Wes Moore Map by 2026Haylee Cheetham

Baltimore

9961187 — 2024-05-20 23:59:15 UTC

The Bronx

9961187 — 2024-05-20 23:59:25 UTC

"She told us it was safe, that in all the time she’d lived there as a kid, she had not once experienced crime or violence. But when we broke oʃ the interstate and started navigating the burned-out landscape of the Bronx, we could feel her energy shifting. Things had clearly changed"(38). This conveys the change in environment for Wes as he moves from Baltimore to the Bronx. It shows that this change from a bad and dangerous to a good and safe environment had a positive affect on Wes' life as he was able to do good things in his future.

Riverdale

9961187 — 2024-05-20 23:59:32 UTC

"I was becoming too "rich" for the kids from the neighborhood and too "poor" for the kids at school. I had forgotten how to act naturally, thinking way too much in each situation and getting tangled in the contradictions between my two worlds." (53-54) This quote shows the divide that Wes felt between his too lives in and outside of school. The image also shows this divide, showing the very proper private highschool (like Wes attended) and the torn up version (just like how Wes feels in the school). The left half of the image represents Wes's feelings of uncertainty and outlaw in his private school, and feels like he is less than the other kids, while the right side of the image shows how Wes's friends make him feel when he's at home in the Bronx.

Basketball Courts

9961187 — 2024-05-21 00:00:04 UTC

"We were all enclosed by the same fence, bumping into one another, fighting, celebrating. Showing one another our best and worst, revealing ourselves—even our cruelty and crimes—as if that fence had created a circle of trust. A brotherhood." (45) This quote shows that basketball is an escape for Wes, because he finds companionship in the people that he plays with. It shows how basketball binds them together, creating an inner circle of trust, and a place where Wes can go to escape all of his troubles at school and home.

Wes's Grandparents House

9961187 — 2024-05-21 00:00:51 UTC

"They made it very clear that Paulding Avenue was their home and their rules would apply. When the streetlights went on, we had to be back home. All chores had to be done before we even thought about going outside to play...These were not the Bronx rules, these were West Indian rules"(42). As Wes lived in his grandparents house, he was introduced into a new strict structure of living that allowed him to have a better foundation for his future. Although it wasn't by much, Wes' behavior did not significantly get better, there was improvements due to this new environment he was living in.

Valley Forge Military School

9961187 — 2024-05-21 00:01:15 UTC

"When it is time for you to leave this school, leave your job, or even leave this earth, you make sure you have worked hard to make it mattered you were ever here." (133) Valley Forge represents a turning point in Wes's life. Valley Forge allowed Wes to gain structure and discipline through his time with the military, and to change his perspective and trajectory of life. The academy led Wes to become a better person overall, and make his family proud with his newfound sense of life.

Jail

9961187 — 2024-05-21 00:01:19 UTC

"One of us is free. The other will spend every day until his death behind bars for an armed robbery that left a police officer and a father of five dead" (1) Jail for the other Wes Moore, because it shows the consequences for his choices he made throughout his life. It allows Wes to reflect on his actions leading up to the murder he committed, and take responsibility for his crimes.

Jobs Corp

9961187 — 2024-05-21 00:02:35 UTC

"He stayed at the Job Corps Center so he could provide a better life for his kids. He stayed for his mother, who sat home watching Tony continue moving in and out of the criminal justice system. He stayed at the Job Corps Center for himself." (144) The Job Corps Center shows a potential turning point in the other Wes Moore's life. Since Wes is given the opportunity to turn his life around for the better, it is a chance to break his never ending cycle of dealing drugs. Though it only provides him with some skill, it doesn't provide Wes with the complete turnaround he needed.

Northwood

9961187 — 2024-05-21 00:03:32 UTC

"Northwood was a paradise of neat houses with fastidiously maintained lawns. Black professionals constituted the bulk of the residents, many of them graduates of the universities that sat on its borders, Loyola College and Morgan State University. Mary felt safe and hopeful here"(29). This conveys that the environment they are living in allows them to have better hope for the future. Baltimore was not the best place to grow up for the Other Wes but this neighborhood gave hope to him and his family to have brighter lives and futures.

South Africa

9961187 — 2024-05-21 00:08:13 UTC

"This tall South African who now captured my attention wore his manhood as a sign of accomplishment, a badge of honor. His process was a journey taken with his peers, guided by his elders, and completed in a celebration. He was now a man. His community welcomed him." Wes's time in South Africa allowed him to experience personal growth, and it exposed him to a new world that was very different from what he experienced. It allowed Wes to have a new perspective on life, and further understand other peoples struggles in a new setting.

Mayor Schmokes Office

9961187 — 2024-05-21 00:15:54 UTC

"Those who brag about Baltimore often ignore these substandard areas. Yet these were the areas Mayor Schmoke knew would determine his legacy of success or failure."(159) Mayor Schmokes interaction with Wes plays an important role is Wes's life moving forward. His meeting with Schmoke provides him with a new oppurtunity with a scholarship, and it symbolizes Wes's recognition of his own hard work and acheievements he has made throughout the years.