There was an African American girl born in a little town called Mattson, Mississippi, on May 3, 1970. She was the third child of parents, John Willis and Virgie Applewhite, 49 years ago. There was no running water and no heat. Everything was done by boiling water and making a fire to keep warm. A midwife would help you with birthing and taking the necessary steps to cut the cord and bathing. She also made sure the mother didn't bleed to death or set up infection due to a lack of medicine for the children. Being in such a state of poverty at the age of two, I developed worms that came out of both ends of my body.
It sounds so gross, but in reality, I was dying. If I didn't get the proper treatment to dry up the worms in my body, that would have killed me. My mom was able to go into town to meet with a doctor to purchase the medicine that would cure my illness.
Later my parents decided to move to Detroit, Michigan, around 1975. We started life in a small apartment with a total of 12 people, to be exact. Life to my understanding began for me. I was able to understand more as a child, seeing the violence in my home and the violence in my neighborhood. It was devastating for any person,
I lived in a life of poverty and both of my parents had a lack of education and not only that, an extra two children were added to the bunch. Our family totaled five children and two adults trying to eat, live and survive. This caused a storm in our home of fussing and fighting among our parents.
The only thing I remember was my mom doing all she could to make us feel happy and safe, which meant providing and making sure no one hurt us. Unfortunately, living in a small apartment with other family members, which totaled 12 people, caused chaos and confusion.
