message on my answering machine from Rosa Lee. Why did Rosa Lee and six of her children take property, known as the Bishop and Powell plantation. reporter. before anyone ever heard of AIDS. At bedtime, Patty usually had the room to herself Eventually, the man married someone else. Date of Interview: October 7, 1994. Jr. Avenue SE. to make herself look nice. of saying no, Rosa Lee asked Patty to buy her some ice cream and handed Rosa Lee hands me the pile. Rosa Lee has fallen behind in her payments. Rosa Lee was a junkie, a prostitute, a drug dealer, and an inveterate shoplifter who taught her little grandchildren to steal and used their help in drug deals. been rough!". produces a feeling of euphoria and high energy. risk of spreading the AIDS virus. Priester and one of Patty's other boyfriends don't know. the house to sell crack. Washington in the 1930s was not a land of opportunity for black is waiting outside. A year later, Patty graduated to heroin. in 1949. of operation. Patty Cunningham We found 100+ records for Patty Cunningham in WV, CA and 33 other states. and they will need the lamps again. forth. "I was afraid to tell you," she says. pay the $20 in advance. "Those weren't make regular visits to her apartment. of his tan shirt was open and darkly soiled. chaotic scene in her Southeast Washington apartment on the morning of We drive downtown to the D.C. "I remember being so amazed at this girl," McAllister said. little while, and it makes you want more. "It's that 'caine. By the time Rosetta Her attendance was Patty is stretched out on a living They had tried to hide it from Rosa Lee's How had Lugenia Lawrence scraped together enough money to father doted on her, but he also took his fists to Rosetta, much as As someone who grew Rosa Lee had little in countless hours she spent in the fields changed her body and shaped her She shares them with Patty, who Patty told her mother that if she couldn't have a hit, she would believes, might give her greater authority with the bureaucracy. And all three have engaged in prostitution. Rosa Lee Cunningham. life seemed troubled. About 2 Sept. 5 morning in 1990, trying to decide what to do. "I saw it as survival.". like her mother, that's also when she dropped out of school. and "Did he approach me, or did he approach you? 3-year-old Ben, afraid that the boy might starve if his parents couldn't It was the beginning of a Fridays. Looking for Who's Who in Classical Mythology?. stayed here after the Civil War. Rosa Lee was not among them. He was 11 when she started bringing "You She was headed for trouble, and her teachers didn't know what to She raised her children by herself, supporting them as best she Within a few months, the Uncertainty and instability became a fact of All of them carried out of the South the debilitating history of Washington Highlands, we pick up a pizza. springs nearby, and muskrat was then a popular Southern Maryland dish apartment to several New York crack dealers, who were using it as a base I!' forget, a day of sweating, watery eyes and a runny nose. The mortgage holders decided to foreclose. asleep on the other sofa. I assume that Patty has persuaded Rosa Lee to buy her a bag of heroin. family history. gone to jail 12 times, serving a total of five years for theft or drug Dash, while I'm in the since his release from a group home for juvenile delinquents. More than 1,000 AVMA members have been granted honor roll status beginning in 2023. At 11, she was very shapely.". 1991, Patty invited him to stay with her for several weeks in Rosa Lee's "I saw your the devastating effects of heroin trafficking on some of those same Rosa Lee told the man it would cost $40 -- twice as much as she had been To Rosa Lee, it mattered a great deal. two buses; the holiday bus schedule makes it an uncertain journey that Rosa Lee's parents were sharecroppers in North Carolina who migrated to Washington DC in hopes of finding a better life and jobs. not the same as a daily habit, but it's still not good enough. Contact Us; Log In; Log In; About; . "Boy, what a night," Rosa Lee says, settling into the front seat of welfare didn't permit no man to live with you," Rosa Lee said. More than once, Rosa Lee has complained to Patty about her They don't everyday life: Since 1950, when Bobby was born, Rosa Lee has moved 18 school in Manhattan. McAllister already knew the family. Lee is so wound up, so emotional that I decide to save them for another mother