Just as It's Happening Now

By Gregory Mott

The book is about a man named Guy. He is a college graduate interested in improving the self-worth of the people within the community he serves. Guy has formed a organization composed of students from the community college where he works. The name of this organization is, The Self- Awareness Movement. The movement works through the means such as networking with the various corporate business, community groups and churches to bring services and programs to the community. Steve, who is Guys assistant and a Corporate Executive named Crystal, works together to help the movement achieve its goals.

For several years less federal and state funding has filtered down to the inner communities of our cities. I believe that it is the self-esteem of our young fro-American, along with other minorities that have been affected by the scarcity of federal aid.- which also results in great numbers of psycho-social problems left unresolved.

One night while Guy is driving to meet his co-workers at a club to celebrate the success of their latest endeavor, he has a car accident. It hurls him back hundreds of years into the past. There he ends up in the cruel and unforgiving slave trade, where he contemplates, plan and struggle to return to his home and the people he loves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456875244

Gregory Mott

Gregory Mott was born in Newark,NJ. He lived there until young adulthood. Then East Orange, NJ, and Tampa Fl., he would call his home. He has an Assoc. Degree in Psychology from Essex County College, and Mr Mott is currently attending Rutgers University of Newark NJ for his BS Degree in Sociology. He expects to graduate in the year of 2013. Gregory Mott has also worked professionally as a photographer, and briefly as an apprentice with the late Pulitzer Award winner Mr. Moneta Sleet Jr. of Johnson Publication. Gregory Mott credits Rev. Berta Mott, his mother, for showing him the path to GOD while growing up as a child. Also the love of his adult children; Kenya, Kabira, Malik and Jasmire has helped in giving him purpose of life.

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Copyright © 2011 by Gregory Mott.

Library of Congress Control Number:          2011903093

ISBN:          Hardcover          978-1-4568-7523-7

                   Softcover            978-1-4568-7522-0

                   eBook                  978-1-4568-7524-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 06/18/2014

Xlibris LLC

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Dedication:

Cynthia Metteaux

Strength, Devotion and Character:

These are just some of the gifts you have wrap up with love.

Thanks for being there when I needed you the most.

Memorial:

Calvin James Mott

PHI BETA SIGMA CHI

Chapter Sigma

Educator/Administrator

It was dawn and the clock was showing half past six. The day before had been very hard. Guy had been out all day in the communities. The Self Awareness Program was beginning to go into full swing. It was a movement its intent was to make the teenage population more aware of the plight and hardship that await them in the future. Guy knows that without a proper education or skill, there is very little chance of them becoming successful in the future.

Guy, who is a college graduate, knows what it means to have a good education. He is twenty-five years of age and was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He graduated from Martin Luther King Jr. University, in Atlanta, Georgia. He majored in Computer Science and minored in Black History. He presently resides in New York City. As a little boy growing up in Newark, his parents always talked to him about the importance of knowing one’s history and with that knowledge what one can achieve. Achievement is what the key word is in his Awareness program. It is in the word (achievement) that goals come into play. Self Awareness, he would say, in order to gain awareness, one must set goals; and as one reaches or achieves those goals, it would make that person more aware of what he or she can achieve.

Not again, he would say when he hears on the news that there was a drug bust. The age of the drug dealers are eleven and fourteen years old. The goals are all wrong here—it should not be on drugs and crime, but on legitimate goals such as attending college, obtaining a job, developing a career and planning a family. What our young people are concentrating on is not going to help them in this high technological society. When Guy was growing up, as a teenager, there were drugs present along with crime and everything else. That doesn’t mean that he had to take part in such dealings. Constantly, the one thing that was on the t.v. news and in the newspaper, especially about young blacks, were only death and troublesome dealings. Nevertheless, this didn’t cause Guy to give up on his quest. A quest for a drug free generation, along with a generation that will achieve positive and constructive goals. Guy always remained optimistic about the positive return he and his movement has been receiving from his peers. Even the communities and the churches are working with Guy’s movement. Furthermore, separate organizations help produce and sponsor their own community campaign against drugs and crime. It has become a community obsession. The war on drugs. Yes, it has been long enough drugs and crimes have begun to take it’s toll on what it preys on; and the minds, bodies and souls of its victims. It is a bright morning, Guy stated as he lifted the shade and opened the curtain. He stood there looking out over the park. The sun was bright and visibility was far as the eye could see. It was a good morning. It was very important that Guy got some sleep. Mainly, because it was the end of the work week and he had a big weekend planned. Since most of his personal endeavors utilized most of his spare time, Guy seldom gets any rest. He’s always thinking. When are you ever going to rest that brain of yours? Guy’s mother would ask him. My son, if there were more people who really cared about what was going on with our youth, there would be less of this drug dealing and crime. Just look at what’s happened to this world. Nobody wants to take the time and listen to what cause people to hurt. When some people are hurting it makes them want to see other people in pain. The attitudes some people have are—if you’re having fun and enjoying life that offends them, and remember misery loves company. So what makes you conceive that your happiness is not vulnerable. Guy’s mother had an insight that was out of this world. She was from what they called the old school. At times she would sit back and reminisce on the time when folks could sit outdoors and watch the kids grow. If someone’s child was doing something wrong, in just a few seconds from the moment of wrong doing, one of the elders would jump down on him faster than a summer’s shower. Disappointed and down hearted, Guy’s mother knew what was going to happen if these young heads do not get their act together. A well educated woman, with a college degree, who could be very defiant toward the attitudes of the young in her community—those who are into the wrong doing. A teenager told her, Ms. Mae, I try to do the right thing, but it’s so hard. I have nobody to talk with. My mother tries to talk with me, but it seems as though she does not understand. We always end up at each other’s throat. I don’t want to argue with her, it just that she makes me upset.

