And Still We Rise

And Still We Rise Miles Corwin’s And Still We Rise is a memoir that follows the lives of intelligent students that live in the crime ridden area of South-Central Los Angeles. Corwin spent an entire year with twelve seniors that attend Crenshaw, South-Central’s gifted magnet program. He focused on the AP English Literature and Composition class because he felt the seniors would be free to express themselves. The book is centered on Affirmative Action, which students that attend Crenshaw fully rely on. Miles Corwin became part of the students’ lives, watching them face obstacles and prevail in spite of them. Corwin tried to reach out to everyone that is oblivious to how unequal school systems are. Even the most gifted students in the magnet program could not succeed without financial assistance and emotional stability. The author gives specific examples of students who could never have graduated without the help of a positive discrimination. Although poverty stricken communities have a negative connotation, this book opens the readers' eyes to the other side of the community. Everyone is more aware of how unequal the schools systems can be after reading this. The author's main motives in writing this book were to educate the audience on how truly diverse South Central really is. He showed that the neighborhood isn't just a place full of gang activity, rather a place with hidden successes. Corwin says, “In this book, the student’s value education, sacrifice much to further their educations, and overcome many obstacles-including sometimes even their teachers-in order to obtain their educations” (Corwin 6). These students who avoid the temptations of the street, who strive for success, who, against all odds, in one of America most impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhoods, managed to endure, to prevail and to succeed are the stars of the story. “In this book the students are the heroes and heroines, the ones with the inspirational stories,” Corwin says (Corwin 6).