The ConTextos Authors Circle was developed in collaboration with young people at-risk of, victims of, or perpetrators of violence in El Salvador. In 2017, this innovative program expanded into Chicago to create tangible, high quality opportunities that nourish the minds, expanding the voices and sharing personal truths of individuals who have long been underserved and underestimated. Through the healing process of drafting, revising, and publishing memoirs, participants develop selfreflection, critical thinking, camaraderie, and positive self-projection to author new life narratives. With support from Chicago CRED, ConTextos works with New Mount Pilgrim MB Church’s MAAFA Redemption Project. MAAFA’s mission is to significantly improve the quality of life for young men of color and their families on West Garfield Park providing dormitory-style residential support, workforce training, personal/spiritual-development, and a host of wrap-around social services. The embedded ConTextos Authors Circle provides a synergistic space of reflection, connection and healing growth as authors continue to forge new life chapters. The powerful memoirs from the 2021-2022 MAAFA Author Circle complicate myopic, monolithic narratives and include an array of Sankofa Stories, transformative experiences and vibrant insights of young men on the West Side of Chicago.
I am from a mother, a Queen From Fighting and Dancing. I am from the Westside of Chicago Drugs, Murder, Money. I am from Gardens, Lakes and Parks. I am from Loyalty and Love. I’m from a Mother of 5 and July 4th Barbecues From Vivian and Robert, I’m from the Faith and Strength, From Mistakes and Opportunities. I’m from a Christian family, Who has faith, but don’t live for the Lord.
I’m from Chicago, Illinois, Macaroni and Cornbread. From the Glass family, My Grandmother married a man with the last name Glass. The last name Glass is a strong name to me, It came from my Dad’s mother’s name. I am from the Slaughter family. They have pictures on the walls with all of our faces. I was called a mistake by my family, So I sometimes did things on purpose To show them I was upset… But now I grew out of this situation.
A memoir is a personal narrative that shares reflections, insights and transformative experiences of an author’s life journey.
The time I can say I was losing life was growing up in Chicago with less guidance. So it caused me to be disobedient to my mother. The reason I was disobedient to my mom was because my dad did drugs and told me lies. Living life without guidance was a lot harder for me. Once I started to make mistakes in life, the ones I love started to give up and didn’t want to help me anymore. So, I say I started to lose because I had to be on my own sometimes in the streets. The days I did have somewhere to go I felt like I was winning. I wish me and my mother bond was stronger because it’s an off and on relationship. Sometimes she lies and hides things about life like she don’t know. The disagreements my mother and I would have caused frustration and confusion. Another reason being why I was in the streets early was because I thought going outside meeting new people was fun. I didn’t know people would make it dangerous for me and my brothers. I mean I had a place to go home to, but my mom started to kick us out from the trouble. That’s what made me not care about running away. My mom struggled with 5 boys, with no man. Only man I can remember helping my mom with kids was Larry Wilbourn.
I used to have conversations with my brothers, best friend and mother about making better decisions and where we want to make it to in life. My best friend and his little brother and me used to be on the streets, sleeping in trap houses. We would always smoke and talk about rapping, and we would freestyle and tell each other to look out for each other. My Mother always used to tell me I don’t have friends, that her and my brothers are my only friends. She used to tell me how I got to have ambition and make moves. I remember going to school one day with my brother. I stepped on a glass bottle out of anger and my older brother carried me back home. We didn’t even go to school. I had to go to the hospital. I don’t know what caused my anger when I was younger. I don’t know if it was because my grandmother left me while I was young. Or it could have been my mother and her boyfriend getting robbed and shot inside our apartment in front of all her kids, my auntie and cousins.
Something else that changed me when I found out I was having a daughter. My first daughter’s name is Kenoshil Camila Renee Glass, I met her at 16. It made me want to stop hanging out with friends in the streets. Having my first daughter made me feel like God wanted to see me change from the loss of my brother. I always started to move differently, and tried to work a job, but for some reason I was still finding myself hanging outside and getting locked up. My Mindset was to stop hanging out, and stop smoking for a better life. But my emotions and still being alone didn’t let me.
