How To Succeed When You Come From A Poor Urban Community

Pic: Unsplash/ Andrew Amistad

A future of prison or death for those from poor urban communities is a key issue in the western world. Whatsmore, it seems like black-on-black violence is at an all-time high, as is drug use and dealing. This is evident as black people are 3 times as likely to be arrested as white people.

In my opinion, this isn’t always due to racism, but due to the hate and harm inflicted by the black community onto the black community. The poor neighbourhoods in places such as London and Birmingham are where a lot of young people fail and become trapped.

But it doesn’t have to be like that for you.

Your friend’s success isn’t your success

Many people in bad neighbourhoods think that they can coast by riding the coattails of their friend’s success. This is the worst mentality to have, as it displays a lack of ambition and lack of integrity. You as a person should never wait for things to be done for you.

Don’t lose sight of your goal of leaving

When you’re in a community surrounded by people who are content with their position in life, you can be sucked in to believe that relative poverty is the only thing the world can offer you. Instead, you should look at the people around you and learn from where they went wrong and do better. Progress not regress. When you do find success, leave as soon as possible. Some people do not want to have to watch you succeed above them or outgrown them. This is highlighted by the rapper Boosie, who has said:

“Most rappers die in their own city. It’s a fact. You have haters that were in school with you and they’re mad because they were in that same third-grade class with you, but they don’t have the same hustle as you.”

There will always be some who hate your success. Deal with it

Your success is always going to be hated by those who envy you, there is nothing you can do about that. What you should do is use it to fuel your success and push on. Being wealthy in a poor neighbourhood leads to you becoming a target for everyone and anyone around you. This is why you have to keep yourself to yourself, making money) and the people around you aren’t it could lead to your downfall which leads into my next point…

People are only as loyal as their last meal

Loyalty in the streets is hard to come by, in fact, it might be easier to fly, as many people are only loyal when things are going well. When they aren’t, they’re nowhere to be seen. Some people who you thought were friends can turn on you, too. Rapper Nipsey Hussle was recently murdered by someone he knew.

Get up and escape poverty, see the world for what it is; a nightmare for those who don’t try.