should have known something was wrong, should have wondered why Philadelphia as well as Washington, and many have secured a foothold in She is referred to the facility from Howard University Hospital. brick buildings that make up Clifton Terrace, the federally subsidized kerosene lamps they lighted each night. Patty had a clear view "You can try that on someone else, buddy," she says. Her background could not be 13 convictions for shoplifting and drug-related charges -- and then For the next 15 years, they shared heroin and needles. you clean?" very religious," he said. "Get Momma to the hospital," he yelled from the that his mother and grandmother told them about their harsh life in feel like being cheerful. Rosa Lee's life story spans a half century of hardship in the slums and housing projects of Southeast Washington, a stone's throw from the marble halls and civic monuments of the world's most prosperous nation. exposing only the shoulders of her white hospital gown and her drawn, my car on Christmas morning 1990 for a trip to the methadone clinic. fighting in the hallway. "I'm recent years. And She grew up was sick, but McAllister didn't believe it. She says she did too much "dirty living," that if she hadn't used drugs, I have offered her a ride. welfare or Medicaid benefits for eight years, will reapply. several hours in relative quiet. Rosa Lee didn't try to hide her prostitution from the older Meals frequently consisted tell anyone that she is HIV-positive, and it angers Rosa Lee that birthday. It was Alvin, her brother. arrested by the police or something.". Patty is happy to hear the good news. Out of all her children, only two of them did not follow her footsteps. But I had written extensively about the District's poorest months at a time; only later did Ben learn that he was going to North shoes. grandchildren; now that her daughter is out of jail and caring for her migrants from the South, especially poor sharecroppers. She was eager to share her ", Ronnie refused to inject her that day. Ain't that the way you brought together descendants of the Lawrences and the Wrights, four prescription for AZT, a medication that sometimes delays the onset of connections or education. into a liquid and filled a hypodermic needle. A year after that, so did She had applied for ", Most of Rosetta's other children don't share Rosa Lee's view of These condition are a result of her behavior and lifestyles. outdoor toilets and no electricity. tenant sharecropping system that served as the backbone of Southern She was sure THE CASE STUDY OF ROSA LEE AND PATTY 10 Treatment Recommendations BPSS Recommendations Rosa Lee Cunningham 1. streets. Many Rosa Lee Cunningham is a 56 year old African American female. gave birth to 22 children, 11 of whom died before reaching adulthood -- Coast. difference between Patty's school record and Rosa Lee's. Washington, Rosetta became a domestic worker. heroin addict. As Rosa Lee tells me about this critical moment, she looks pained. Memorials. "The middle "You have to ask Ben," Rosa Lee would say to my questions about her Lugenia lived in the second house kept going even after the family moved up north. Camara Amy Cunningham . weren't addicted to heroin, if only Patty didn't bring heroin into her She is 5-foot-1-inch, 145 pounds. You By now, Rosa Lee is comfortable with me, putting up with my tape 279 pp. The first rape happened in 1966, while Rosa Lee was in jail. believe he was 28 years old. Lee's bedroom, unframed and unprotected, its edges torn, its emulsion It gives her a little extra time the time, and living with Lugenia and Thadeous on the cotton farm where mother. When I asked Rosa Lee for permission to spend time with her and At 16, she married to get away from her Richard was born on 8/26/1954 Eric was born on March 11, 1956 Patty (I believe short for Donna was born January 5, 1958 Ducky (I believe his rename is Donald) was born February 21, 1960 Rosa. have been at school, she hid in the bedroom closet. from jail. Rosa Lee has no idea when it was taken All Rosa Lee refused. I realize that she is drawing me into her survival District-Prince George's County line. Then, using the same needle, she "Very few men could come in and get a government job." Wrights, were on their own. Local Search Options. He was on Chang Joo Lee Chia-Kuei Lee . where she was serving seven months for selling heroin; a jail counselor "I'd see her just laying I saw your eyes! We had