Palm Beach County residents were asked:
Please tell us about an important moment in your life that would help someone understand what it’s like living in your neighborhood.
The stories and micro-narratives they submitted (as part of the We Are Here SenseMaker project) are listed below. Click ZOOM IN to learn more about the community member and how they interpreted their submission. NOTE: Some stories were partially transcribed by volunteers who shortened the narratives and referred to the storytellers in the third person (e.g., “her experience was” instead of “my experience was”).
I was about 13 years old. I began to be bullied by the kids in my neighbor hood because my mom white and my father was black. What I didn’t know the was the my family was also being bullied too. I can still hear my father say to me “Son they talked about Jesus, the greatest man that walked the earth what makes you think they will not talk about you
I grew up in a close knit farming community where everyone knew one another. My families origin goes back to my great grandmother migrating to the Glades from Eleuthera, Bahamas in 1897 to Pahokee. Most families traveled to the Glades seeking work.
Listen back when I was child I hated school but when my mom told me “boy you better love school don’t ever let me catch that come out your mouth again” I dropped out right after she told me I had tons of friends but school is important because you’ll need in life. , counting money , reading books and getting good jobs
Getting into sports was important in my life. It’s wasn’t that many options for me because I didn’t want to be a doctor or anything. So I played sports to keep me off the streets.