Posted on 10/31/2015 8:12:06 PM PDT by Kaslin
Remember the “Hero Mom of Baltimore” who smacked down her son on the evening news and dragged him out of the Baltimore Riots? (Ed had the video of the interview with her and some early observations on how this wasn’t going to be a panacea for all of society.) It’s been six months since all of that madness unfolded and the Washington Post got to wondering what ever happened to the lady. She seemed to be all over the cable dial for a short while after her fifteen seconds of fame, but then… nothing. She was supposed to be in line for all sorts of media opportunities and I recall talk about her writing a book. What happened?
Well, as it turns out, she got herself a promoter who didn’t really deliver on any of her promises and she’s pretty much back where she started.
People told her she was going to be a star. They told her she was going to get a job. She was going to anchor a reality TV show. She was going to write a book. She was going to meet Michelle Obama. And Graham believed it. Her life of struggle was over. She was Baltimore's Mom.
Graham now sits alone at the wheel of a Ford van. She just dropped off 12 addicts at a treatment center on Broadway. She feels unmoored. So much has happened in her life, but so little has changed. She still can’t pay her bills. She still can’t escape the circumstances into which she was born…
Then, just as quickly as they started, the calls stopped as the national focus swiveled away from Baltimore. The media requests slowed to a trickle. The promised scholarships never materialized. None of the job offers Graham said she fielded led to employment. Under Armour and St. Joseph’s Hospital didn’t return requests for comment. A BET spokesperson said, “We do not have a relationship with her.â€
This was possibly one of the fastest rises and falls for a new media celebrity on record. Reading through the history at the WaPo it certainly did look for a little while like she had landed a hot ticket out of the poverty and violence of the place where she grew up. An online funding campaign raised a little over $10K for her and Oprah herself wrote her a check for $15K. She paid off all of her debts and got a car. As noted above, she had three different outfits tell her that job offers were on the way.
But none of that happened. It’s unclear why she didn’t get any of those jobs or a book deal. And as most of you who live in the real world probably know, a sudden infusion of $25K is a really nice thing but it doesn’t suddenly put you on easy street. Today Ms. Graham says she once again has eviction notices on her apartment and her van driving job doesn’t pay much. She’s pretty much back where she was when the world discovered and then forgot about her. That “publicist” who contacted her hasn’t landed her much beyond a couple of paid interviews with cable TV shows.
I kept coming back to this story all week because Toya Graham might be more of a cautionary tale than a cultural icon. It’s clearly admirable that she ran out there and tried to pull her son out of trouble, but as the original reporting indicated, a large segment of the rioters came “straight out of the local high school” which emptied as the riots began. There’s temptation all around her son and it’s probably not easy to keep any kid on the straight and narrow under those circumstances. But when the smoke cleared, what did we expect would happen to Toya? Was there really any reason that she would suddenly be the host of her own television show or a successful author? It’s possible, but in the end success comes to those who court it… assuming it ever comes at all. I suppose there was a possibility that an avenue of opportunity existed for her but it was never going to be easy. And in the end it didn’t happen.
So now she’s back to a part time job driving addicts to and from social services appointments and falling further into poverty. There is, surprisingly, little mention made of how her son is doing. I suppose my point here is that we probably shouldn’t be all that surprised. Toya Graham became an internet sensation for a few weeks but nothing developed which was going to sustain that fame. That’s harsh, but it’s probably also just reality, and by that I don’t mean reality TV.
For a trip down memory lane, here’s Graham’s interview on CBS back when it all happened.
I think she is in a re education camp
Are we supposed to feel sorry for her? I don’t get it.
>She still can’t escape the circumstances into which she was born…
Get over it. Those not busy being born are busy dying.
Trump should seek her out, figure how to restructure things to help and git ‘er done.
Winfrey could write a $100k check and not feel it.
The hypocrisy of the oh so concerned Black celebrity....
Unfortunately the mainstream media would rather see her continue to struggle as it better fits their narrative that all black people are oppressed by rich, heterosexual, white American males - the source of all evil in this world.
Too bad that the black community didn’t take this hero mom under their wing, like they did Rachel Jantel (or whatever that young lady’s name was).
You’re right. Somebody needs to get this to Trump. It’s a solid example of liberal hypocrisy.
You think the media would make a hero out of a woman trying to raise her son off the streets? She doesnt fit the agenda and therefor is a nobody. But she did the right thing and can forever know that and be proud of what she did.
The woman is a hero in my book.
My gut reaction is that many if not all employers who made job offers to this woman were contacted by some source that did not want her to succeed, or serve as an example of escaping poverty. I know it sounds paranoid, but with the O-Gang, and sleazy Al Sharpton poverty pimps clustered in Baltimore, some of that deep suspicion is well warranted.
I find it very strange that ALL of the offers were either no good or revoked.
In fact, I don’t believe that.
... white *Christian* males ...
It happens all the time, that people are famous for a short period of time, and then forgotten. It is the phenomenon that we call “15 minutes of fame.”
"They" know how to manipulate the psyche and pretty much disarm and neuter a person without actually sending you somewhere
Look at TV ... how do you suppose America accepts queers like it does ?
Why should she???
There’s just no “there” there. From the very moment the footage was televised and ensuing short-lived popularity, I never imagined her having her own talk show, writing a gripping account of her life in the ‘hood, or becoming the next African-American icon. She had her 15 minutes of fame, then flamed. She just wasn’t up to taking the ball and running with it. Opportunity knocked, but she didn’t answer.
Single mother with 6 kids? All the same father? Widow? Did he run off and leave her hanging?
If so I have sympathy but I don't think that's the case.
Plus no job skills and a record.
I see a pattern...
Yes, but the powers that be in that community have been pimping the 'victim' message for a long time. If this woman actually is given a solid opportunity to do something about her economic situation, and succeeds in succeeding, well, that runs contrary to the whole carefully built victim shtick.
Why, that would undermine the future of race-pimping and demands for 'reparations', and undercut an entire industry.
Can't have that, now, can they?
Not even for a mom who tried (conspicuously) to keep her boy out of trouble.
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