Then I saw her tattered boots. Marcellus's best friend in Kansas City was white, had a swimming pool in his back yard and lived with both his parents. Even basic things like sitting down to a balanced meal set the Caseys apart in a neighborhood where many children eat potato chips and sweetened colored water for breakfast. And neighbors are surprised to hear a black family talk continually about what they are going to do next week, next month or next year. The Caseys feel this is influencing some of them to have more vision for their own lives.
Kids here survive one day at a time.
The Caseys say their move has made them tighter as a family. As the Corn Flakes are passed around at breakfast, each family member reads a Scripture verse and prayer from notecards. With the final Amen the rush is on to get out to waiting school buses. Every day that we walk out our door we put into practice our belief that God is our protector. The family regroups at five for dinner where they process the day's events before diving into the evening's activities, often centered around church.