Part of a year-long series, presented by The American and the Brown School at Washington University, on changing the narratives and outcomes of young black males in St. Louis.
I was raised with a disciplinary mother in a home with no father. Having a background in the streets was an involuntary decision. I remember living house-to-house on the floor. The only time I ate was at school or when my friends had food to share.
Being a young man who wanted more in life was unattractive where I’m from, so when I asked for another way it wasn’t presented to me. The people I asked about a way out ironically were the ones I lost to the streets. School was not the cool place to be, and the day-to-day mission was to survive.
As a black male on the streets in the city of St. Louis, police officers constantly harassed us for small things like playing basketball in the streets. Maybe they never noticed there was no basketball court where we could play. There were no community activities other than fighting each other, watching my friends and family get arrested, and being tormented by law enforcement.
I also became self-taught that the police are not the only ones who should protect their communities. That’s why I now serve my community through the de-escalation program at Better Family Life.
I assist in mediating gang activities, youth in need, and victims of shootings. My mission is to stop the violence in the community. I go in places that previously had not been inviting to people trying to offer a way out.
I speak to the young men in the community and show them the cons of crime and the pros of promoting yourself in life. This is done through education, serving the community, looking after our youth, and standing firm on being our brother’s keeper. If I can show the community that I want to see them survive and succeed, the response is invaluable.
I am a survivor of poverty and circumstance, so I make it a promise to get any resources available for families in need. My job states that I am working 40 hours a week, but it truly feels like a lifestyle.
I strive to not make mistakes and revert back to the past; I have my brothers looking after me on that. Those I tell to do right can’t see me do wrong. I am an advocate for change, being that change is constant.
I also have found there are some people working toward positive change from the inside. I now work with police departments with the amnesty programs offered by municipal courts.
In the next five years, I would like to direct a youth program that can successfully mentor men and walk them through a path that leads to success. I want to help men further their education, provide training for trades, introduce them to entrepreneurship, instill family values, share the lessons of being a father, and encourage them to follow their journey.
It feels good to be where I am now, and I strive to push to get others who may have fallen victim to circumstance to get up and feel good about themselves. I have literally stopped gun violence and mended situations amongst alleged gang members. I have shown my community that I serve them and that I am willing to do what it takes to stop the violence.
I do not want anyone to feel the way I felt as a child. My plan is to show worth in the next man.
Steve Thomas, 27, first volunteered with the youth program at Better Family Life and is now employed in its Community Outreach Program.
“Homegrown Black Males” is a partnership between HomeGrown STL at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis and The St. Louis American, edited by Sean Joe, Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor and associate dean at the Brown School, and Chris King, managing editor of The American, in memory of Michael Brown.
