We live in a world were we continue to be divided by race. Instead of coming together as one race, we like to point blame. I don’t know how many times over the past few months I have watched as the races pointed fingers at one another. I also unfriended someone I considered to be a friend because of the opinions of this race war going on. I mean we’re all entitled to our own opinions and how we feel about certain situations, and it upset me when we couldn’t have an educated discussion about what is going on in this world without comments being deleted and meme’s being put up which I knew were directed towards me.
If we would all take the time to actually educate ourselves we would see what was really going on and we could come together as one, instead of being so divided. A story that I love so much and that gives me hope is the story of Chauncy Black.
If you’ve been to wrapped up in the race war then you may have missed this story. This is a story of a black male living in a bad part of Memphis, TN with his grandma. The family had nothing, the grandma is on disability and doesn’t qualify for food stamps. Chauncy would go hungry many nights, but one June night he decided to take the bus to a nicer part of Memphis. He went to a local Kroger and was asking people if he could carry their groceries to their vehicles in exchange for a box of donuts.
Chauncy didn’t go there with the intentions to steal food, he wasn’t out robbing folks for food, he went there hoping he could work for some donuts. He asked about 7 people all of them turned him down. I am sure Chauncy was losing hope and faith. When he went to the product department of Kroger, he asked Matt White if he would buy him some donuts in exchange for him carrying his groceries to his vehicle. Matt seen Chauncy as not being a threat and agreed. Matt took the time to talk to Chauncy and he learned he lived with his grandma and they had nothing. Matt ended up buying Chauncy not only that box of donuts but also $70 worth of food and gave Chauncy a ride back home.
When Matt got to Chauncy’s home he learned everything he was telling him was true the family had nothing, they slept on blankets on the floor. Matt learned Chauncy wanted to mow grass to help his grandma pay bills and to help out, this is a 15 year old black boy living in a bad part of town. Matt took to his personal facebook page mentioning his encounter with Chauncy and started a GoFundMe page to help raise money to get Chauncy a lawn mower.
Little did Matt know this story would go viral and Chauncy and his grandmother would have a new beginning. People of all colors started stepping up to the plate to help this young man and his grandma, they even had family that had nothing to do with them coming out of the wood work demanding money. The family ended up having to go in hiding because their lives were in danger from their OWN family. The family that wanted nothing to do with them when they had nothing, but once they seen the GoFundMe hit over $200k they all wanted a piece of it.
Chauncy’s dream is to one day own his own lawn care service, another man from Memphis, stepped up and gave Chauncy a job, he is teaching him everything he needs to know so that one day he can have his dream come true with owning his own lawn care business.
Chauncy and his grandma have now moved into their own home, a home that was made possible because Matt White agreed to purchase Chauncy some donuts. Their GoFundMe has over $340,000 in it and instead of the money being released to the family, it will go in a trust fund to help Chauncy with school and other things he will need.
This is a story about a black boy and several white men seeing past the skin color and seeing deep into the heart of a boy wanting to make something of his self and help his grandmother.
My hope for our world, is one day we can all be Matt White’s and Chauncy Black’s. Where we can not look at a person because of the color of their skin, but look at them for who they are as a person. Many people will say it’s hard to come up when you have hit rock bottom, I would have to disagree. As long as you’re a live, you can always improve your life and your living situation.
This is something my husband and I talk about often. I see comments about once your in poverty you’re screwed. Not true, for those living in poor communities, you can make that community better by coming together as a community. Cleaning up the area and making it a great place to live. We can change this world for the better, but everyone has to come together and help one another like Matt did for Chauncy.
If we sit back and bitch about things on facebook nothing will change. YOU be that change your community needs, YOU be that inspiration needed in your community to make it better. YOU be that Matt White that sees someone down and out and help.
I hope one day we can all live on this Earth as one race instead of a race divided. I hope one day those who are crooked will wake up and realize they could do so much with their life if they wanted to. Steve Harvey said We are all given a gift from God, all we have to do is jump. If we don’t jump we will be living pay check to pay check and stuck in poverty.
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