Looking for Change Part 2

Beggin’ for Change

Urban Bioethics @ Temple

Dr. Cornelius Pitts

Off the radar screen, this year marks the 60th anniversary of a song made popular by Gospel/Soul pioneer Sam Cooke that became the theme song of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement:

‘A Change is Gonna Come’ is a song for all times really. Truth is, we’ve gotta keep showing up, looking for that change, making that change happen. But these past few years have been tough… global pandemic, racial strife, mass shootings, neighborhood shootings. It’s all too much, and sometimes we feel like we’re at the breaking point. I recently heard my youngest say: “The people who make us laugh are on strike.” (Comedy writers for late-night TV were on strike at the time of writing, for future readers). Keeping our balance and our wits has been a challenge; but, on the other hand, there are victories. For me, it’s been about learning how to engage with each other, how we recognize each other’s traumas and how we “go deep” into lending a hand to aid our companion travelers. And that’s all of us… Right?

One such situation that’s caught my attention lately is the number of our ‘siblings’ experiencing homelessness and wondering whether or not we even see them.

If this poster were a homeless youth, most people wouldn’t even bother to look down.

According to HUD’s Annual Homelessness Assessment Report 582,462 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2022. That’s half the population of Hawaii and not far below the entire population of Washington DC. This means that families with children as well as individuals, veterans, teens, all, are still occupying park benches, cold sidewalks in the winter, porches, abandoned houses, under bridges. You name it, those experiencing homelessness are there.

This is a side of America that many don’t talk about, or many look away from… no eye contact, no recognition, only an unsigned agreement with myself that if I ignore, I won’t be bothered. I’ll get through these next few seconds to the other side of my conscience unscathed by the torment of acknowledging that this could be me, hoping, begging, for a change in my life. But isn’t that what we all have in common? We’re all looking for some change. We’re begging for it, desperate for it. And the reminders are constant.

And we never know when or where we’ll find a reminder. Consider this:

On my way to class one day, running a bit late, not much time to spare, and surprised to see “Tracey” across the street from my driveway rolling a shopping cart with what appeared to be all of his belongings. It was a bit incongruent for the neighborhood, but there he was. A slight rain had begun to fall, and so I pulled alongside him, pulling out of the driveway, to offer him an umbrella.

Trying to get his attention and rolling down my passenger side window: “Hey man,…you ok?” “Naw, man, …been walkin’ from Germantown (a section of Philly),… “I’m homeless, and need somethin’ to eat”. I looked at the apple I had on my car seat, just pulled out of the fridge, but he himself acknowledged that he “didn’t have any teeth”… “Do you have anything you can give me?” Having only some change in a cup in my car, I gave him a few dollars, and told him about the 7–11 just around the corner on 5th street. There, he could buy a cup of coffee. But then, he had another request: “Can you say a prayer for me?” And I asked him his name, said a little prayer before he headed to the 7–11, and I headed to teach my class.

It’s almost summer and there “Tracey” was asking for some change. But then, so was I. We’re all looking for some change…. Had me thinking about, and playing, the Keb’ Mo’ song about “Beggin’ for some change.” Its words are telling and meaningful in these uncertain times, where there is tremendous need all around us. Just look up and it’ll smack you and sometimes even startle you. The resurgence of humanism beckons us to change and to offer a changed society to each other. A society where the “Traceys” — and that’s all of us — realize the change we’re all seeking. So, from Sam Cooke to present day balladeer Keb’ Mo’, we’re still looking for societal change, and I suppose that’s where we’re always called to be. Keb’ Mo’ seems to think we can help each other get there.

Take a listen.