This is an excerpt of an essay written by Joy Ike from comment.org. Joy has partnered with Art House North in the past through the songwriter workshop and has music on our spotify playlist! She is an incredible songwriter/singer/artist that uses music to process and enter into meaningful conversations. Read the full work HERE.
This summer, while on my porch, I experienced a drive-by shooting for the first time.
Germantown, my beloved neighbourhood here in Philadelphia, has probably been like most inner-city neighbourhoods this past year: destitute, depressed, run down, pressure-cooked. I live on a high-traffic street and a block or two from the dividing line of what would be considered “safe Germantown” and “unsafe Germantown.” On one side of my house is my neighbour, who has become a dear friend and a teammate of sorts: we hope together. On the other side is an abandoned house by the corner, and beside that, a street that has become known as the local epicentre of crime and drug dealing. We’ll call it “T Street.” As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the world, I’ve watched as the drug culture has slowly turned the bend and crept around my street corner, like a shadow trying to cover more territory.
And this is where my pandemic story begins.