Progressive Values Stories: Chris Young on Opportunity

Answer:  My father is African-American.  He was born and raised in Watts, California, and spent a lot of time in prison, never went to a day of high school.  On his last day in Folsom prison, he decided to move to Sacramento, a neighboring city.  And with that decision, he promised himself that he would never return to the lifestyle that had led him to prison for the umpteenth time. 

He lived in a small studio apartment in downtown Sacramento in a Victorian house.  And there my mother, a white woman from a very wealthy business family in Sacramento, my father admired her from afar and thought he could never be with this woman for a number of reasons. 

This was just after it was suddenly legal in the U.S. for white and black people to be married.  Shortly after that was when they met, but still that legacy of separatism had carried still strongly, especially in a rural place at the time called Sacramento.

Speaking of opportunity, my mother and father ended up being together as soul mates.  That led my mother to run up to my father upstairs, and they fell in love and were together for 26 years before my father died.

Having never been to a day of high school, my father wanted to get an education, so he began an education through a program at Sacramento City College. 

He didn’t know how to read or write very well, but my mother gave him the opportunity to learn and succeed in school.  She helped tutor my father, so that he could take the wisdom and intellect that he had and actually convey what he knew.

Well, that opportunity alone allowed my father to move on to Sacramento State Univ. where he received a BA and Masters in psychology.  That is opportunity.  From that opportunity, I was born into a family that couldn’t be more different – one very wealthy white with blond hair and blue eyes, and one black from South Central Los Angeles. 

I learned to appreciate that story, and it served as the motivation for me to continue on and appreciate and recognize opportunity, pursuit, all the while appreciating it, and trying to make the most of it.  So I have since appreciated a great public education, been fortunate to go off and attend Univ. of Berkeley Law School.  I got admitted from San Diego State University, which is elite in and of itself. 

I had the opportunity to work in the Senate in Sacramento as a fellow, and from that other opportunities came my way, and now I’ve decided to break away from the life I’ve been leading for the past year and a half, being a corporate lawyer for a San Francisco law firm, and to appreciate and seize the opportunity to work on Barack Obama’s campaign. 

And so in line with the story about my mother and father and the opportunities that started way back when that have had a trickle-down affect and allowed me to appreciate these opportunities by myself in this house, speaking to you about what I feel is the most important value that I think this country has to value, and a value that I think is squarely consistent with what we think of when you talk about progressive change and progressive values.


More  Resources about Opportunity.

Definition:
a. A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances.
b. A favorable or suitable occasion or time.
2. A chance for progress or advancement.

Some Questions To Ponder:

 - What are your questions about opportunity?

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