Abstract

In this 2025 interview, Bishop Darnell Jennings discusses his upbringing and community environment that shaped his early life. He discusses his family and describes his calling to ministry beginning in childhood, and the mentors who guided his development as a pastor. Jennings explains his dual career in behavioral health and faith leadership. He reflects on the challenges and rewards of pastoring in East Cleveland, including housing decline, community need, and the collaborative work of local clergy.

Loading...

Media is loading
 

Interviewee

Jennings, Darnell (interviewee)

Interviewer

Mays, Nicholas S. (interviewer)

Project

East Cleveland

Date

9-23-2025

Document Type

Oral History

Duration

69 minutes

Transcript

Nick Mays [00:00:00] My name is Dr. Nicholas Mays and today is September 23rd, 2025. We are at Lakeside Bible Church in East Cleveland, Ohio. We are conducting an official oral history interview for the East Cleveland Oral History Project. I am honored to be joined by Bishop Jennings, pastor, community leader whose ministry and service has been rooted in the cities for years. [00:00:30] His story weaves together faith, family and community engagement. And today we’ll capture that for the historical record. [00:00:41] Mr. Bishop, thank you for being here. Can you start by giving us your full name and title, your age and date of birth?

Darnell Jennings [00:00:50] Absolutely. Bishop Darnell Jennings, senior pastor here at Lakeside Bible Church in East Cleveland, Ohio. Date of birth, […] 1982.

Nick Mays [00:01:02] Bishop, can you introduce us to your family?

Darnell Jennings [00:01:05] Sure. So my family is the Jennings family, of course. I’m the proud husband of my wife Andrea, and also proud dad of six. I have three boys, three girls. Oldest is 20 years old. Grandmother and grandparents actually grew up in this community or was in this community. I grew up here as well. [00:01:31] And so, you know, we’re just been long standing residents in East Cleveland for some time now.

Nick Mays [00:01:40] Thank you. Bishop Jennings. First, I want to begin just talking about your profession and your faith leadership. Can you first discuss your educational background, including college and trainings or other certificate programs?

Darnell Jennings [00:02:02] Yeah, absolutely. So graduated Cleveland Heights High School, went to college, did two years at Remington College where I got my Associates, and then continued my education. [00:02:14] At DeVry University and business Information Systems and then later it evolved into business technical management. My faith background education, I’ve studied. I’ve been pastoring now for 12 years, but also studied under leaders, great leaders in the city, and then also continue my education through different biblical. Different biblical, excuse me, educational institutions as well, including Berean Bible College and some other ones as well.

Nick Mays [00:02:49] Thank you for that, Bishop. Can you talk about your current professional work outside of ministry and how did you get into this work?

Darnell Jennings [00:02:57] Yeah, absolutely. So I currently am working as a behavioral health specialist and a case manager. And so that consists of me seeing clients with behavioral health diagnoses, anywhere from PTSD to anxiety. And so I’ve been doing that now for about four years. So I have a great opportunity to work with both adults and children as well. [00:03:22] My primary caseload consists of children, and I enjoy it because children are typically a little bit more impressionable and used to have opportunity to change their trajectory. And the reward in seeing children evolve through being engaged with them for me is very, very rewarding. I enjoy seeing that. But I do also see adults as well. [00:03:44] And I’m also. What’s called a chemical dependency counselor as well. So I see clients that may be dealing with chemical dependencies. And so we do counseling and provide counseling services for them to help them to navigate that dynamic as well.

Nick Mays [00:04:01] Without stating the names of the school, what districts do you work with?

Darnell Jennings [00:04:09] I’m in the Cleveland area, primarily in the Cleveland area, but I also have some clients that are in some of the local suburbs as well. I do have some clients in the East Cleveland area, Cleveland Heights area. Of course, I enjoy being able to see clients in East Cleveland because, you know, this is an area we grew up in.

Nick Mays [00:04:30] How long have you been in ministry and what brought you to this congregation specifically? Lakeside Bible Church?

