Young Visionary Minds Brainstorm for Solutions in the Face of Tragedy

Posted by: Noel Jones

I was at the meeting at the Boys & Girls Club today to support the kids who would like to develop a skateboarding park so that those kids who ride skateboards and bikes have a safe place to go and do tricks instead of riding in the streets. During the meeting, because the fireman (and BMX rider) who was coming to speak was delayed, the kids (and the rest of us) found out that a boy had been hit by a bus while riding his bike on Northampton. The kids were immediately worried, and Terrence Miller led everyone in a prayer for the child and rescue workers. I am not a religious person, but even I was moved by how hard those kids prayed--they didn't just bow their heads, they sat in their chairs, every single one of them, bent at the waist, with their heads and hands pressed to their knees and praying as hard as they could.

The meeting resumed, and these kids, ages 10-14 bubbled with ideas and were ready to work hard on their project. They had done field research and had made a Power Point presentation of skateboard parks in other areas of PA and NJ, and had come up with ideas for fund raising--even creating

means of revenue for the park they envisioned. The enthusiasm was infectious.

The kids also had some concerns, namely, security. Jahsim Gilliam, 13, asked if security officers could somehow be provided for, “so that we don’t get run out by other kids.” Another kid asked if maybe a police officer could come by once in a while. 10 year-old Keyshawn Range offered an idea for creating revenue, “we could teach the littler kids lessons…and we shouldn’t charge the parents too much--and if we don’t charge the parents too much, they will buy the lessons from us and the money can go to the club.” Later I chatted with Keyshawn some more, and he had another revenue-generating idea. “We could have a competition with other clubs, and charge money and see who can do the tricks the best, and whoever wins gets to keep all the money for their club.”

An engineering student and skateboarder from Lafayette gave a short presentation on plans his class is developing for Metzger Park this semester, and invite the kids to collaborate on the design, but added that it was actually a 20-30 year plan, with some parts that might be finished sooner than others.

City Councilwoman El Warner was in the house, and explained that the city had met last year with another group of skateboarders about building a park, and that the city had agreed to work on it if the kids came back with a plan, but that they never had. She said she would look into options, including Lower Hackett Park, which the city owns, but suggested that in the interim, perhaps Easton Area School District could be persuaded to open Vanderveer Park for a few hours a day for the kids to use. She also mentioned that at some point, a skateboarding company had been interested in the Silk Mill, but that that had fallen through. When someone made mention of the possibility of building near the new Bushkill bike trails, El said that that funding was for “green projects.” Zack Braswell, 14, asked what she meant by “green.” El said, “recycled,” to which Zack nodded and shrugged as if to say, okay, got it, no problem, that's do-able.

Michael Turner, a volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club, who belongs to a motorcycle club, said that his group would be happy to do a fundraising ride to raise money for the park, and that they could also do regular ride-bys at the park to provide security for the kids.

Terrence Miller announced that a pastor of a church on College Hill has pledged $12,000 for the purposes of helping the kids to build the skateboard park, and is challenging the city and other organizations to match the contribution.

Dominique Moser, 12, the only girl skateboarder in the room, had had her hand up throughout the meeting but hadn’t been called on.  Outside, when I asked her what she had wanted to say, she replied, ”Well, I was just thinking that maybe the Guardian Angels would want to help us with security for the park.” Then most of the kids took off quickly on their skateboards--I assumed they had some fun place to go.

Then Keyshawn stopped me with another idea, “You know the back of the cemetery, down by the Bushkill? Well my friends and I like to swim down there—it’s not very deep and the air has a really good smell. Well, there’s a lot of room back there and we could build the park there.” I asked him what he would say to El Warner, since the funding was for “green” projects only, and cement isn’t “green.” He thought about it for about two seconds and then said, “We don’t have to destroy anything back there—we don’t have to use cement—we could build wooden ramps around the hills and stuff, and then we could swim if we get hot and smell that good smelling air.” Let me just remind readers that this kid is 10 years old, and this was his third great idea of the day. But he wasn’t done. “Another thing, I feel sad for that boy—they should have more stops—that’s how kids get hit, because they don’t have anything [stop signs].” I told him I agreed with him and then I started walking home on Northampton.

After a couple of blocks, I saw the entire group of kids from the meeting walking up the hill toward me, skateboards in hand, heads hanging, and realized that they had taken off to go find out who the kid was that got hit. By the look of their body language, I guessed that it had been someone they knew. I did not have the heart to ask or bother them, so I just kept my head down and moved to walk past them. Then one of them said, "Hey, aren't you the writer?" I said yes, and then they all gathered around and started talking all at once about how the boy had been a friend and classmate of theirs, and that when they went down to see what happened, that an officer told them to get away, and then the adults that lived on Northampton started yelling at them and saying, "stop skating and get out of here!"

It really broke my heart, and I know the officers were trying to spare them the horrible scene, as they should, but why residents had to treat them that way is beyond me. They are great kids, trying to make their community better. These kids are bound to suffer from shock and grief to different degrees depending on how close they were to this boy, and I think it's really important for them to be getting positive reinforcement from our community.

During the meeting, one boy had spoken up to say that maybe if the kids already had a park for skateboards and bikes, the kid might not have been hit by the bus. He was quickly told by the fireman that, “I can’t say that that comment flies.” Now the fireman was otherwise supportive of the kids’ desire for a park, and I know he was just being politically cautious, but I have to disagree. I think it was a good point, and a natural question for us all to be asking ourselves. As I continued walking home and neared my street, I saw the crowd gathered at the perimeter of yellow police tape that blocked Northampton from 9th Street to 7th, and my heart sank, as I took a detour uphill, trying to block the image out of my mind and focus instead on all the positive energy that the kids had had during the meeting.

What impressed me most about these kids was how deeply they seem to care about their community and that they are in no way sitting around waiting for a hand-out. When someone made reference to the cost of having someone build a park for them, the immediate reaction from one teen was, “What if we build it ourselves?” After the meeting I asked the kids where they lived--they were all West Ward kids, living on 7th & Walnut, 10th & Ferry, 12th Street, 13th Street, N. 8th Street...two live on Pine Street...these are our neighborhood's kids, and they are vibrant, industrious and community-minded.

After having striven for three years to drum up political will among adults in a largely apathetic and cynical town, it was absolutely refreshing to see this sense of agency and political will coming from these West Ward kids. I just hope that the grownups in our community can be supportive of them, and perhaps, take their lead.