The Life Of Yummy Sandifer

What redlining can do

Yummy Sandifer, the story of a young black kid, whose innocence was taken from him at a very young age. He was robbed of a typical American childhood; an American childhood that promised opportunity, happiness, and innocence. Redlining is the root cause of his horror story, as he had little to no resources to help get his life back on track or give him a fair opportunity as everyone else. 

It all started in 1963. He was born to Lorina, who was a prostitute arrested over 30 times for her acts, and his father spent most of his time behind bars. Yummy had a very rough childhood, as a source telling the boys story said “ Before the age of 2, he was already known to the Department of Children and Family Services. His body was often riddled in cigarette burns as well as bruises” (Thompson). Yummy then was sent to live with his grandmother, along with his 6 other siblings at the age of 3. His grandmother's household was not much better than his previous one, which resulted in him quitting school at the age of 8. He then began getting involved in criminal activity, as he broke into and stole many cars. He was then caught by the DCFS after driving a stolen car. When speaking about his case, another source said “A judge denied a family services request to temporarily hold him in a juvenile center which holds older offenders and sent him back to live with his grandmother” (Thompson). This was very detrimental to Yummy, as he was being placed back in the environment that ruined his life. Yummy then joined the street gang known as the black disciples. The black disciples, AKA BD, was another result of redlining, as the gang formed to help combat bullying from whites who previously lived in those neighborhoods., but the gang's motives changed, as tensions arose with other gangs. Because of these tensions, Yummy, at 11 years old, was ordered to take out a hit on a rival gang member. Yummy, who attempted to kill a rival gang member by spraying bullets at him, accidentally killed an innocent bystander, Shavon Davis. When speaking about the reaction from the Black Disciples, the same source said “This enraged the gang, who saw his actions as an initiation gone bad. Fearing that Yummy would speak to police if apprehended, the leaders of the Black Disciples decided they needed to get rid of him” (Thompson). The Black Disciples sent 2 teenagers, a 14 and 16-year-old brothers to take him out. When speaking about the details, the same source said “They told the young boy that they were going to take him into hiding so that police couldn’t track him down. However, as they reached a nearby underpass, they ordered Yummy to his knees and shot him twice in the head” (Thompson). At the time of Yummy’s death, he had 23 felonies and 5 misdemeanors. Yummy had more than twice as many felonies than birthdays.

Although this story may seem rare, for many living in poverty-stricken African American communities, stories like this are common. The juvenile system, the schooling system, and the Department of Children and Family Services completely failed Yummy, as no child should have gone through what Yummy went through. Yummy was simply a product of his community, as he grew up in an environment plagued in poverty, crime, and drugs. Yummy was very much affected the utmost by redlining, as the root of his hell on earth was due to poverty, no role models, and being placed in a community plagued with violence, all which redlining remains to be underlying cause. The saddest part about this is that this story is not uncommon to those living in black communities, as many children in similar environments cannot get a good education, and become by-products of the lack of resources and funding in their communities.