Discovering Wes Moore

While in the car with Joy one day, Wes, now 11 years old, begins singing a rap song from memory. Joy is angry that he can apparently remember rap lyrics, since school counsellors have attributed his bad grades to a learning disability. Unbeknownst to her, however, Wes’s bad grades really stem from his persistent skipping school. Since Wes has established himself as a troublemaker and a class clown at school, his teacher looks the other way when he doesn’t attend class because she doesn’t want him there anyhow. Wes has grown tired of feeling split between the worlds of school and home, and he’s become more focused on hanging around the neighborhood with his friends. Hip-hop, which at this time is becoming a global craze, helps Wes formulate his identity at this age—to his mother’s dismay.

Nikki has had a hard time with school, but Shani, Wes’s younger sister, has become a passionate reader. One day, Shani returns home with a bloody nose from being hit by Lateshia, a girl she knows. Wes and his Aunt BB storm out and confront Lateshia, reprimanding her. Wes threatens her intimidating older brother. Afterward, Wes feels like a big man.

Wes reflects on how at this time in his life, he learned far more about life from hanging out on stoops than he ever had in school. One day, Wes runs into his friend Shea, who is a runner for local drug dealers—as a young kid, Shea is less likely to be stopped by the police. Some kids are disgusted by Shea’s actions, but others envy his money and criminal clout and want a piece of the action.

Shea pulls out some cans of spray paint from his bag and invites Wes to tag a building with him. Wes is already experienced with tagging; his tag is K.K., standing for “Kid Kupid.” Wes tags the building and feels pride in having left his indisputable mark. Suddenly, the police arrive and handcuff the boys. Shea acts tough and plays innocent, but Wes is rattled and on the verge of tears. He thinks about how difficult this will be to explain to his mother: his relationship with her has been on the rocks, given his bad grades and delinquency, but he secretly wants “nothing more than to make her proud.”

Wes reflects on the shallowness of his friendships with Shea and other kids in the neighborhood, wondering who would really miss him if he went to jail. Other friends have already been killed or imprisoned, and life has moved on without them.

Wes and Shea are thrown together in the back of the police car. Shea tells him to play dumb, but when the officer gets in, Wes blurts out an apology. Shea’s continuing defiance angers Wes, who can see clearly in this moment the real possibility of going to prison. The officer gives the kids a stern talking-to but lets them off the hook. Wes swears he’ll never get into a similar mess again, but in no time, he’s doing the same things all over again.

Joy remains ignorant of the police encounter. One day, while watching TV with Shani, Wes begins punching her arm to tease her. His arm slips and bloodies her lip, and she runs to tell on him. Furious, Joy slaps Wes twice, but Wes shows no sign of remorse. He restrains his instinct to fight back. Later, though, he cries to himself, and much later on, he will learn that his mother cried, too.