This
week, we watched a documentary called Legacy by Tod S. Lending. The documentary
was about the Collins family. For generations, they were living on welfare and
living in public housing projects in Chicago, the Henry Horner Homes. The
documentary started out with Nicole Collins. She tells her story of her family
and the challenges they had to go through. Her grandmother, mother and aunt are
also apart of the documentary. Her grandmother moved to Henry Horner Homes, and
from then on, Nicole’s mother and aunt did too. Her grandmother said the area
use to be quiet, and eventually everything changed and gotten worse.
The violence, gangs, drugs were in the neighborhood and nothing seems to be getting better. Her grandmother took care of Nicole and the rest of her grandkids. Grandma said she had to walk the kids to school; they had to be careful, and couldn’t even go outside and play. She also talks about the struggles she had to go through living in public housing, she mentions why she’s living in such a violent neighborhood, and that’s because she has no other choice. Nicole’s mother was a 3rd generation to be on welfare. She knew she would be on public aid because of her kids, no help, no education, and no other choice. Nicole and her family was stuck living in a 2 family bedroom and she hated the projects. In the documentary, Nicole went to a catholic school; she knew she wanted to leave the projects to better herself and her family. Education was the way to go, and that was her main focus. In order to go to school, she had to find ways to pay for it, she got a job, gotten loans, and looked for scholarships. Nicole’s aunt was the mother of Terrell. He was gunned down a few blocks away from his home. Everyone who knew him looked at him as a leader, he had straight A’s, gotten scholarships, and knew he would make it out of the projects and be successful. With Terrell’s death, it really made an impact on the family and everything changed over time. Terrell’s mother was an addict and gotten help, Nicole’s mother eventually found a job, her grandmother made a down payment for a home, and Nicole went to college.
Overall, I thought this was a really good documentary, not only because we can still relate to how it is today but to see how Nicole and her family overcame their obstacles, gotten out of the projects and transforming their lives may give others hope who are struggling in the same position. Nicole would say people who don’t make it out of the projects has gotten no attention, no love, and probably no hope. She said if you want to make it out of the projects, you have to believe and depend on yourself. The story about the Collins family showed how valuable life is after Terrell’s death and encouraged them to believe in themselves. They overcame many obstacles and developed an improved future for themselves and their children. This documentary really show me that hard work will pay off, in Nicole’s case, she’s gotten out of the projects, an education, and surrounded her herself in a better neighborhood. In my case, I’m a first generation college student in my family. When I was younger, I knew going to college and getting a degree was a necessity. I wanted to make my family proud, and mostly importantly, getting a high education for myself. This documentary showed how individuals found the strength and courage to overcome their struggles and improved their lives. It left me and others too I’m sure, a better understanding of poverty, drugs and violence in urban areas.
The violence, gangs, drugs were in the neighborhood and nothing seems to be getting better. Her grandmother took care of Nicole and the rest of her grandkids. Grandma said she had to walk the kids to school; they had to be careful, and couldn’t even go outside and play. She also talks about the struggles she had to go through living in public housing, she mentions why she’s living in such a violent neighborhood, and that’s because she has no other choice. Nicole’s mother was a 3rd generation to be on welfare. She knew she would be on public aid because of her kids, no help, no education, and no other choice. Nicole and her family was stuck living in a 2 family bedroom and she hated the projects. In the documentary, Nicole went to a catholic school; she knew she wanted to leave the projects to better herself and her family. Education was the way to go, and that was her main focus. In order to go to school, she had to find ways to pay for it, she got a job, gotten loans, and looked for scholarships. Nicole’s aunt was the mother of Terrell. He was gunned down a few blocks away from his home. Everyone who knew him looked at him as a leader, he had straight A’s, gotten scholarships, and knew he would make it out of the projects and be successful. With Terrell’s death, it really made an impact on the family and everything changed over time. Terrell’s mother was an addict and gotten help, Nicole’s mother eventually found a job, her grandmother made a down payment for a home, and Nicole went to college.
Overall, I thought this was a really good documentary, not only because we can still relate to how it is today but to see how Nicole and her family overcame their obstacles, gotten out of the projects and transforming their lives may give others hope who are struggling in the same position. Nicole would say people who don’t make it out of the projects has gotten no attention, no love, and probably no hope. She said if you want to make it out of the projects, you have to believe and depend on yourself. The story about the Collins family showed how valuable life is after Terrell’s death and encouraged them to believe in themselves. They overcame many obstacles and developed an improved future for themselves and their children. This documentary really show me that hard work will pay off, in Nicole’s case, she’s gotten out of the projects, an education, and surrounded her herself in a better neighborhood. In my case, I’m a first generation college student in my family. When I was younger, I knew going to college and getting a degree was a necessity. I wanted to make my family proud, and mostly importantly, getting a high education for myself. This documentary showed how individuals found the strength and courage to overcome their struggles and improved their lives. It left me and others too I’m sure, a better understanding of poverty, drugs and violence in urban areas.
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