Aliso Village in Los Angeles was a project which provided housing for those who could barely afford subsistence. Many were on welfare. Like many American inner cities, Aliso Village became a ghetto for the society's forgotten – a crucible of poverty & violence. As such a study of the life in Aliso Village reveals what it is like to live in this horrific environment: the American Ghetto. (More on Aliso Village)
Aliso Village Housing Units (Photograph by LA City Housing Authority by permission of LA Public Library)
If we are to improve the lot of people who live in the inner city, we need to understand their lives from their point of view in the American ghetto. We need to ask questions:
What is the American ghetto really like?
How does life in the ghetto shape the occupants so that they become trapped, not physically, but by conditioning their minds to not to even consider the possibility of leaving?
What can America do to actually effect a genuine change in the lives of ghetto children?
How do typical government programs, especially public schools, actually perpetuate the ghetto life instead of being a positive influence to promote leaving?
Many of these questions can be answered by one who actually grew up and was immersed in this environment, Kathleen Bishop. She has written a very moving and revealing account of her life in Aliso Village.
The book is entitled:
A White Face Painted Brown: The true story of a young girl's journey into the bosom of a Black and Mexican Los Angeles Ghetto called Aliso Village
The true answers to these questions are not found in books written by journalists or academicians who decide to research this topic. For those who really want to understand the essence of ghetto life and its debilitating grip on its denizens, the only source for a genuine understanding is to talk to someone who lived and endured the American ghetto. Kathleen Bishop is one such person. Brought to live in a Los Angeles ghetto at the age of 6 years-old along with her four siblings by her mother, she experienced first hand the terrible reality of which America for the most part has only a superficial knowledge. Kathleen in her book, A White Face Painted Brown, reveals the inner workings of this man-made hell. Because of her insights, this book is not simply a chronology of a little girl’s childhood. Far beyond that, due to her keen insights, she also shares what it feels like growing up in such a debilitating environment. She has seen and understands the ghetto to a depth that is impossible for others who have tried to research it but fail to comprehend the all too important but allusive ghetto undercurrents.
What others have said about A White Face Painted Brown :
This book really meant a lot to me. It was very moving on a lot of different levels ,” Melanie Morgan, former KSFO San Francisco radio talk show host and frequent guest on national radio and television shows such as Political Incorrect and Hannity and Komes
“Absolutely amazing story – so well written. I have read books about the ghetto and about this kind of subject – we all have – yours is different. ... What I found, when I read it, was hope. So many of the other books are awful stories and are left with ‘Oh, my God.’ ” Barbara Simpson, former KSFO San Francisco radio talk show host and nationally syndicatedcolumnist.
“I read your book and was unable to put it down. I found it riveting, fascinating, and horrifying....” Stacey
“This accomplishment is truly remarkable. It’s something that most people only aspire to...” Geri W.
“As I will be a teacher in about a year, I feel that this book will ... be a key to understanding some of the children that I may come across. God bless you for painting such a clear picture of what too many of our children in this country experience and the difficulties that carry into their adulthood.... Your book is a treasure to me!” Marie C.
“I was deeply moved by the images you painted with your words. The terrible conditions you so clearly described parallels quite closely the environment detailed by the POW’s released after Vietnam War. As I read how a child with only six years of normal life to draw upon, constantly overcame the physical and emotional abuse from, not a sworn enemy, but those who should have sworn to protect her, I realized that not all POW’s are in far away prison cells... Thank you again for helping me understand the tremendous impact of our words and deeds on the youth of the world. Your book has permanently changed my attitude on not only the plight of children in the ghettos but on society’s responsibility to all young people...” Dan E.
“I rate A White Face Painted Brown 4 out of 4 stars. …If any adult would like to understand what ghetto life is like, Bishop is an articulate, caring guide. I particularly recommend this book to service-oriented fields. It may uncover and address areas of bias in dealing with people from underprivileged environments. If you would rather not feel the pain and frustration of reading about a neighborhood that is brutally neglected and ignored, I would advice you to skip this book.” book review by www.onlinebookclub.org
How to order:
go to www.amazon.com
or go to www.eBay.com
or contact: pallasathenapress@gmail.com