was brought up.   I didn’t have people who told me to ‘do this’ or ‘do that’ in terms of my growth.  What I did have a wealth of people who ‘nudged’ in the right way without specifically telling me what I should or should not do.

The list of people along the way definitely shaped me:

1) The 5 uncles (my mother’s brothers) who taught me how to run track, served as inspiration to join the military, stopped someone from bullying me, and taught me to survive.

2) The family friend who told me, in his worlds, “They will stab you with a fork over a piece of chicken in prison!”.  TRUST, I ALWAYS remember that story

3) The church mentor who got me my first job.  The other church mentor who lent me his history book so I could study the history of his fraternity (the one I ended pledging).

4) The countless school teachers who made a POINT to let me know that they knew my family (thus keeping me from being bad).

5) The women who nominated me to become part of the first Gentlemen’s Banquet recognizing outstanding African American Male Seniors

6) The Grandfather who took me fishing and shared with me his stories of serving in the military.

7) The grandmother who took care of me when my mom was sick.

As I get older, I’m sure I have forgotten many other instances of nurturing but what I do know is this thing for certain.  I would not be here if not for the gentle nudging I received from the countless people in my village ensuring at least one part of my life was a success.