2011 Home

Our Mission

Our Sponsors

2009's Sandwich Reads
Together Program
Celebrated Diversity

Books That
Touched My
Life

Contact Us

Cynthia Denmat read There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America by Alex Kotlowitz

I was first introduced to There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America by Alex Kotlowitz, during an African-American Studies course presented at Lesley University. There Are No Children Here tells the true story of two African-American boys growing up in the gang-plagued projects of West Side Chicago.

Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers are 11 and 9 years old. In a neighborhood overrun by violence, the brothers face drug dealers and shootings on their walk to school; their outdoor play is limited because of gunfire. Kotlowitz brings to life the challenges and heartache of a family trying to get ahead in the horrific environment of inner-city public housing. The boys’ mother describes her family’s reality when she says, “There are no children here. They’ve seen too much to be children.”

Reading this poignant story changed the way I look at the world. When I read this book, my own sons were the same ages as Lafeyette and Pharoah, and for the first time I became aware of the whites-only privileges my family and I share. Kotlowitz’s story is a valuable tool for understanding the disparity of life experiences of children of color in America.

Since reading this book, I’ve become passionate about human rights and multicultural education. I believe that
There Are No Children Here is a story that needs to be shared, to bring to universal awareness the stories of children in Other America.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead.

Cynthia Denmat is a pre-kindergarten teacher, an adjunct faculty member at Lesley University, and the Sandwich representative to the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission.