A Place Called Desire

the forgotten community

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  • Awards and Film Festivals
    • Louisiana Heritage Media Award
    • 8th Annual African American Film Series
    • Black Film Festival of New Orleans
  • Articles and Reviews
    • Interviews
      • WYES-PBS
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      • Private Screening
      • WWLTV Interview
      • NPR Interview
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      • The STORY Behind The STANDOFF
      • The 504
  • Memories of Desire
    • The Christmas Fruitcake
    • Summer Fun: An Essay for “A Place Called Desire”
    • Friday Night Feast
    • Memories of Desire – The Record Truck
    • The Ladies’ Tammany Social & Aid Club
    • DESIRE PROUD – DESIRE STRONG
    • BEG, BORROW, BUT DON’T STEAL!
    • Food for Thought
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By Leonard

Black Film Festival of New Orleans

A Place Called Desire Winner Best Documentary & Audience Jury Award
in the Black Film Festival of New Orleans.
movie-poster-desire

Filed Under: Film Festivals Tagged With: Black Panthers, Desire Community, Desire Housing Project, Film Festival

By Leonard

A Place Called Desire On The 504

October 2015, Leonard Smith III is interviewed by Sheba Turk, the host of “The 504.” Leonard is the Director/Producer of the documentary A Place Called Desire.

THE 504

Filed Under: Documentary, Interviews Tagged With: Black Panthers, Desire Community, Desire Housing Project, Kickstart

By Winnie

BEG, BORROW, BUT DON’T STEAL!

Many families in the Desire Housing Project had large numbers of children. The largest apartment consisted of four bedrooms, one bathroom, one kitchen and one living room. Many families slept two, or more to a room. It was not unheard of for kids to sleep two or three in one bed. That’s just the way it was. There was no teasing or gossiping about people’s sleeping arrangements. It was the norm for us.

Another thing that was normal was borrowing. There was no company supplying loans until the next payday. There were few food banks. There were no, or few food vouchers issued by the government. However, there was the next door neighbor. Or the downstairs neighbor. Or, if necessary, the neighbor across the driveway. Because, inevitably, there would be a shortage. Sometimes, there was too much week left at the end of the money. The groceries purchased from the nearby Schwegmann’s had just run out.

kitchen flour sugar

Usually, it was the rice, sugar, flour, or even grits. I guess those were staples in the homes of families with five, or more, children. Those were items that would stretch meals and make mundane meals taste a lot better. Very few families were immune from the inevitable, perpetual shortage of some staple. Even though there were many trips to the corner grocery store in between weekly shopping, sometimes there was just not enough money to purchase food, or credit to be extended to buy them.

Neighbor privilege was a necessity. Grace was always available somewhere. Generosity ruled the hearts of many in our neighborhood, courtyards, and driveways. Some households were more fortunate than others, having two incomes, or maybe staggered pay periods. Whatever the source of the availability, someone had something to share.

Many nights while watching our favorite television program, we were disturbed by a knock on the door by one of the kids from a family needing to complete a meal with something from a neighbor’s pantry. Or there were those days when we wanted to bake a cake and my brother had used the last of the margarine! How could we finish dessert without it? No worries! Someone would save the day! It never failed!

Maybe it’s time to say, ‘ thank you,’ to the neighbors who cared enough about other children to give out of their hearts, their cupboards, and their purses to make sure children did not go hungry. They taught us valuable lessons that stuck with us through a lifetime. It gave us so much reassurance that someone cared about us. That , even though we had to, in the words of some, ‘beg and borrow,’ we did not have to steal to eat.

Winnifred  Magee

Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: Desire Housing Project

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