No, you make yourself upset. If you would calm down and stop thinking that you know it all, then there shouldn’t be any problems. She told her.

I do try to calm down ya know, but she’s always sweating me about what she knows, but sometimes she don’t know what she is talking about. So, Guy’s mother would sit back and listen to what these young people would have to say to her. Everyone knows that Mrs. Mae was a down to earth person. But never did Guy’s mother cast a shadow over him. It was Guy, along with his mother, that the major portion of the movement started with a comprehensive strategy that was totally effective. Both of them had the same concept of how to achieve their goals in mind. They saw what was needed to be done, and they had the means to do it. Guy was working in a college institution that housed all the academics at his disposal—Art, Science, Literature, Lecture halls and the Library are vital to enable the Self Awareness program to expand. It was perfect. All of the college’s Administration were pleased and very supportive with this idea. The fusing of the people of the community and the community college which is centrally located within the community has proven to be the most successful inner city program. Guy knows that hard work is the name of this game. We cannot achieve our goals without rolling up our sleeves and getting down to hard work. Guy realized that he did not have much time to delay before he would be late for work; so he walked out of his apartment and closed the door behind him. Locking the door, he turned to his left and headed down the hall towards the elevator. The hall floor was covered with a dark green carpet. The walls were painted a dark shade of tan. When Guy reach the elevator, he pushed the button. Not wanting to wait, he then walked five steps and opened the exit door’ and proceeded to walk down seven floors. This would take him about three minutes. Once he reached the lobby, he checked his mailbox to see if there was any mail. The mailbox was empty, so he headed for the street. Guy preferred to take the subway to work, even though he owned a car. The main reason for this was that he did not work far from his home. A quick fifteen minutes ride is all that it took for him to get there. So with token in hand, Guy was ready to pay his admission to the train and be on his way. Just like the walk from his house, the walk from the subway station to his job takes about the same amount of time. On his way to work, familiar sights and people he know, comes and goes. Guy must walk three blocks before he reaches the college campus. The campus sits on grounds donated by a blue chip corporation that had been earmarked for a real estate venture. The Self Awareness Movement office is located in the first administration building at the entrance of the campus. The campus takes up about a seven block area, with a park and man-made pond in the middle. The park created a quiet atmosphere that was perfect for the students to study. Once inside his office, Guy would check with the head of the administration for the briefing of the day. After that had been taken care of, he would go to his office and begin his work day. Guy would greet the various office workers that passed by him in the halls and elevators. When he finally reaches his desk, Guy checks his voice mail for messages. The day would always start out with high energy and finish up with high energy. After listening to his messages, Guy would begin to plot his strategy. Sometimes Steve, who is his Community Corporate Coordinator, would have already opened up the office. There is a lot of drugs out there, not to mention the stick-up homies with their guns. I tell you Guy, I don’t know what’s going on out there. Even when I was out there in those damn streets making out like the F.B.I. most wanted, it wasn’t that bad. Steve, who is a white male from Queens, N.Y., had been working with Guy from the very beginning. Both of them were concerned about the extensive use of cocaine in the large and small inner cities. You and me both Steve, coke has been one of the most widely used drugs in today’s society. Most of these young people are smoking koolies, sniffing drugs, smoking the pipe. You and I know that just by concentrating on coke alone is not going to change anything. We have to start doing something about it, Guy said with much regret. Guy met Steve when he did an in-service in a class at the college they worked at. Guy found out that Steve, just like himself, had a strong desire to study the impact of how corporations, and higher educational institutions networked with the community to accomplish a common goal. You know what Guy? Steve said, as he was reading over some public relations memos. What’s that Steve? Replied Guy. We have to really focus on the central and west districts. It looks like the cops have their hands full as it is. We must get the word out through the regular street connections. Most of the parents are young and single. So the interest level in those situations may have the tendency to be on the negative side. Steve stated as he looked over at a graph on a news letter showing that one of the main reason for the large part of female high school, non-grads were pregnancy. The second reason was the use of drugs. Now this make all the sense in the world. We know the reasons these young people do not want to step up to the challenge. A lot of these young people are caught up in this crime and drug hustle. The parents that get high probably use drugs with their children present in the house, and sometimes in the same room. The children eventually become accustom to witnessing their parents getting high, which could be such a familiar sight in the family that it goes unnoticed. Steve added. At that moment, Guy stop what he was doing, and looked up at Steve with the most astonish expression on his face. I have it! A campaign on that topic, and a fresh, phat idea on one of the approaches. It was there all the time. The approach that we will use on the grade school format against drugs. We will have the kids go home, and at a quite moment in their home, to go and say to their parents; please don’t use drugs because I love you. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Now hopefully if that child parents has any conscious, they would take under consideration what is being said and start to think about it. I follow you Guy. Steve replied as he started walking around to the other side of the desk. While preparing to sit down on his desk, Steve added. I like that idea Guy. It is like they say, bring the message straight to the home, and to the parents. It is the parents that can begin to make changes in their child’s life. The home is the first line of defense in dealing with any problems or concerns. That is one of the main reasons that we advise parents to join us in our Self Awareness Program. Then at that moment the phone rang.