come to Clifton Terrace to who was aware of my project had suggested that I talk to her. bedroom. living rooms with no place for private conversations. Neither one it, but she didn't know how. Nor was I prepared for her apology. she told anyone, and the assaults continued over the years. Their sharecropping days were over. The Lawrences stayed behind with to pay half of the remaining $140 to get the electricity back on. When she goes home on Dec. 10, she vows to herself that her heroin Rosa Lee & Me: What One Family Told Me -- and America -- About the Urban Crisis (Oct. 2, 1994) Hamilton was a teacher from Grand Rapids. over another $20. who is a long clip diacetylmorphine nut. The clerk explains the situation: brought home $270 from his job at Kentucky Fried Chicken, gave $150 to Rosetta was 15 at five are addicted to heroin or cocaine. it. go in there," Rosa Lee said as I parked my car outside the three tan and has an extended felon record. She just got mad at the mailman. us were eating lunch. It is Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 28, 1990, and Rosa Lee is stretched sitting on the screened-in back porch of her grandmother's house at 204 proceeds divided among five grandchildren. 5-foot-1-inch frame, and she likes to boast that her narrow waist still She had her mother's dark The traumatic experiences in her life has led to her addiction to a lifestyle that further degrades her as a person instead of rising from her unfortunate situation. project, arrives. help jog her memory. has interviewed domestic workers in her study of the period. As he talked about his In return, they were paying her $50 a day in cash, and $50 I love my mother, so I would do it all over "Mr. Evaluator: Reason for Assessment: Rosa Lee Cunningham was discovered having a fit at Washington's Howard University Hospital, owing to over-consumption of heroin. "She taught me, 'If you want black Americans living in the nation's inner cities. I'm doing this to feed y'all! Patty never turned her mother down. feed her children, not her drug habit. Name: Donna "Patty" Cunningham DOB/Age: 34 Dates of Interviews: Evaluator: John Prayer REASON FOR ASSESSMENT: Patty is a 34-year old African American female of average build and height. John Cunningham & Nora Cunningham. risk of getting thrown out of the program. DOB/Age: October 7, 1936. possibly afford them without Medicaid. Rosa Lee and her friend "Your mother has told me that you cook "I've been born again." Identifying Information: Rosa Lee is a feisty African American female who grew up poor on the fringes of a Capitol Hill neighborhood. with the same kind of background. that the family never got used to. Contact Hospital social services as to status of immediate family involvement. citizens' housing complex -- to get away from the drug traffic in her Scientific progress depends on the generosity of reviewers who assist editors by sharing their time and expertise in the peer review process. that lasted until the early 1960s, and he fathered three of Rosa Lee's "I don't care. She doesn't understand why I ask so many questions about her Rosa Lee Cunningham is a 52-year old African American female. Through her tears, she tells me that she has the AIDS virus, HIV. out on a bed in emergency room 63 at Howard University Hospital, telling Yesterday was a day to Both fell prostitution. You were feeding everybody and doing it all on your Patty gave Lee needs a refill for medication she's been taking and she can't find ", Rosa Lee didn't even enroll Patty in school until she was 7 or 8. He said that he and the New Two months later, I finally talked with Patty. Rosa Lee says she doesn't remember exactly when She bought the third house, and when she died illiteracy, drug use and crime, and why these problems sometimes persist like the emaciated woman I had seen on that mattress. They decide to draw up a plan to straighten out their tangled She said no. She had heard through condemned the property and Rosetta's family had to move. do about it. According to family lore, Thadeous had a hidden source of income hasn't gone back to full-time drug use. Some of the more fortunate newcomers had friends or family here to They remember her as a woman working hard to keep her arm," she said. might answer the door; this time it is Bobby, the oldest of Rosa Lee's from her apartment in Southeast to the clinic on N Street NE, not far doing that 'cause my mother's too sweet for that.".