Darnell Jennings [00:04:39] Yeah, so I’ve been in ministry for 25 years now, and specifically I’ve been pastoring for 12. Oddly and strangely enough, since my grandmother have lived in East Cleveland for over 30 years. After I had started pastoring, I had an opportunity to come over and was introduced to the congregation to speak at Lakeside Bible Church by one of the mothers at the church in the person of Mother Hopper. [00:05:07] She and my grandmother are best friends. And so one strangely one week, she just randomly reached out to me and, well, I won’t say strangely, but by divine assignment, she reached out to me and asked me to come and speak at the church during Mother’s Day. And I said, well, you want me as a father to come speak at the church on Mother’s Day? [00:05:31] She said, yes, yes, I believe you’re going to do great. So I took the opportunity that turned into back to back years, speaking on Mother’s Day at the congregation. And of course, my grandmother was super happy. And from there I got real close with the pastor at the time who was pastoring. And this all began to happen a little before COVID and found out later that the pastor had caught ill and wasn’t doing well. [00:05:58] And he later ended up passing and by me getting acquainted with a lot of the members in the church, I was considered to become one of the potential candidates that could become the successor of the church. And I became one of seven candidates. And then that ended up turning into, you know, some months of interviewing and coming and speaking and having an opportunity to work with the congregation. [00:06:22] And they selected me as the one out of the seven candidates to become the pastor here and a successor of Pastor Stevenson.

Nick Mays [00:06:28] Well, congratulations.

Darnell Jennings [00:06:30] Thank you.

Nick Mays [00:06:33] Moving on. When did you first feel called to serve the Lord, and how did that journey unfold for you?

Darnell Jennings [00:06:42] Yeah, so that’s a great question. So I first knew I was called to ministry and felt the Call of ministry. When I was a kid, actually somewhere, probably about 11, 12 years old, my grandmother, she took me to church. And when she took me to church at the time in the area we were then in, the pastor randomly called me in the middle of service up, and he began to share with me what was on his heart that he saw a call in my life. [00:07:11] And of course, at that time, being so young, it was exciting, but I didn’t really know what all that entailed. And so from there, after attending that church with my grandmother at that time, I later continued to kind of lean in to find out, like, hey, let’s see what this really is about. [00:07:30] But I’m so young, I didn’t really know. But I ended up having a dream that confirmed the things that the pastor has shared with me at that time. And after that pastor ended up passing away, I ended up changing congregations. And at that second church I end up attending, the same prophecy, if you will, was spoken to me from a whole separate person. [00:07:55] And that really caught my attention. And so I began to, you know, really take it serious and started to, like, lean in and really began to try to figure out, like, okay, so what does this mean? You know, how would that apply to me? And I really, really leaned in when I. When I was about 19 years old, and that’s when I committed myself to the ministry, committed myself to the Lord. [00:08:20] And the sky’s been the limit ever since. I mean, at that point, I’ve just really began to really, really dig into my ministry and my call in my life.

Nick Mays [00:08:29] What does that process call for? When one says, I want to be a minister, I want to be a pastor? What’s the process? Is there a school you have to go to? Is there classes you have to take? What’s that? Walk me through that process.

Darnell Jennings [00:08:44] Yeah, so that’s a great question. So first you should know that you actually called from God. So that that requires having a personal opportunity to pray and hear from the Lord that you really called. Because some people call themselves and the Lord hasn’t called them to ministry as far as preaching. So I believe you know, and would say, first you should. [00:09:04] You should hear the call from God yourself. The process then looks like, obviously, you know, there should be some education. You have to. Nothing in, nothing out. So you can’t. You can’t preach something that you don’t have in you. So it requires personal study, it requires personal prayer, dedicating yourself to become a disciple or follow, which means a follower of Christ. [00:09:27] And then I believe education is super, super important because I believe, you know, studying, which also is interwoven into education, is a homiletical act. So the confidence that’s born of study releases the powers of communication. It gives you the ability to communicate better. So you should continue your education with some schooling. Now, that doesn’t always mean that an individual has to go and get a doctorate degree or even a master’s degree. [00:09:58] You should just stay a student, a constant student. And so they have programs and certificate programs as well, through different Bible institutions that you can continue your education from there. And then, of course, just staying a student, regardless, having a personal study life, because it should become a lifestyle, shouldn’t just be something that you occasionally do, but it actually should be a part of life or a way of life and a lifestyle that you live out.

Nick Mays [00:10:26] Thank you for that, Bishop Who were the staying on this topic. Were there early mentors or pivotal moments that confirmed your calling?

Darnell Jennings [00:10:49] Absolutely. Another great question. So again, my very first pastor who passed away first, he was pivotal because he’s the one that actually, I believe God used to to expose me to the fact that there was a calling on my life before I even knew what a calling on my life was for real. [00:11:08] But then from there, there was also another individual who was actually the mom of my really good childhood friend. She really also stayed on top of me as a teenager when I was curious and, you know, exploring and just out, you know, misbehaving the typical juvenile behavior that we’ve all had at some point or another. [00:11:31] She was one voice of reason during time to continue to speak life into me and let me know that, you know, you’re better than this and you have a call, so you can’t afford to waste time. But the person who really, really, really was pivotal and also actually was very, very instrumental in me actually moving forward in ministry was, I say, the early pastor, Donnell L. [00:11:56] Lifford, who was the senior pastor at the church that I came out of before I started pastoring. And at that time of my life, as an early adult at the age of 19, I had really, really found myself going through what I would say is a defining moment. And he was a great example as a spiritual father, a mentor, but also he was a great example as a natural father as well. [00:12:23] So he really was huge with helping to mentor me, to begin to help groom me in ministry, teaching me what ministry really was all about. And so I served up under him for about three years before he ended up passing away from a rare disease. And then from there, I Got my grounding in ministry and that helped to catapult me forward in my ministry to move forward. [00:12:48] But he was definitely huge.

