CLASS OF 2017

The Sweet Potato Project / Class of 2015

MaDonna Woods / SPP Intern / 2017

I would like to thank all of the students for sharing both their thoughts and writing skills. As I read each essay, I was moved by the honesty used in describing the different neighborhoods. The interviews were a joy to read and format. The youth of today have a different mindset, and outlook on their futures and communities. Perhaps the aggression we witness in them is their growing desire for change and equality. Because of programs like the Sweet Potato Project, an open forum for discussion can become tangible. It is because of people like Sylvester Brown Jr., programs are birthed and true examples of what a humanitarian does remains current and productive.  

STUDENT INTERVIEWS

Marquita Williams / Alumni Student

Marquita Williams 

Interviewed by Billy Blockette

Marquita Williams is 23 years old. Her hobbies are movies, bowling, singing, and dancing. She is from St. Louis, and has one sister and two brothers. She went to Maplewood High School and graduated in 2012 and has no kids. He mother’s friend got her into the Sweet Potato Project program. She plans on becoming an entertainer. 

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Edie Adams (alumni student)

Edie Adams Interviewed by Corshae’ Carter

Edie Adams, a 21 year old bright mind and black enthusiast. She loves to read and she pays attention to a lot of detail. She has dedicated her time to the Sweet Potato Project for four years. She has a two year old daughter by the name of Montana. She’s planning on furthering her education and obtaining a business degree. Edie has a vision that not only inspires and motivates me but makes me want to be a part of it.

Her vision is to create another Black Wall Street. Big businesses and a community operated by African-Americans. That means black hospitals, stores and many other businesses generated for black people, by black people. She is definitely a power driven woman.

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Jerry Upcurch (18)

Jerry Upchurch / Interviewed by Cedric Wilson

The person I have interviewed was Jerry Upchurch. He’s a 17 year old Africa American that lives in St. Louis, Missouri. His birthday is February 8^th, and he was born in the year 2000. He is the oldest child and has three brothers and two sisters. He lives in a two parent household.

Jerry attended Gateway High School and likes to play basketball in his spare time. He also like to play the game Rainbow 6 Siege most of the time. He would like to become a teacher for high school students. He would try to get his degree from Linden wood University. The school is located in St. Louis so he can stay close to home.

While Jerry all about fun and games, he has high hopes and stays on track with his school work. I can tell Jerry is very serious on becoming a respected high school teacher throughout the St. Louis city. Jerry also loves fashion, and he likes buying both clothes and shoes. 

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Tytianna Parrett / Interviewed by Lequita Davis

Tytianna is twenty years old. She was born in Mississippi. She graduated from Vashon High School in 2015. She attended the University of Tennessee. She is a very bubbly person. She likes to hang with her friends. She enjoys traveling and horseback riding. In her near future, she does not want any kids. She wants to become a medical doctor. She likes the Nike brand shoes. She enjoys spending time with her family, and likes to eat fried chicken and pizza rolls. In ten years, she sees herself in beginning her medical career with a large house and six cars. 

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Cedric Wilson (15)

 Cedric Wilson / Interviewed by Jerry Upchurch

Cedric Wilson is a young black male born and raised on the West side of St. Louis city. Cedric is 15 years old and he is the youngest of his three brothers and two sisters. He was born on April 10^th of 2002.Cedric is a very athletic young man. He loves to play a lot of sports, especially basketball.  He even plays for his high school basketball team, Confluence Prepatory Academy. Cedric has lots of other hobbies as well. He loves to draw and is a big fan of video games.

While Cedric is a young man who is very athletic and fun, he is also very serious about how he wants his life to go. Cedric is a young man with big goals and dreams. He wants to attend and play basketball for Duke University. He also has a backup plan to get his Business Management Degree. He will also pursue construction if his plan fails. He is smart young man who is dedicated and determined to become a successful black man.

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       Aaliyah Slater (15) 

Billy Blockette (18)

Camron Vaughn 

Corshae’ Carter 

Darryeon Bishop (alumni student)

Davarayon Banks 

Gavin Chapman (18) 

McKenzie Green (18)

LaQuita (Shay) Davis (17)

Shontia Darling (20)

Davarayon Banks (17)

Tamera Slater (19)

Terrica Washington (19)

Trinity Wheeler (15)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STUDENT ESSAYS

After having the students interview one another, I asked them to listen to my story and write essays. I might have revealed to many gritty details but my hope was that they'd see the similarities in our lives and see how my life experiences led to the birth of the Sweet Potato Project. Judging by their observations, I'd say mission accomplished.

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Gavin Chapman-Sylvester Brown has four kids, his mother moved to St. Louis. His father had a bad drinking problem and would spend all his money on gambling. He was in a scuffle with some boys, him and his brother. Mr. Brown then moved from the projects to a poor white neighborhood. One night he was out with his mother and father, and his father was beaten by white police officers.