Then in 2017, I had another daughter named Keylanie. I was getting in trouble with her mother having relationship problems, and getting put on GPS. I started to change, and stopped thinking she was against me because I wasn’t doing well and wasn’t focused. I had trust issues, so I acted as if no one was by my side.
My name is Kejuan Glass, right now today I am fighting for my daughter’s custody rights. I have 2 daughters names that go by Kenoshil Camila Renee Glass and Key’Ianie Eva Glass. Me and my baby mother Esperanza, been having relationship problems. We started to not trust each other for whatever reason. I felt like she was cheating on me, and she felt like I was cheating on her. My mother has always told me not to tell a female I love her because of the fact I don’t know what love is. I didn’t know me thinking controlling someone will have me feeling like I can stop them from cheating on me. I have been making mistakes all my life, not being a perfect man or having my mother to teach me how to treat a girl.
My mother have not been with a man half of my life, so I didn’t know it would come to me not knowing how to handle my feelings. So, my baby mother judge me from my wrongs, not knowing my struggles, or my problems or not knowing what my mother told me. So, at the end of the day, I was making a mistake thinking I’m in love. My baby mother had another kid on me because I was making mistakes, and I had another friend and she had already left me. She left me before me and the girl met. So she decided to make her choice, and it led to me and her other person to fight and argue. One day, me and Esperanza had a disagreement and her mother called DCFS making up lies, and it got my daughters taken away from me. I’m not able to call or see them much. I didn’t know her mother would do something like this. Right now me and my child’s mother lost custody and we have to take individual services to get custody. I’m doing what I can to get my daughters back.
I am Kejuan Glass and I am working on building a home for me and my daughters, I really wish to have enough room for their cousin. I put my mindset in a better mind to succeed for me and my daughter’s future. I want to be able to take my daughters to school, and after school activities and out to show them the world. I also want my daughters to know part of my struggles and how I and my brothers, and most people in the world, grew up fatherless.
I want my daughters to know I’m sorry and that I will push forward everyday to be the best man I can be. I want my daughters to know more about God, and how we gave his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and that we shall pray, and enjoy the sacrifices God made for us. I want to better myself, saving more money and gaining more knowledge to give to my daughters, nephews and all of my younger siblings for when they come around me.
My main focus is being supportive to my family and those I trust. I used to feel embarrassed about not being able to buy my daughter gifts. Being away from them brings me a problem because it’s hard to reach out when my baby mother only wants to talk when I have money. She likes to take advantage and use me. I learned that if I don’t have money, it’s not smart to go broke on a small pair of shoes. I’m wishing to make our days better by keeping my faith in God, and saving for rainy days.
Ever since I met the MAAFA Program, they have been trying to teach me more about God, my relationships and my anger. I haven’t been as great as I should, and I am really seeking help. What I experienced, and learned in life is that I have to pay close attention to what I believe in. I have to learn to just have faith and lose fear of getting what you need in life. I can possibly make a change. Bettering yourself, loving and depending on God will help you have a better outcome in life. What changed me is knowing that I have a forgiving God.
I have always felt like God should forgive me because growing up in the city I’m from, I didn’t know about God or Jesus. My Mom used to take me and my brothers to church, but life was getting hard with her raising us alone. I like how I always knew life was a struggle, and how there’s a God who gives you a chance after chance. It’s up to you to want to keep your faith and believe you earned what you dream of in life. You can stand up for your rights and what you believe in.
Where I’m going I don’t know. Something I always wanted to do was shoot a music video. Ever since I seen pyramids they always seemed cool to me, So I want to go close by them. I always wanted to go see how Miami is. What I’m most looking forward to is Being supportive to my loved ones.
A goal I want to set for myself is staying out of jail and finishing all the classes I have to do. A change I want to see in my world, or in the world, is doing more traveling with friends. I want my legacy to be great at recording songs. I want to leave money and gifts. And my love will be enough.