Ethan Stelzer
Professor Shashko
AFROAMER 156
12/7/22
A Story in Song
The South Side of Chicago, in 1993, was a dangerous place. The people that
lived there always kept their heads on a swivel. There were no tourists. This was not a
place people visited. The Ida B. Wells housing project served as homes for the
community, whose tenants were primarily African Americans. The worst area of The
Wells to live in was the high-rise buildings. It was in apartment 1405 where a five-yearold boy named Eric Morse was thrown out of a window to the crumbling pavement
below. The free-falling boy had a 14-story descent and died on impact. The harrowing
story of the death of Eric Morse was bravely investigated by LeAlan Jones and Lloyd
Newman in the book “Our America.” The upbringings of LeAlan and Lloyd were difficult,
and living conditions were bleak. A book with so much emotion can be depicted through
song. The songs in this paper that summarize “Our America” assist in illustrating the
feelings associated with living in South Side Chicago, how African Americans are
portrayed in society, and the need for change.
The story of Lloyd (13) and LeAlan (14) began in 1993 with a brief introduction of
how the two boys met as well as life in “the ghetto.” According to the Oxford English
Dictionary, a “ghetto” is a poor urban area with its inhabitants primarily composed of
people of a minority group or groups. A “ghetto” can have very unsafe living conditions.
Lloyd and LeAlan described the field between their houses as a shooting ground with
nowhere to go for cover if shots were fired (Our America, 29). The song, “In the Ghetto”
released by Elvis Presley in 1969, depicts “ghetto life” as an endless cycle of heartache
and violence with no escape. While Elvis Presley was not African American himself, this
song addresses some of the issues African Americans face in “Our America.” The lyrics
“his mama cries” get repeated throughout the song showing the sadness of raising a
child under undesirable conditions. The lyrics “an angry young man face down on the
street with a gun” show the danger associated with growing up and how violence has
reached the youth. For Lloyd and LeAlan to survive life in “the ghetto” they had to learn
how to mature quickly or face the deathly consequences. LeAlan puts maturing in
perspective with the lines, “If you play childish games in the ghetto, you’re gonna find a
childish bullet in your childish brain” (Our America, 33).
Lloyd and LeAlan were both enrolled at Donoghue Elementary School. One day
after school, LeAlan interviewed a classmate named George to ask him why he was on
the street selling drugs instead of being in school. George replied, “school ain’t shit”
(Our America, 43). When LeAlan talked to George about his future, George claimed “I
ain’t gonna be alive in ten years because I’ll be selling my drugs and they’re gonna pop
my ass” (Our America, 45). Not staying in school had deadly consequences at
Donoghue. According to the principal, Ms. Tolson, children were shot in the street for
being affiliated with gangs and violence. The importance of being in school is further
emphasized by James Brown’s hit single “Don’t Be a Dropout” in 1966. The lyrics
“without an education you might as well be dead” tell the listener that doing well in
school can help in a place where opportunities were limited. LeAlan took pride in his
education and was discouraged by George’s “willingness to die.” James Brown
embodies the first element of black music, call and response, and created a call with the
lyrics “Don’t be a drop-out, stay in school.” It did not take long at all for others to
respond. Otis Redding reiterated the message quickly with the song “Stay in School” in
1967.
Lloyd and LeAlan wanted to give kids in America the message that “ghetto kids”
should not be treated any differently. The boys knew they had had a hard life but
expressed that they were human, not “aliens” (Our America, 83). This closing statement
was LeAlan’s final diary segment of what a week in life was like for Lloyd and LeAlan.
However, the boys weren't finished. Tragedy had struck the South Side of Chicago.
Lloyd and LeAlan were determined to get to the bottom of it.
The death of Eric Morse was an unexpected one, but one destined to happen,
nonetheless. In October 1994 a boy got pushed out a fourteenth-story window of the Ida
B. Wells high-rise building where he fell to his death. Lloyd and LeAlan wanted to
document the story of Eric Morse and let the nation know that something needs to
change. Two kids, Johnny (10) and Tyrone (11) wanted Eric to steal candy for him.
When Eric refused, the kids retaliated by luring Eric to the fourteenth floor and dropping
him out a window, to meet his death.
