In this installment of the RAMA Blueprints eXtra, we listened to the family origins and the San Francisco roots of Real Alternatives Program founder Jim Queen in his own words.

Listen to these eXtras to get a deeper understanding of the RAMA Blueprints podcast. You can listen to Roots of RAP (part 1): EMUNYO how Jim Queen began his youth empowerment work and his RAP principles and philosophy that he developed for the Real Alternatives Program.

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RAMA Ep05 Promo

In this installment of the Rama Blueprints Extra, we listened to the

family Origins and the San Francisco roots of Real Alternatives Program

founder Jim Queen in his own words.

My background is that in growing up in Maryland, I come from

a group of people called Wesorts.

Wesorts are people that are black and white mixture, but they

don't consider themselves black.

Don't consider themselves white.

My father got outta the service.

My mom decided she wanted to to pass for white.

We could pass for white.

So that's how I moved from where I lived was like a little farm I lived on.

My dad was in a service to Tacoma Park, Maryland, where we passed for white.

So I couldn't talk about my family out there.

You know, we go visit them, but I couldn't say that that was always

what was hysterical was when the garbage man came, other people

came, "they passing , they passing."

Right?

And so my whole experience there was a real confusion about that.

And up through high school then, you know, I have a girlfriend.

I couldn't say who I was, you know?

Right, right.

You got leprosy.

What's, what's going on?

So I couldn't say that.

So it really made me really distraught, confused, and almost suicidal, you know?

Right.

You know, I was a real good student at the beginning, you know?

Right.

I was president of my class all the time, you know?

Growing up.

Then by the time I got to high school, then that's when I

began to get totally bombed out.

I started being as smart ass.

Walked across the desk.

Just acted out, right?

And so finally in 11th grade I dropped out.

After I dropped out of high school and I started just getting

a job, got a job doing roofing construction and other stuff.

Then I started to get into service and my parents were gonna

sign for me to get in at 17.

So I do that.

Then one day in comes these two people, two white guys come to the house.

I say, Well, we see a discrepancy here.

Cause on my birth certificate it says, colored said, We don't understand.

So my mom says, "There's something wrong!"

You know, she gets all indignant.

So that squashed it from me going into service two years later.

That's how I went back and got in.

When I went initially went to the service, I came out and

said I was, you know, mixed and.

And it was felt such a relief.

Now, if I go back to Maryland, my mom and dad were still passing.

I can't go back and dh-da, you know, you know, be who I want

to be or who I am, you know?

Right.

And so I decided, well, you know, I'll just live out here.

Stand out here.

So I came to San Francisco.

That's why, that's what my ultimate reason for coming for San Francisco.

I was born in Maryland.

Lived in Maryland until I was about 19 years old.

Then I joined the Navy, became a medic in the Navy, got sent to Camp Lejune,

North Carolina at a hospital in Camp Lejune, North Carolina from 1958 to 1960.

In 1960, they came through and said, if anybody wants to volunteer to

be a medic with the Marine Corps, cause the Navy and the Marine Corps

are like sister organizations.

And I said, "Okay."

So then they said, "Okay."

They sent me to Camp Pendleton, California, which is the

southern part of California.

And there I joined the first recon, which like Special Forces and became a medic

with Special Forces there for two years.

Spent six months in Okinawa.

I was very blessed, you know, cuz usually you get called to go

to Vietnam and I lucked out, did not get a call to go to Vietnam.

And I thank God for that.

But one of the things when I was in Camp Lejune, there was a young guy there

who kept raving about San Francisco.

He'd always say, "Well, you should go to San Francisco.

You'd love it."

And I remember that.

So I was in a Camp Pendleton one time and I decided to come to San Francisco

on leave, and I fell in love with it.

You know, the street cars, the pastel colors, you know, East

coast, everything's brick.

So I really fell in love with the city itself.

I stayed at there for about two weeks, and so that's how I decided I liked it a lot.

When I got out of the service, I decided to stay in California.

Moved to San Francisco, and that's how I started my roots in San Francisco.

Started City College, worked at the post office as a temporary at the post office.

Then I went to State College.

Then after I graduating State college, always had this dream

about working on freighters.

One of my buddies, Tommy Kim, which fits into this story, his father was an

engineer on ships and he said, There's a, But it's hard to get into a ship.

You gotta be, you have to be fixed, you have to have a union

card or you have to have some.

So the only way you can do it is somebody fixes it.

So they fixed it for me to get my, get my card.

So I started to ship out.

So I shipped out for a while and in 67 I came home.

And so I decided, well, let me cop a gig here in the city.

And so there was a counseling position open for the Mayor's Summer Youth Program.

So I became part of the Mayor's Summer Youth Program.

Started out as a counselor.

And the educational coordinator resigned.

They may be educational coordinator.

The coordinator with the overall thing became resigned and I

became the coordinator for the overall program and the Mission.

And I really liked the idea of working with young people.

First time I'd done that, it was very, very interesting.

I liked it a lot.

So that's how I became part of that.

Listen to these extras to get a deeper understanding of

the Rama Blueprints podcast.

You can listen to how Jim Queen began his youth empowerment

work and his RAP principles and philosophy that he developed for