Finding Me

by Viola Davis

Jeff Kenyon. You could call Upward Bound counselors by their first name. You could call Jeff in the middle of the day and say, “Hey Jeff! I’m having an anxiety attack and I’m in the middle of science class. Can you help me out?” and he would be there. He was always there. He was the first person who took me and my sister Deloris to a political party gathering so that we understood what political campaigning was all about. He was the first person to take us to the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society so we could learn about abolitionist ex-slaves who could read and write and were instrumental in freeing others from bondage. As white as he was, Jeff taught us a lot about Black history. He heard me and my sister talk one day in his car and picked up on our ignorance about our own history. That was it. That was all the impetus he needed to spring into action. He would pick us up in the middle of the week, take us to get some food, talk to us to see how we were doing.