Sharon Jasper has been victimized. Sharon Jasper has been
rabidly wronged. She has become a Section 8 'VICTIM' of
ever changing public housing policies.
Sharon Jasper has spent 57 or her 58 years dedicated to
one cause and one cause only, and has nothing to show for
her dedicated servitude. She has lived in Section 8
housing all but 1 of her 58 years. It was a legacy passed
down from her parents who moved into Section 8 housing in
1949 when she was six months old. She has passed the
legacy down to her children, but fears they may have to
get jobs to pay for the utilities and deposits. She
laments about her one year hiatus from the comfort of her
Section 8 nirvana, 'I tried it for a year..you know...
working and all. It's not anything I would want to go
through again, or wish on anyone in my family, but I am
damn proud of that year.'
Sharon was moved out of her St. Bernard housing project
after hurricane Katrina and into a new, yet albeit,
substandard quarterage. As can be noted from the above
photo of her new Section 8 home, it is repugnant and not
suitable for someone of Sharon Jasper's seniority status
in the system. 'Don't be fooled by them hardwood floors,'
says Sharon. 'They told me they were putting in scraped
wood floors cause it was more expensive and elegant, but
I am not a fool - that was just a way to make me take
scratched up wood because I am black. The 60 inch HD TV?
It may look nice but it is not a plasma. It's not a
plasma because I'm black. Now they want me to pay a
deposit and utilities on this dump. Do you know why?'
She has held her tongue in silence through the years of
abuse by the system, but it came to a head at the New
Orlean's city council meeting where discussions were
under way about the tearing down of the St. Bernard
projects. When a near riotous exchange between groups
opposing the tearing down of St. Bernard and groups
wanting the dilapidated buildings torn down and newer
ones built, Sharon unleashed verbal hell with her once
silenced tongue. The object of her oratory prowess was
an acquiescent poor white boy in attendance. The context
of her scathing rebuke was, 'Just because you pay for my
house, my car, my big screen and my food, I will not be
treated like a slave!' and 'Back up and Shut up! Shut up,
white boy! SHUT UP, WHITE BOY!'
Recapping from the mental log of the city council minutes
in her head, Sharon repines, 'Our families have been
displaced all over the United States. They are being
forced to commit crimes in cities they are unfamiliar
with. It is a very uncomfortable situation for them.
Bring them back, then let's talk about redevelopment.'
Sharon directs the reporter's attention across the street
to Duncan Plaza where homeless people are living in tents
and states that, 'I might do better out there with one of
these tents.' She further lamented her sentiments about her
situation, 'I might be poor, but I don't have to live poor.'
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