MADE IN THE GHETTO

   Martin Luther King wasn’t the only one with a dream.

Russell Gore sat across from me in the coffee shop on the corner of Decatur and Barracks, in the

French Quarter.

He frowned and looked past me as if talking to himself. “I grew up in the projects. They’re like Spanish fly traps. You get stuck in ‘em and can’t get out. You just sit around waiting on the next check. The blight passes from one generation to the next.

“My mama would go to the grocery store on the corner and buy what she needed to feed us on credit until her food stamps came in.” His voice thickened. “It hurt me to see her struggle like that, but I couldn’t do nothing to help her.

"All of us don’t want that. We want to get out if given a chance.

"I made up my mind back then I wouldn’t go down that road."

And Russell didn’t.

He attended and graduated from Delgado Community College in New Orleans with a Fine Arts degree. Today he creates original jewelry and sells it in the French Market. He had used the same product for twenty years when he woke up one day to find it had been discontinued. He was confronted with his greatest fear, that he wouldn’t be able to feed himself.

But, according to Russell, when God closes a door, he opens another one.

He grinned. “You’ve heard ‘em say, birds of a feather flock together. Well, I think, sometimes you’ve got to leave the flock and soar with the eagles. When I couldn’t get the material I needed to make a living, I found me an eagle. A woman showed me an even better product.

Russell creates a lovely line of jewelry of unique jewelry, made by combining and firing various colored clay.

But, his jewelry is only a means to an end. His life goal is to show other people, his people, he calls them, a way up and out of poverty. One day he wants to teach others how to make jewelry.

He has principles he lives and is constantly teaching others. Some are:

·         We all make mistakes. Quit blaming others for your failure. Don’t point the finger. Own up to your own mistakes.

·         You can find a job. Don’t give up. Keep trying.

·         Work. Find something to do. Get the best job you can today and work hard. Better yourself.

·         Never forget where you came from. Once you get out, reach back and pull someone else out with you.

·         You can fall, but you have to get back up.

·         Never forget where you came from.

·         Be around positive people. Find yourself an eagle and soar.

 

Russell's jewelry line is called "Made in the Ghetto". He said he never wants to forget where he came from.

He's a delightful man. You can meet him everyday at the French Market in New Olreans, Booth 107.

Mention you saw this blog and he’ll reward you with a 25% discount off any one item.

His jewelry is not painted. It's made by combining various colors of clay, that when fired, create this exquisite jewelry.

I love it! I've never seen anything quite like it. I think you will, too.