KWAKU
I was born in Asokore, Koforidua in the eastern region of Ghana
And I started schooling in a one room school house
Now I can look back and say everybody was poor
But we didn't know we were poor because we had food all the time, a loving family
The main problem was trying to go fetch water
Because there's no running water in the house
The bathroom is somewhere there outside
We didn't have the clean shoes that everybody had
We didn't have the good clothing
It wasn't particularly very comfortable being under British colonial domination
And then I came to the United States in 1977
Just before the winter
Chicago then had a murder rate of around, close to a thousand a year
It was a very violent city
That's when it earned it's nickname as the Beirut on the lake
But again, I didn't let that scare me
I went to 63rd
We used to say that 47th Street was so dangerous that if you died
Your parents may not come for your body
If you were on 47th Street
Yeah it was bad but still the city was fun
Well, when I, I had a son
And I just thought that it's better we stay in Chicago raising kids
The good thing about Chicago is you learn the truth about America
There's no sugarcoating nonsense in this town
I was scared though, I got scared because I thought you could be shot
When you started getting in trouble I started graying
I started graying very fast
My heart was beating and I was having nightmares
Because you were having real problems with the police
Anytime I'm called to come and look for the police station where my son could be
I was really, really scared that one of these weeks
I may be called to the mortuary to identify your body
Your growing up in Chicago gave me a lot of heartache and headache
But around the time you did the Innanetape
The enthusiasm with which you handled that
And the friends all around you, how mature they've become
You know, all of you
Just made me say okay, these kids have made it
I think my father in his grave would be very happy
That uh, I brought up some good kids in America
And particularly also, um, um, I see it as a great success
I mean, if I leave, I have very little regrets