Audio File
Transcript
Sheila Wilson, December 4th, 1967 and my relationship to the Hill District, I’m a Hill native, been in the H-I-double L all my life, and I’m proud to be. The circumstances that brought me to the Hill District… My dad, well, my mom and my older siblings, they were from the Hill, but when my dad moved my mom from the Hill, they moved him to East Liberty. But my dad passed away when I was 5. So when my dad passed away, I was 5. My mom couldn’t keep the house, so they brought her to the Hill because most of her family was from the Hill. So she came back to the Hill, and that’s how we got back, the passing of my dad and not being able to afford the house. The only thing that’s different, them reconstructing the buildings. You don’t have those on some of the Hill, part of the Hill, because everything looked like Chauncey. The whole Hill looked like Chauncey. So for them to just come in and do redevelopment, they did change the look. But I’m a stickler to “It’s not the building that makes the community, it’s the people that makes the community.” So some of them had to weed and seed, and some of them had to grow into it. And once they learned that, you know, to me, I believe if you make a community look like they’re in cage- an animal, they going to act like it. If you put them in a decent environment and for them to grow and start respecting themselves, and then you’ll get a better outcome. And that’s what it was. It was that they were treating them the way the atmosphere was, instead of treating us as who we are, so we had to learn from those experiences, we came up, and then again we had to treat our property better. Once we start treating our property better and start appreciating what we had, more was able to come to us, so I’m proud of what they’ve done on the Hill, and I hope you guys can benefit from it and that you guys can make it even greater. My goods was getting a chance to go to school with all my friends, being on the Hill, being able to go to any community that you want, there wasn’t too much of a division. If we wanted to go up, Chauncey, if we wanted to go up Burrows, or we have places like RC, which was Robinson Court, we had Warren Court, which was the mass circle. So we all got along, you know, we could go anywhere, and we had friends all over because we all represent the Hill District, so that was a good thing. The sad thing is when they split us up, and they split us up when they tore our high school down. We had 5th Ave. so it was 5th Ave, and it was Schenley. So half the kids went to 5th Ave., the other kids went to Schenley. So when they tore 5th Ave. down, they had us go to Brashear. That’s how we started going to Brashear. Actually, it’s right down on 5th. It’s down Dinwiddie. That real big building, right there, they got houses there? They got apartments that used to be our school. That was our high school. So it was kind of a rivalry with Schenley and 5th Ave., but it was a good rivalry because everybody hung together, so, you know… but when they tore that down, that’s why we had to go to Brashear. So they picked half of the kids, and it was pretty much the ones from Elmore down to Kirkpatrick, Centre, and going down 5th Ave., all that half had to go to- we got bused out to Brashear. Anywhere between up there on Herron Ave., Sugar Top, Burrows St., some of the kids in Oakland, and all of those kids got a chance to go to Schenley, so that’s how we got split up. So that was kind of sad for them to do that because we couldn’t play sports together. We had to compete against each other and, you know, it caused a little friction there. I think the Grayson Center is a good program. It gives you, a lot of youth, you know, different avenues to go on. But even this experience that you guys are getting right here, listen and learn from it. You know, you done heard so many different things from so many different people and you guys got a chance to pave the way for y’all here, you know. Be positive. Stop the violence. To disrespecting one another, it’s sad, like, especially for females, like we’re hurting in so many different areas, but we act out in so many different ways and people don’t know you’re hurt because you’re acting out because you don’t want nobody know you hurt. So I’d rather put on this tough skin than let somebody know that I’m hurt. And I think that’s where it’s getting mixed up at. And everybody gets so offended easy, you know, and the social media is crazy, so… If we can just stop and listen to one another, you know, befriend. I see you’ll have more enemies than you’ll have friends. Like, that’s insane. We used to have groves of friends, like you come outside, the whole- everybody’s playing with each other. Everybody’s walking down. So just to try to stop the little, the little mishaps, you know, I mean, y’all got people coming up under y’all. Y’all got a chance to make a difference. And make it out of here. You know you don’t have to be stuck. You don’t have to be stuck. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, make it happen. But one thing is certain, two things for sure. You’re not going to be able to take your friends with you. One day, it’s going to cease, and you got to start living life, and you got to be mature. I see y’all when y’all see y’all like my friends. I see them, can’t hang with y’all. I love them to death. I just can’t be a part of it. So each one teach one, reach one. You’ll be alright. Y’all look like y’all a solid group here. Y’all be alright.