Nick Mays [00:12:50] Is there a commission or organization that confirms pastors and bishops that creates the process that makes it an official? Yeah, I don’t know how to articulate it.

Darnell Jennings [00:13:06] That affirms you in that call or that office that you may operate in? Absolutely. So there’s different organizations, Christian based organizations that have leadership within those organizations that serve in multiple ways, but primarily to your question, yes, there’s those who are in positions of authority that would affirm individuals in their calling. [00:13:33] So yes, sir, I see.

Nick Mays [00:13:34] Thank you. I’m interested in being a longtime resident, born and raised in East Cleveland. Did you aspire to be a minister or to be a pastor in East Cleveland?

Darnell Jennings [00:13:55] No, I actually didn’t. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t. Not fully. I did want to contribute back in some way within the community, but I felt as early on, I felt that we had good leadership representation at the time in East Cleveland. So when I first started pastoring, I was just so focused on answering the call that I was willing though, to go wherever the Lord would have for me to go. [00:14:23] But East Cleveland wasn’t at the top of my list, honestly, because it already had good leadership when I first started pastoring. But as time began to progress in ministry and I began to see that East Cleveland was going through a transition, I had a strong passion to be able to come back and contribute within the city. [00:14:43] So the timing of me being considered to become a successor of the church in East Cleveland was perfect. Because at that time, community outreach, community investment, redevelopment, all of the things that East Cleveland is going through now and the needs that East Cleveland have were passions of mine. So it’s been a joy being able to pastor and serve in the community.

Nick Mays [00:15:07] Take us to the day you got the call. You’re the chosen one. You were one chosen out of all the seven candidates, right?

Darnell Jennings [00:15:15] Yes.

Nick Mays [00:15:16] Take us, take us back to that day. How did it feel?

Darnell Jennings [00:15:21] So I had an abundance of emotions, if I’m being honest. I was excited, I had nervous energy, I had joy, I had healthy concern because [00:15:37] I hadn’t had an opportunity to really dig into the history of where the church was at that point. But then at the same time, I had a peace come over me because it came at the heels, on heels rather of COVID When I went, when I actually got selected, people were beginning to go back out in the community and engage and interact. [00:16:01] So I had that wave of emotions as well. But then I also had concern, and I said healthy concern, because I also was wondering, well, what is church going to look like now? Because again, it was coming on the end of COVID so people hadn’t really gathered together in settings as a congregation, as traditionally we all have been accustomed to doing so. [00:16:27] So a lot of churches were online, but however, Lakeside still gathered throughout Covid. They only shut down one Sunday, and that was because of weather. So during that time, I just was just wondering, I have a congregation. I don’t know who’s still members because people have been at home. And so that was just. [00:16:50] That was. All those thoughts were going through my mind. Nonetheless, I had peace because I knew without a shadow of a doubt I was being planted where God wanted me to be and where I also desired to be. So after going through all of those emotions, I finally had found some peace and solace in knowing that it’s time to continue to go to work. [00:17:11] And now you have an opportunity to give back. In your community, where you grew up at.

Nick Mays [00:17:15] What has been the most. Since taking office, what has been the most challenging about pastoring in East Cleveland today?

Darnell Jennings [00:17:26] The most challenging is that you can’t do everything in one day. And so that’s a challenge for me because I see the potential that the city has to. [00:17:41] I’ll use the term, continue to thrive. I also know that there’s a lot of transition that’s going through this city at this time as well. And then, of course, you see people. At the end of the day, we do all that we do for the people. We serve the people. And so in serving God, we serve the people. [00:18:05] And so that’s been a challenge that I can’t do everything in one day because I see the needs of the people, I see the needs of the community, and I only can do but so much at one time. And so just having that patience to work at where the priorities are, see those come to fruition, and then move to the next task. [00:18:25] That’s been the biggest challenge for me.

Nick Mays [00:18:28] What were some of the challenges in a general way?