The 1993 song “Six Feet Deep” by the Geto Boys begins with the lyrics “there’s
far too many of you dying” as a sample of Marvin Gaye’s lyrics from the 1971 song
“What’s Going On.” Eric Morse was not the first death in the South Side of Chicago, but
the media almost acted like it was. When the Geto Boys sing “everybody’s trippin cause
the boy was too young to die” it shows the attention the death of a young boy can bring
to the world. Annie Smith from the thirteenth floor said that “sometimes bad things are
meant to happen so it can bring attention to the worse things that will happen if
someone doesn’t pay attention” (Our America, 99). National attention was necessary to
get the voices of the citizens heard.
Lloyd and LeAlan eventually reached a man named William Sewell who lived on
the nearly abandoned fourteenth floor. William told Lloyd and LeAlan that kids like
Johnny and Tyrone who grew up in an environment of only violence and hate, don’t
know about anything else existing (Our America, 95). LeAlan interviewed an attorney
representing Johnny who described Johnny as a little boy who never had the chance to
be a little boy (Our America, 119). The song “Trapped” released in 1991 by Tupac
Shakur (2Pac) describes some of the issues young African Americans face as well as
racial injustice issues. In the song, 2Pac says “they never taught peace in the black
community” and “all we know is violence.” In the book “Our America” young boys
joined/formed gangs to keep themselves busy. Lloyd interviewed Tyrone’s dad Tommy
Jenkins who said “Tyrone was not bad. He was just hanging around bad company” (Our
America, 127). When Tommy went to jail, Tyrone had nobody to keep him in check to
stay out of trouble. No resources were available to guide Tyrone to make better
decisions. The lyrics “can barely walk the city streets without a cop harasskin’ me”
describe how African Americans get treated in society every day.
LeAlan and Lloyd were now 17 years old and began to worry about what their
futures might hold. LeAlan describes South Side Chicago as a maze. “You either die in
it or you escape.” With no funding being invested in a community, people were forced to
decide to sell drugs on the street instead of going to school. Hungry citizens of South
Side Chicago need to be taught skills to make them succeed. LeAlan poses the
following question to Lloyd: “If I was hungry, would you feed me a fish” (Our America,
160). Giving away free fish on the street is one thing. However, the action of teaching a
person how to catch the fish is what creates independence and growth. The individual
with the newly acquired skill can apply the skill to other aspects of life to obtain even
more skills or even jobs. The 1969 song “You Got To Have A Job (If You Don’t Work,
You Can’t Eat) by Marva Whitney featuring James Brown describes the importance of
having a job. The lyrics show that a person should get a job “if you want to be healthy”
and “to put shoes on your feet.” The problem was there were no jobs in the Ida B. Wells
community (Our America, 163). People treated becoming a gang member as their fulltime job.
The end of “Our America” was bittersweet. LeAlan and Lloyd got the chance to
tell their story and uncover the deeper meaning behind the death of Eric Morse. Shortly
after the tragedy, reporters and TV cameras left Ida B. Wells for good. One of “The
Reagan Rules” talked about the idea “us” versus “them.” The news media found a
“them” to talk about, but only briefly as their focus shifted to other topics. Ida B. Wells
tenant Helen Finner told LeAlan “Nobody comes here now. The people that got shot on
Saturday weren’t even in the papers.” The world needed to see the people of the South
Side of Chicago for what they were; strong, kindhearted people, that just needed some
help. In the last few pages of the book, LeAlan said, “we’ve got to make a change” and
“I believe in my heart that we can make this happen.” The 1981 song “Don’t Stop
Believin’ by Journey is a song about hope. It is a song about “workin’ hard” and
believing that the greater good will prevail. LeAlan and Lloyd did hope. But they wanted
others to have hope. They wanted people like George to believe in themselves so
others could follow.
The songs in this paper follow the story of “Our America” and strengthen the
emotion associated with living in the South Side of Chicago, assist in illustrating how
African Americans were treated during this time, and the imminent need for change
today. LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman. Two boys had to grow up fast. Two boys had
to witness death and destruction with a mindset to “make it out.” Implementing more
learning methods and stronger resources for families is one of the first steps in
developing a community. This will not be easy. It takes time for people to adapt and
change. But a change will come, and it won’t happen overnight.
Word Count: 1704