My Work Shirt

September 29, 2011 My Work Shirt

While driving home today a homeless person was walking in between cars at the stop light. A lady in the green Dodge Neon in front me held out a dollar and handed it to him. After he received it, he crumbled it up in his hand, tilted his head backwards and mouthed “Thank You God.”

“Hey you in the Good Jobs, uh, Better Baltimore t-shirt, are you giving jobs?”

“Nah, we’re a community action group trying to bring the community together to fight for better jobs here in Baltimore.”

“So y’all not hiring right now? Cuz I need a job.”

“No, but are you willing to come to our community meeting so we can discuss how we can hold companies accountable for creating jobs?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

I work for Good Jobs, Better Baltimore. I go door to door in the worst communities in B’more and talk to people and their struggles with not having a job. The first question I ask is “How do you think the lack of jobs here in Baltimore affects this community?” It’s a reality check. The answer is everything. Crime, low education rates, police harassment, drug sales, vacant homes, and devastation in our own American city. My fingers would be to the bone if you asked me to type all the wild shit I’ve seen on the streets of B’more.

Our team, which consists of six community organizers, wear our white shirts with our logo while we’re on doors. While out there, people that are sitting on their porches or walking down the street, ask us if we have jobs to give them. You should see their eyes. It’s filled with hopelessness. Have you ever seen a person eye’s when they’re hopeless? It’s as if the wind was knocked from their sales, a thunderstorm came, and the masthead was ripped from their ship.  It’s our reality check. It lets us know that our job isn’t in vain. However, at what point did people become apathetic about their communities? What’s worse in this situation? No jobs or that we’re presenting an opportunity to change it, but no ones wants to act on it?

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