No Kid Hungry Staff Share Their Stories for Black History Month

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As part of our celebration of Black History Month in February, we shared stories from some of the No Kid Hungry campaign’s Black staff members about their own experiences with childhood hunger and why the work of feeding kids matters to them.

 

Ervin Bishop in middle school

Ervin Bishop, Federal Advocacy Manager

I often reminisce about what I describe as my “humble beginnings”. My childhood was no different than most. I grew up in a single-parent household in Baltimore, with two siblings (my “ride or die,” as we affectionately refer to one another) and a loving mother – for whom I’m most grateful.

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A young couple next to an older woman and a man

Elliott Gaskins, Managing Director of Development

The first person I ever laid my eyes on was a Black woman.
At the age of 22, my mother gave birth to me and - despite extraordinary hardship and pain - raised my sister, brother and me to be successful adults. But it didn’t start there – it was my grandmother, Thelma Reid, who was our revered matriarch. The most compassionate woman I’ve ever known, Grandma helped to cultivate the greatest thing you can give to a child – belief in yourself.

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Robert Simmons

Robert Simmons, Managing Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

On a fall day in 1997 I walked into a classroom with 25 Black children from the same neighborhood in Detroit that gave me life and taught me lessons.
I learned to play the dozens in my neighborhood. I learned to play four-square in my neighborhood. I learned to play Spades in my neighborhood. But more importantly I learned the meaning of community in my neighborhood.

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School students old picture. Just one black kid

Pamela Taylor, SVP & Chief Communications & Marketing Officer

In my school, there were four black people – me, my brother, Kevin, my friend, Buffy, and one black teacher, Ms. Roundtree. Every February, we would observe Black History Month, and it was consistent. Once a week, there would be a different lesson - slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, a famous Black person, and the last week of the month the Black History Month program.

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