Jonathan Kozol: Amazing Grace -Blog #5

What? This article that Kozol writes about is a view of people living well below the poverty line in the borough of South Bronx, NYC. Kozol is writing this piece about the kids and families of a community that really lack basic needs such as: food, shelter, security and basic services such as schooling and health care. A few of the key words Kozol uses in this piece that stuck out to me were:dangerous, destitute, HIV, AIDS, evil, welfare, drugs, and prostitutes. Kozol describes a hell on earth situation in this part of NYC for any unlucky soul who happens to reside their. So What? Kozol describes the Mott Haven neighborhood in his writing and walks around with a child named Cliffie. Children in this neighborhood according to Kozol are" the poorest and in the most abandoned places." As a reader of this article I am sick to find out that such a place could exist in the United States of America. I think Kozol wrote this piece to magnify the hurt and pain suffered by children at a young age. These kids and families are being abused by the same government I support as a citizen. I think Kozol is saying that if no one recognizes the problems in Mott Haven, the privileged in America will continue to grow while holding back a demographic of blacks and Latinos. Family after family are dying in a vicious cycle in Mott Haven because NYC will not help them. Now What? I think Kozol makes a great point in this article when he is told that the government of NYC dumps all the sick and poor people in that one neighborhood. I think these people need to be put where good health care and services are available so they can start to reverse the cycle of poverty and sickness. Also, the only way the kids have any chance of succeeding in life would to be in a healthy environment. Kozol proves that family after family in Mott Haven die off with little hope of escaping in sight.