Michael Gay, Sr. Interview by Jordan Franklin, Lydell Price & Ramir Johnson

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My name is Jordan Franklin. I am 11 years old.

My name is Lydell Price. I am 15 years old.

My name is Ramir Johnson. I am 13 years old.

We interviewed Michael Gay on June 22nd, 2016.

My birth date is January of 1970. Born and raised here in the community of Garfield. I’ve been living in Garfield my entire life, so 46 years. Growing up here in the neighborhood, it’s a really close, quiet community, so therefore, growing up it was like there wasn’t a street you could go on or a person you couldn’t be around that didn’t know you or your family. It was one of the best neighborhoods to grow up in. I can’t say that it’s the best community in the world. But I will say this, it was the best community and it is the best community for me.

My mama, she instilled a respect level and she instilled a work ethic in me that’s unlike any other. She worked two jobs and raised me and my brother, who’s a retired firefighter, to be as successful as we are as well as being respectful, respecting the community, respecting the people within the community, and in return, they will respect you tenfold.

One of my mentors growing up throughout my life is Michael McGinnis. When I was 15 years old, he was 26. We started hanging out together and people say “It’s 26 and 15.” Well, I play softball on a community team and we have the same birthday and we have the same name, so we kind of clicked and ever since then, he’s been that guy that I’ve patterned my whole life after. At 25, he had a house, he had a family, he had a car. And I said “When I turned 25, that’s what I want.” He helped me, along with several others in the community, strive to be that person. I give credit to Michael McGinnis, Robert Coleman, Wesley Frazier, Richard McCord. Those type of people that instilled that kind of upbringing in me has made me the person that I am towards myself, Bob Jones, Tone Walls, my brother Melvin Gay, Henry Reid, and a bunch of others have said we want to give back to our community as well, and that’s why not only this Base Brothers and Sisters merging program has been so successful, but the Garfield Youth Sports program has been as successful as well, because we now want to give back to the very community that gave so much to us.

I went to school for elementary education. During my process of going to school for elementary education, we had some financial issues, and I didn’t want to put my mom in debt. So I came. Home, and I started working. God has a plan. In my 23rd year of being on the police force. I’m not teaching math and science, but I’m just teaching about everyday life, about things that I see as far as how to keep yourself safe in the community, how to be able to deal with people. So I still get a chance to teach. Some of the obstacles I had leading up to today was I lost some associates because I’ve decided to become a police officer. However, those same people that I had lost, they now have an understanding of where I’m coming from. My 23rd year on this job. There’s no other job that I would rather want. It gives me the opportunity to come in the community to whereas there’s a hostile situation that someone knows me. “OK, Coach Mike,” they’re like “Coach Mike?” to my coworkers. I’m like, “I’ll talk to them.” Well, we’ve seen some conflicts and some confrontations. And by us being mentors and by us being the adults in the community, we’re able to resolve those situations peacefully and calmly a lot of times, but sometimes there’s a respect factor that seems to be missing that we need to get back.

My goals for moving on forward is just to continue doing what I’m doing. I enjoy being a volunteer for the Garfield youth program. I enjoy being a community resource officer for the Zone 5 City of Pittsburgh Police Department. I enjoy trying to make a difference, or at least giving someone options as far as how to deal with certain situations. I’ve been successful. I have six children. Three boys and three girls. They’ve all been pretty successful growing up.

Be true to who you are. You have every right to stand up for what you believe in, but there’s a time and a place for it. We can’t always be stand-offish, we have to be smart about some of the choices and some of the decisions that we make. Sometimes the-the lash out and the strike out in anger and rage is not the best policy. Sometimes being able to stop, slow down, count to 10, and communicate and articulate what it is your game plan is or what it is your goal is comes a long way. Another thing is being willing to ask the question. Sometimes our pride gets in the way of understanding that, hey, this is something that I don’t know or I don’t understand. Instead of asking the question, we shut down and we say “Oh well, I’ll just figure it out” or we get mad. The only dumb question is a question not asked. If I have a concern or if I have an issue, I need to be man enough to ask that question. Resources are here for you. If we don’t have the answer, we will get it for you. But that’s what being a part of a community is all about. You see an old lady out in front of her house and she’s shoveling her snow, walk over there and shovel her snow for her. You don’t have to ask her for money. That’s going to come back to you tenfold. It’s not always about the dollar bill. Sometimes it’s about helping somebody that needs help because you don’t know a person’s situation or personal story. Be patient. Understand. This world is a lot bigger than Garfield, however, coming from Garfield, you’re being instilled with some values and you’re being instilled with some work ethic and you’re being entrusted with some mentors and some role models. That will follow you all the days of your life as long as you’re part of this community. Never be forgotten. There’s people that have left here for years. When you involve yourself in something that is positive, you involve yourself in something that is good. You will always find your way back. That’s what this community is all about.

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