Me Nobody Knows: Children's Voices from the Ghetto

by Stephen M. Joseph (Editor)

"A round my block there is a lat of glass and food and paper and people fight all the time. I like people to love each other."

The ghetto child speaks, and the world emerges as he sees it and as he wishes it to be. This remarkable collection reveals the expanding awareness of nearly two hundred primary and secondary school children as they think about themselves, their painfully limiting surroundings, and the broader world which they often know of only by hearsay. Here, too, are their brightest dreams and their darkest nightmares, the things they can neither see nor touch. Though often displaying fierce emotions, these writings also express the flights of imagination which all children share. The ghetto child speaks for all of America. It is for us to listen.

Genres: Nonfiction, Poetry, Education

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Judie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The March for our lives on March 24, 2018 brought to our attention to the ability and insight of children. The march was organized by survivors of the school massacre in Parkland, Florida, following several other school massacres in recent years. The Parkland students decide it was time to fight back and gain support for laws to protect their lives.
The March and the activities leading up to it reminded me of a previous effort to give voice to children and their concerns. That was the publication of the book THE ME NOBODY KNOWS: CHILDREN’S VOICES FROM THE GHETTO published in 1969 and turned into an award-winning Broadway musical in 1970.
Teachers in New York area slums and ghettos asked their students to write about their lives. Topics focused on how they saw themselves, their neighborhood, the world outside, things they can't see or touch. The teachers often had the children write about a specific topic, something they knew very well: their world. In most cases, the children had an option to turn the work in without their names, put their names on them, discuss them with their teacher, or write them without turning them in. Often the papers were not graded or corrected. There are grammatical and spelling errors. Some teachers allowed the students to get their help for spelling. The purpose was for children to think about their lives and world and put their thoughts on paper.
Both the book is in the children's words and the play taken from that book were very moving. In many cases, things have not changed since then.
Children write about parents, being black, loneliness, neighborhood problems (e.g., noise, dirt, fighting, gun fire), death, school, and sex. They long for peace and family and love.
Thirteen- year-old Victor Y. wrote "When I first get up in the morning I feel fresh and it seems like it would be a good day to me. But after I get to school, things change and they seem to turn into problems for me. And by the end of the day I don't even feel like I'm young. I feel tired."
Sixteen year-old MB' s poem is called, "SUN" it goes

“When children see you in the summer,
Sun-
they like you.
They swim, laugh, and play,
Sun-
under your warmth.
But in the winter,
sun-
they lose their affection for you.
You melt the snow
sun-
they dislike you.
But why
sun-
must I always have winter?

Arthur Jackson, age 14, wrote: “I have felt lonely, forgoten or even left out, set apart from the rest of the world. I never wanted out. If anything, I wanted in.” Later in the book is his observation: “Sleep is a dark dimension with an automatic movie projector which cuts itself off and on by a subconscious switch.”
Fourteen-year-old V.B. questions “For what purpose was I born?...For what reason am I living?...But these are thoughts I must not think if I am to survive.”
N.T., a fourteen year old girl, wrote
“Snowflakes fall with grace
And cover the city’s dirt.
Why do you leave soon?”
G.P. (16) enumerates all the jobs that would be lost if there was no crime. His conclusion is that “all criminals should be treated with consideration, due, to their advancement of industry.”
Harlem Junior High School teacher Susan Rosen’s students told what they would do if they had a million dollars.
Robert M., age 14, had been labeled “retarded.” After reading his story “Otis and the Doughnuts,” one can easily question how easily children’s talents and abilities are overlooked.
I wonder what happened to the children whose words created the book.
THE ME NOBODY KNOWS: CHILDREN’S VOICES FROM THE GHETTO is a wake -up call. Seeing the world through the eyes of a child should make us think about the world in which children must live (so much of it has changed since 1969 partly because of television, the internet, and increasing gun violence). Luckily, there are children like those from Parkland who are ready to make necessary changes.

[Beliphaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Raw and honest"
(Collected poems written by children)
.
What they've written In the book are often very personal and revealing, giving readers a glimpse into the inner lives of these young people.
They talk about their experiences with poverty, violence, racism, and other hardships, but they also express their hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the future..
.
I really liked the book.

[DChristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of children’s writings from 1965, the writings are short, heartwarming, heartwrenching, insightful, funny, honest, sad, poignant, hopeful. They give a teensy glimpse of life in the ghetto (in America!) and how the children feel about it, giving us a sense they know that the circumstances surrounding them just “ain’t right”! They report, speculate, philosophize, dream, joke, wonder. Everyone should read this book (or watch a video) to understand more deeply that we need to DO something, to give us a kick in the rear end, so that EVERY child has an opportunity to grow into the best version of themselves without worries about food, gangs, drugs, killings, loneliness, trash and filth everywhere. The editor writes, "...these children have so much to say ... In their struggle lies their hope, and ours. They are the voices of change." Let us hope they don't give up until the "system with its fingers in its ears" begins to hear and understand. God Bless All the Children.

[Melissa Mc Lees · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a personal story from young kids that reaches out to the reader. I wish that I could do something to help the young children to have a better world. I think everyone should read this book and after reading it, do our part on protecting our children, and making life a whole lot better. Thanks to the author, the children and teens that have help bring this book to fruition. I hope that there will be more of these children's voices spoken up and reaching out to let us know that they are tired of living like they are and hopefully us adults will listen and start reacting in a more mature and responsible style to where every place will be a good,safe, happpy, and thriving world.

Thanks for speaking up about things that matter.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of writing examples from young children living in the Ghetto. Surprised me just how observant these children were ... and
how much on point they were with their observations of the world
around them.

[Robert Rosenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

seminal. my camp friend read it so i did. became a broadway musical.

[Kelvin Gómez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids are not oblivious to the world around them! If we give them a voice, they could teach us a lot more about life and about ourself. This book is pure gold!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too powerful to read completely.

[Kurt Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection is good for what it is... a collection of poems, stories, essays, ideas of children of the ghetto. Poverty doesn't know skin color, religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

I am reminded of David Bowie's song _Changes_ where he sings,
"And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through"

These children, whether they are 18 or 8 seem to be quite cognizant of what is happening. They mostly don't know why, and often don't see the bigger picture, but they know they are impacted and caught up in the machination of the city, economics, politics and life. Some are trying to understand, others are just crying for help with no idea of where to turn to. Many times with no help from parents, or with absent parents (or dead parents). This tiny book shows that some have potential. Here it is over 50 years later and not much has changed. Life goes on.

I found Clorox's (aka Frank Cleveland) query "WHAT AM I?" very powerful (p 42 in my edition). G.P.'s "essay" endorsing criminals to provide jobs for thousands of people in NYC to be an insightful (although true, the endorsement seems a bit skewed) idea of criminology (p 81 in my edition).

This book is not about grammar, spelling, or even deep critical thinking. It is about awareness; it is good for what it is

[Muskeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fascinating and insightful anthology of poems by children who were growing up in the late 50s and 60s in some of New York's underprivileged areas. a powerful collection of words that reflect more than the individual lives of these individual kids, but explores how these children were experiencing their society--the time and the place around them.

[Vicki Gooding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solemn and enlightening of these amazingly talented yet forgotten youth.

[Aleeya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful, heavy context

[Scott Howard]

Don’t take the “no rating” the wrong way. I think everyone should read this book. But I’m conflicted on giving it a rating. While it was extremely humbling, and is a very important collection, it’s one that I feel like we shouldn’t have to read. I’m grateful for the author and for the perspective this book gave me, but saddened that it’s a perspective that existed in the 1960s when these were written, and still exists now. Decades later.

I recommend this to anyone. But know it is heavy, and equally eye-opening.

[Oliver Safir · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology was an eye opener and I think everyone should read it. It provided a perspective unmatched by really anything else I’ve come across because it’s real. These are real stories from real children. And although it was written in 1969, I think it’s impact is still relevant today and will still reach far into the future.

[Bary Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary insight...a must read, but especially for teachers and other childcare workers who take care of children growing up in low income neighborhoods ~ those teachers and workers who sincerely care about the work they do with their kids/students. It's a real eye treasure, this book

[Mary]

I have the 1971 edition.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

babies have the best somethings to say