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Aaliyah Slater-Sylvester Brown Jr., is the son of Evalena and Sylvester Brown Sr. He has ten other siblings including a brother by the name of Daniel. His father is from Arkansas, but his mother is from Southern Missouri. His mother dropped out of school when she was in 8^th grade, and his father was an alcoholic. His family was very poor and hungry because his father would gamble away his paychecks. His family was on welfare and they moved to the Pruitt Igoe Projects when he was 6 years old. He was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. His mother told her kids that if anyone asks, to lie about their father being in the house because they were on welfare. While living in that environment, his mother would watch them getting bullied. She would then make them fight. They moved after living there for four years. One night in 1968, Sylvester Brown Sr. came home drunk saying he hit a white man. The police badly beat his father, then took him away.

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Tamera Slater-Sylvester Brown Jr. is the son of Sylvester Brown Sr. and Evalena Brown. He has ten other siblings total from both his parents. Brown Jr. is from St. Louis, Missouri but his mom is from Southern Missouri. His dad is from Arkansas. He has a pretty big family compared to most families. They have had some obstacles.

Sylvester’s mother dropped out of school. She moved from Southern Missouri when Sylvester Sr. asked for her hand in marriage. His father was a chronic alcoholic but got by as a truck driver. Back in the day they were on welfare which helped out. At the age 6, his family moved into the Pruitt-Igoe housing projects. Brown and his siblings were raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Brown slowly got introduced to drugs. He started to do drugs and he tried everything.

After living there for four years, they moved to 9^th street into a poor white neighborhood. Things went downhill then. His father got beat by a police officer because he hit a white man with his car. Sylvester dropped out of high school in his sophomore year to make money.  At the time, he was in the streets most of the days. At the age of 21, he married his girlfriend because he got her pregnant. He felt like that was the right thing to do but in reality, he wasn’t ready to be a father or husband.

Sylvester Brown started working at Laclede Gas Co. He dealt with a lot of racist employees. While working for Laclede, he was also working as a graphic designer for a local newspaper. In 1998, he started his own newspaper business. He soon got fired from Laclede because he was selling his newspapers during working hours. Back in 1982 when Brown started experimenting with drugs, his friend convinced him to go back to school. When he went back, he studied Commercial art at Forest Park but he never graduated because he kept changing.

In 1987 the police searched his car one day for no reason. He was parked and got out his car while on the phone. He walked back to his car and seen police officers outside his vehicle. He told the officers that it was his car and that everything was cool. Instead of communicating, they threw him against the window and told him, “We can do what we want to do.”

In 1990 he then had a second wife because he divorced his first one. However, the relationship ended after she gave him an ultimatum. She didn’t like Sylvester doing the newspaper because the things he said caused danger to his children. The newspaper was finally stopped in 2002.

Mr. Brown has been through a lot. Most of it the average black family has been through, but there was a lot of obstacles. However, everything that he went through in the past is what makes him the great man he is today.

Mr. Brown is an African-American man who has a vision that can help our community in North St. Louis thrive . This is how, this is his story.

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Corshae’ Carter-Sylvester Brown Jr. was a very poor and hungry little boy. He grew up with a mother who did her best. His mother was from a small town in Southern Missouri, where she got pregnant. His father was a chronic alcoholic and out of control. The family moved to a poor complex called Pruitt-Igoe. This was a place where their mother forced them to fight, to prove themselves in their community. No one would bother them again.

As Sylvester was growing older, he was told by many people that he was special. He knew how to speak well and he was smart. He has also gone through a lot as a young boy/man. He started smoking weed a lot. Sylvester was growing older and more careless and less responsible. He met a girl and got her pregnant and married her out of guilt. 

He was young and still experiencing life. He didn’t want the ties of the relationship so he was cheating. He ended up having another child by her before they split. He was working for Laclede Gas Company and they were racist towards him, but he was making good money. Sylvester was dedicated to fighting for what was right. He started writing for a newspaper, his own. 

He was fired from Laclede Gas and focused on his newspaper, writing what was important. He met his second wife who also dedicated her time to the newspaper. They had two children together. His wife became subtle on the issue and made him choose between the newspaper and his family. His paper wasn’t making any money. He won awards and people loved it but it was time to let it go. 

He was recruited by the St. Louis Post Dispatch because they liked his voice and opinions on hard public issues. He had a voice, a strong-willed mind, and an opportunity. This opportunity offered him a lot of money, benefits, and a place for his voice, thoughts and views. He had good stories that everyone loved, stories many white people couldn’t stand, but most importantly, he had a bigger public voice now. After time, his company wanted to fire him. He held a press conference to quit before he was fired to define the narrative before the media did. He had views on how he could help his black community by creating jobs for low income students. This would help generate money and produce for our community. The Sweet Potato Project was born.