Just One Mo Quotes

“What we talking about is making a difference. The problem is that we get this crazy idea that what we see in Oakland is everywhere, but it ain’t,” I said. “Life ain’t Gee Dub. Life is what is going on at all those white private schools with the three black teachers and six black custodians and security guards.” I felt my anger growing. “But the only way to change things is to prove their ignorance and racism is wrong.”
“How?”
I didn’t answer for a long moment.
“We cannot let them scare us into just being athletes, entertainers and drug dealers,” I said. “We can be so much more.” I tried to think of the right words. “Remember when we talked about the Bill Gates Millenium Award and y'all said you were going to apply. You should. We should. They have limited our dreams. They have lowered our expectations. One of you could be the first, but that ain’t gonna happen if we don’t try. We can’t knock down the doors that are locked and barred for us without one of us having the key to those locks.”

Excerpt From
JUST ONE MO
Mark T. Sneed
This material may be protected by copyright.”
― Mark T. Sneed, Just One Mo

“Just curious what brought you to our fair city, today,” the taller officer said, handing Rome back his papers.
“Do you ask everyone that comes to your fair city why they are visiting,” I asked, feeling anger rising in me. “Or did you decide that we didn’t seem to fit in your fair city?”
“What’s your name, young man?”
“Why?” I asked.
“Again, because I asked.”
“I am a minor. I was taught by my mother not to give my name to people I don’t know,” I said. I added, “If you want to know my name you can call my mother and talk to her. I am sure she would want to know why you, officer Roberts, decided to harass me and my friends on a Saturday afternoon in Half Moon Bay.”

Excerpt From
JUST ONE MO
Mark T. Sneed
This material may be protected by copyright.”
― Mark T. Sneed, Just One Mo

“Mister Pope continued, “Now there are cliffs on both coasts. There’s an ocean on either coast. I mean, you are a bird. You aren’t the smartest creature on earth. Now, you, silly bird, find yourself the only bird like you on the west coast. No Valentine’s Day for you.”
Hands went up.
“How did it get here?” Sidney Tucker asked from behind her oversized glasses.
“No one knows,” Mister Pope smiled.
“How come no one knows,” Kevin Abbott asked.
“Well, there are a bunch of theories, but no one can be certain,” Mister Pope said.
“So, there’s only one of these birds on the west coast right now,” Wendy Henderson asked.”

Excerpt From
JUST ONE MO
Mark T. Sneed
This material may be protected by copyright.”
― Mark T. Sneed, Just One Mo

“In advisory Mister Pope decided to explain the significance of Valentine’s Day with the story of wayward bird.
Rarely did Mister Pope spend any real amount of time in front of the advisory class, but that week, a few days before the Valentine’s Day dance he told a slightly familiar Valentine’s Day story.
“Okay, imagine you are a bird. You love being a bird. I mean, it’s a pretty good life. You wake. You hunt for food. You sleep. You wake up. You eat some more. That’s your life until you become old enough to start having urges.” Pope paused. The boys elbowed each other. The girls shook their heads. “Hold on, here’s my Valentine’s Day problem. Imagine you are this bird, with urges, and you find yourself the only species of your kind suddenly somewhere else. Things are familiar because there are cliffs and fish and food and other birds, but no one that looks like you. You may have been thinking you were imagining things and then you realize something is wrong.”
Mister Pope clicked a button and, on the screen, flashed a bird flying along the cliffside. It immediately looked like a seagull, but at the[…]”

Excerpt From
JUST ONE MO
Mark T. Sneed
This material may be protected by copyright.”
― Mark T. Sneed, Just One Mo