'We Beat the Street': Summary
There are so many avenues for kids to take. Peer pressure is tough! Friends can take their vulnerable friends down the wrong path. No doubt about it. Life on the street is full of distractions. Many kids on the street do not have the love at home and when that happens, they look in the wrong places. Three boys, without fathers, working mothers, living in the hood of Newark New Jersey faced these very issues. Drugs, gangs, and prison were a reality for their friends. They flirted with this type of lifestyle too, but something in them, wanted more.
Rameck Hunt was known for cutting class and hanging with his friends. He was almost expelled when he sprayed one of his teachers in the face with silly string. Samson Davis went to Juvenile Detention for receiving stolen property and thought about becoming a drug dealer. George Jenkins, also a street kid, did not handle himself quite as badly as the other two, but still had quite a few problems. When the three of them were freshman in high school, they made a decision. Pacts have been made between friends. Some of them have been as tragic as a suicide pact. These three young boys decided to go into the medical field. They made a pact to succeed. They didn't care what went on around them. They decided to do whatever it took to keep each other in line and motivate one another toward their dreams.
In an area where gangs are important and grades, not so much, they had to put blinders on and focus. The book, We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Pact led to Success, is their story. Rameck, George, and Samson ended up graduating from Seton Hall together. Rameck and Samson became doctors and George, a dentist. The three chose the harder road. The road less traveled. They chose the road to success instead of the devastating life of the streets.
Rameck Hunt was known for cutting class and hanging with his friends. He was almost expelled when he sprayed one of his teachers in the face with silly string. Samson Davis went to Juvenile Detention for receiving stolen property and thought about becoming a drug dealer. George Jenkins, also a street kid, did not handle himself quite as badly as the other two, but still had quite a few problems. When the three of them were freshman in high school, they made a decision. Pacts have been made between friends. Some of them have been as tragic as a suicide pact. These three young boys decided to go into the medical field. They made a pact to succeed. They didn't care what went on around them. They decided to do whatever it took to keep each other in line and motivate one another toward their dreams.
In an area where gangs are important and grades, not so much, they had to put blinders on and focus. The book, We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Pact led to Success, is their story. Rameck, George, and Samson ended up graduating from Seton Hall together. Rameck and Samson became doctors and George, a dentist. The three chose the harder road. The road less traveled. They chose the road to success instead of the devastating life of the streets.