Brent Staples is a black man who grew up in an angry, violent and poor town just southwest of Philadelphia. As a boy, he began to create a path that would lead him out of violence and depression, into a happy and successful life. .
The first incident of neighborhood violence that Staples remembers, took place when he was fourteen. A young man, two doors down from Brent's home was stabbed to death over a pool game. The following year, his cousin Wesley, whom he cared for deeply, was shot to death, which made that summer a blur of emotions. .
The violence continued, and not long before Brent left for college, he heard two local Vietnam vets arguing over which division of the military has the best killing tactics. Soon after, he read an article that put the dispute in context. A sergeant stated in an article; " He would give up any man from the suburbs to get a hard-core soldier from the inner cities that wore their man hood on their sleeves". Growing up in an urban environment, Brent was able to relate to the sergeants opinion. The young men from the inner cities would be better off in the military because they have been exposed to death and violence.
Leaving his little brother Blake who was addicted to the street life behind, Brent left the East Coast after graduating college. He spent the mid- and late 1970's in Chicago where he taught for a while, then became a journalist. Within the next ten years, Brent became overly dedicated and acquired wealth quickly. He lived in a quiet neighborhood where arguing was rarely heard. The only things that kept Brent updated with the old life were the phone calls about unfortunate events back home. After a while he began to feel emotionally damaged. He continued to remind himself of the distance he created when he decided to leave and Blake's' decision to clasp onto it.
Christmas of 1983 Brent had gone from Chicago to a black town in Roanoke, Virginia, where Blake had moved.