KWAKU

[Interlude: Edward Mensah]
I was born in Asokore, Koforidua in the eastern region of Ghana
And I started schooling in a one room school house, you know
Now I can look back and say everybody was poor
But, uh, we didn't know we were poor because we had food all the time, a loving family
The main problem was, uh, trying to go fetch water because, uh, there was no running water in the house, uh
And the, um, the bathroom is somewhere there outside
We didn't have the clean shoеs that everybody had, we didn't havе the, uh, good clothing, um
And it wasn't particularly very comfortable being under British colonial domination
And then I, um, came to, uh, United States, uh, in 1977
Just before the winter
Chicago then had a murder rate of around close to a thousand a year
It was a very violent city
That's when it earned it's nickname as the Beirut on the Lake
But, again, that did not scare me
Uh, you know, I went to, uh, 63rd
We used to say those days that 47th street was so dangerous that if you died
That the police may not come for your body, if you were on the 47th street
Yeah, it— it was bad, but, still, the city was fun
Well, when, I— I had a son and I just thought that it's better we stay in Chicago and raise the kids
The good thing about Chicago is you learn the truth about America
There's no sugar-coating nonsense in this time
Yeah, I got scared though, I got scared because I thought you could be shot
And when you started getting in trouble, I started greying
I started greying very fast and my heart was beating, I was having nightmares
Because you were having real problems with the police
But, in the meantime, I called to them and look for the police station, where my son could be
I was really, really scared that one of these days I may be called to the mortuary to identify your body
Um, your growing up in Chicago gave me a lot of heartache and headache
But around the time you did the Innanetape
The enthusiasm with which you handled that
And the friends all around you, how mature they've become
You know, all of it just made me say, "Okay, this kid has made it"
I think my father in his grave would be very happy
That, um, I brought up some good kids, uh, in America, and particularly, also, um, um, I see it as a great success
I mean, if I leave, I have very few regrets