Social Immobility
Dr Jessica Taylor
Before you even see me, you hear the way I drop my Ts
I mispronounce the words from books
And I laugh at the formalities
These halls don’t want me and I know I’m out of place
You explain the etiquette rules
And I try to hide the confusion on my face
Kanye said, ‘We wasn’t supposed to make it past 25’ I laugh and cry at those song lyrics
Cos I guess most of us are still alive
Josh died from drugs at 25 and Johnny was shot dead at 19 Mickey was inside by 21 and I was pregnant by 16
Kat had a baby from rape at 12 and Emily was stealing coke
We sold illegal CDs at school cos we were all so fuckin broke
Milli and Danny were both ran over by cars
And all the girls were touched up to allow them entry to the bars
Jess was stabbed at 17 and Weedy went missing when we were kids
Teachers told us we would never do anything, and some of us never did
The military recruited my mates at 16 and they went off to war
Scrawny lads risking their lives for £14K
Cos they know that’s a jackpot when you’re poor
We were all on drugs and drink by 13 and we dreamed of escape
We said we would grow up to be strippers and ballers
Whilst we were oppressed, abused and raped
But Laura ended up a teacher and Louise is now a lawyer
And Kim speaks three languages and works for a famous employer
Liam went from bottom set maths to a leader in education
Aimee is a midwife and Dan designs train stations
Alex is an artist and Jenny is a nurse
Becky escaped the YMCA, went to uni and got a first
Steph is a surgeon and I got my PhD
We are all the things they told us we could never be
And yet here I am in these halls, being told that I don’t belong
Told to tone it down, or change it up
My accent, my clothes and my upbringing is all wrong
I chat about my estate and the gulley and the weed
You don’t want someone like me teaching here And I was never supposed to get the PhD
I won’t hide where I’m from and I won’t forget where I was grown
That council estate where we all lived and died
Is carved on us like etchings into stone
I will stay where I am not welcome, and talk it to the youth
They cannot be what they cannot see
And they need to know the unashamed truth
#workingclassacademics
#councilestateacademics
Tweet: @DrJessTaylor
Email: Jessica@victimfocus.org.uk
Website: http://www.victimfocus.org.uk
Wowzers very artistically articulations xx
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I literally live for this #power #✌🏼 xx
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WOW Jessica – that literally touched my soul. You are setting a brilliant and beautiful example. Much love to you and all that you do xo ❤
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This is sad, but not the way you think it’s sad…
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Thank you Jessica ???? needed this xxxx
Dr Liza Thompson CEO 07932696547 ________________________________
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Empowering Validation
#unashamed
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Brilliant.
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