Take Back the Block

Content Warning: This section of the guide describes and analyzes the source text’s treatment of racism.

On Wes’s 11th birthday, he joins his mom in protesting the destruction of nearby apartment buildings, which will be replaced by luxury condos and fancy stores. The old apartment building has already been torn down, displacing the former tenants, but construction on the new buildings has not yet begun. Wes thinks that having new stores would be nice, but he doesn’t dare say this to his mom. He is the only kid at the protest, and he would rather be playing video games with his friends. A news van appears, and because Wes fears public speaking, he runs behind a porta-potty to hide until it is time to leave.

On the car ride home, Wes asks for a new pair of shoes for his birthday because the new school year is approaching. His mom points out that he already has plenty of shoes, so he drops the issue to avoid a lecture. When they pull into their neighborhood, Kensington Oaks, Wes instantly feels calmer and happier, even though some of the letters on the sign are missing. Wes’s family has lived there for his whole life, and it is mostly inhabited by working-class and middle-class Black families like his.