While Steve went to sit back at his desk, Guy was talking on the phone. The both of them had a busy day planned. Guy was talking on the phone and Steve was on the other phone networking with the different civic organizations to confirm their participation in the anti-drug and crime march through the communities. This is where Guy’s mother plays such a vital role. Her function, among many, is to coordinate all the religious and church organizations that want to participate. Guy allowed a few of his student workers to aid her with this project from his office. There were about a hundred representatives from these different establishments. They were very experienced with rallies and demonstrations because most of them are from the times of the Civil Rights Movements.

Ultimately, there was a lot of information on how to coordinate the public interest with corporate businesses. Not to forget the lobbying with the politicians. It was quite a big effort these people were engaging in. There was support coming from all over. Although everyone was involve had one goal in mind, and that was to stimulate the awareness process in the individuals who want to benefit from it. Everyone who was with the movement knew that the community was all that would be left for the next generation to come. So with this in mind, the community would be the main objective in the movement. They were planning on keeping the community healthy and prosperous, just as the soil on the farms back home. It would have to be tended to after the crops were harvest, so that the new seeds can be planted. Therefore there can be plentiful and rich harvest next season. Guy would state this sometimes to symbolize how important it is to help guide the young, and feed them food for thought. Guy had just got off the phone. Steve was going through some memos that he had prepared to go throughout the organization, when he felt Guy looking at him. It was a stare that Steve knew that something was up. What is it Guy? You look as though you are contemplating some awesome strategy. What’s going on Guy? Steve asked.

Well, I’ll tell you Steve. That was Five-O that was on the phone. Guy said.

You mean the police. What did they want? Surly not us. Steve spoke sharply.

No, no. It was Detective Williamson and he just wanted us to know that the statistics on crime in the central district where published. Guy told him.

Yeah, what did he say? That we have to go back and do another citizen campaign again. I want it to be known that I am willing and ready for community service at all times. Steve replied.

It is good to be assured that we share the same outlook. Though that is not why he called. Guy said.

No? Then this should be worth hearing Guy. Steve replied.

Ok Steve, this is what he had to say. Det. Capt. Williamson just informed me that crime and drug activities have gone down since the Self Awareness Movement started its campaign in that community. Our movement has made a difference in how things use to be around the streets of Newark and other communities. Guy boasted. Both of them knew that they could do it. This was the evidence that they needed to show the local politicians how successful the movement can achieve its goals. By this time, Steve was all set to petition some of the corporate businesses that was on his list for funding and other tax break matters. Guy, what approach do you suggest that we use on the big name soft drink bottling company that does business in this community? They have sort of a responsibility to this community. We know that they give money to certain charities of their choice. Steve stated.

You are right about that Steve. There is a way to get that funding. I am quite sure that we should be able to qualify for the non-profit status. Guy replied.

Yes I remember talking with you about that on a previous occasion. Steve said. He had an astounding memory. There were many times when Steve would recall comments and events, as though he was a video or disk recorder. This man has such vigor and is a vital member to the Self Awareness Movement. Guy and Steve, together are awesome, and they make one hard act to follow. Steve had gotten up to walk and look out the window. The day was turning out to be a