Chapter 4: Excerpt From Spectacular Things Happen Along The Way: Lessons From an Urban Classroom(10th Anniversary Edition)

A decade after I taught fifth grade in Room 405 at Carr Community Academy, I received a voicemail from my former student, Demetrius. That Demetrius would reach out to me was not a surprise; our relationship had transcended the classroom and I had maintained regular contact with him and several of his classmates from that school year. But the fact that Demetrius had left a voicemail was unusual. Voicemails, especially for millennials like Demetrius, were reserved for more urgent matters.

Upon calling back, I was relieved to hear good news. Demetrius explained that a story had appeared in the progressive news magazine In These Times. The article details his involvement with the Fight for $15 and the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago, a group pushing for a minimum wage increase in a larger effort to curtail gun violence (Schuhrke, 2013). Demetrius not only needed a raise, the article reported, but he was also demanding a safer work environment. As a Walgreens stock clerk at the time, Demetrius was struggling to make ends meet. In addition to the low pay at this job, the Walgreens location also lacked security guards. This expense was apparently eliminated due to costs, even though a worker had recently been shot and killed while on the clock. Although Demetrius was grateful for a job, he wanted and needed more. Rightfully so.