Michael D Beckford

The Gospel of My Hood Michael D Beckford

Daquan Bell a.ka. Juju is on a mission to leave the community he has grown to love the most. With the passing of his mother and on the edge of turning twenty. He no longer has any reason to continue to live in the apartment his mother left him on the Southside of Chicago. He has high hopes for a new house in the burbs, and only he can stop himself from achieving the American dream. As he ponders on his life and the goals and dreams he has for himself, he interacts with the 'cigarette man' on the way to the corna store. Just like any ordinary day, 'the cigarette man' ask Daquan for change. What happens after this specific interaction, will change the course of Daquan's mindset for the rest of his life. Will Daquan be chosen as the saving grace for his community? Or will he need more than grace to deliver him from a community that has had a hard time believing in itself?