Roses and Concrete

There is a poem written by Tupac Amaru Shakur called The Rose that Grew from Concrete. It explains that against all odds, the rose still manages to breathe fresh air and walk without having feet.

This is how I see Grandview/?Uuqinak'uuh Elementary School and the surrounding neighbourhood. Who could know that a community filled with poverty and despair could rise above and have, of all things, a garden? Where there used to be concrete, we now have flowers and vegetables. We, the community, are the roses, and the neighbourhood was the concrete.

Don't look at our damaged petals and ask us why. Look at our garden and ask us how. Thank you Tupac for expressing my thoughts in your words.

"Long live the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete."

Kari Logue was raised in East Vancouver. She has two children in Grandview/?Uuqinak'uuh School and she is a huge fan of Tupac Shakur.