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”).
In my neighborhood there was not so many girls so when i wanted to go outside and play there was so many boys and i remember one day they actually let me play with them and we all became friends then they became like brothers to me and i was about to go on a date one time when i got older and they all came down the street to see who it was and what his name was it was cute and funny at the same time
Me having kids is an important moment. Everybody in Boynton knows what it’s like having to raise your kids. Worrying when they put if they safe or in trouble. All we do is pray for the best lives for our child.
An important moment in my life is when segregation is now continuing again in our community.Many people don’t see how badly people treat us . We are equal and have the rights as everyone else . Growing up here in the 1940s and 1950s, couldn’t visit the public library near My house, but instead had to travel to the “colored” library in the historically black room I attended a school for black children, where we received second-hand books, and where the school day was half the length of that of white schools, because the black school had too many children and not enough funds.
All the best conversation is happening in GroupMe, Slack, WhatsApp, private email lists, or over drinks after work. People feel comfortable analyzing, debating, and joking in these places, where they can express themselves without fear of judgment, unwanted notifications, or death threats.
Where I am living, people are okay. They talk to me. I am from Haiti, but I moved because of the situation in Haiti. Used to work in the field, cotton and plantain fields. It was hard. Went to medical assistant school and went to work with a doctor for 12 years. I drew blood, gave injections, and just did most things. He close later. And later I had a heart attack and had knee problems. Then, I stopped working. Hard not working. Go to church and pray. Live with sister.