Darnell Jennings [00:18:33] Yeah, so. Well, one. [00:18:36] We have different challenges in the community, but one of the main challenges has been there’s been housing issues within the city and the community. A lot of people over the last 10 years have either passed on or maybe perhaps lost homes in the city. And so those homes set and those homes began to deteriorate during that time. [00:19:01] They weren’t kept up. So with that being said, we know that those were voids within the community which brought in unnecessary attention at the time as well. And so we’ve been been wanting to make sure that we bring about a sense of security for the residents in the city. So not just physical security, but home security. [00:19:23] And then in addition to that, what also has happened consequently is, you know, there’s businesses that have since left the community as well because of the transition of the city. So those are just some of the challenges that we’ve had to deal with. Because again, if you have parishioners that are actually residents in this city, you know, they’re not just worried about their spiritual well being, they’re also worried and concerned about their natural security as well and stability. [00:19:56] What has been rewarding. [00:19:59] Actually seeing success, seeing success manifest, seeing people lives change, seeing the joy come back to people, seeing the city taking great strides in the right direction, seeing willing partners with the work as well, coming aboard, seeing other pastors that’s been planted in the city longer than myself, even working together to band together as a community. [00:20:28] The way that a community’s supposed to be. A community is supposed to consist of people working together and looking out for the welfare and well being of one another. And I actually have seen that. And we’re supportive of not just one another as pastors, but we also support each other’s congregations, which consists of the people that’s in the congregation as well. [00:20:47] And that’s been a breath of fresh air because you don’t want to feel like you’re the only one that’s pulling in a good direction.

Nick Mays [00:20:57] In talking about the changes and development and things that are happening now in the community. What’s the role of the church in that? Sitting in your office, what’s your role?

Darnell Jennings [00:21:17] Well, my role is to work, of course, with the residents of East Cleveland as moral support, identifying what are the concerns of the people sometimes. And I’ve come to realize, especially since pastoring now, the community come to the church first. A lot of times they come to the church. The church is almost like become the parents, you know, if you will. [00:21:46] When we were younger, all of us who have had the fortune of having parents growing up in a home where you have both or definitely one stable parent in a home. [00:21:57] If the school didn’t go well, you went to your parent. You know, if your stomach hurt, you go to your parent. You know, if you haven’t challenged with homework, you go to the parent. So the parent become the answer all. And so the church pretty much serves as the same way as a pillar in the community. [00:22:16] So the work with the residents because the residents come Right to the church to express their political concerns, their community concerns, their personal concerns, and so being an outlet, being a sounding board for the residents, and then also working with our elected officials to be that lifeline to them, too, as well. Because sometimes our elected officials are trying to affect change in the community, but everything isn’t on them. [00:22:50] Sometimes. Sometimes the people they have to answer to have them at a standstill. So being able to serve as a liaison between those elected officials and our residents is also our roles, and then also making sure that at the same time that we. We help to keep the peace and serve as mediators between the residents, our elected officials, and also within the community as well.

Nick Mays [00:23:16] How have you been able to evolve or stabilize the church since you’ve been here.

Darnell Jennings [00:23:20] Lakeside specifically? I’ve been able to. And with the help of leadership that has supported me tremendously as well, we’ve been able to overcome the COVID deficit, you know, that everybody experienced. We’ve been able to steady the ship during this time. We’ve also been able to help to make sure that your church continues to thrive. [00:23:49] And what I’m saying is that coming out of COVID church is not the same as it used to be. The way of doing church, I’ll say it’s not the same way. So I often say that the message remains the same, but the methods sometimes has to change. And so we’ve been able to bring the church to a place to where one, we help them to heal. [00:24:14] Because quite naturally, when you have a leader that you’ve been used to working with so many years, if they pass on, there’s a grieving stage that the church had to go through as well. So we wanted to make sure that we grieved appropriately, gave the members an opportunity to heal, and then at the same time say, hey, guys, we got to keep going. [00:24:35] So we’ve been able to bring the church to a good place during that time, and that’s just a few of many things that we’ve been blessed to do.

Nick Mays [00:24:44] Thank you, Bishop. Just pivoting on to the next topic. Can you share your. I want to talk about your family roots and upbringing in East Cleveland.

Darnell Jennings [00:24:56] Sure.

Nick Mays [00:24:57] Let’s begin with maybe sharing your family’s journey to East Cleveland, especially your parents and grandparents.

Darnell Jennings [00:25:07] Yeah. So my grandparents who initially lived in the Buckeye area of Cleveland, after my great grandmother passed away in 93, my grandmother, then her and my grandfather both began to consider moving out of the community in the house that we lived in at that time, obviously, because one, there was sentimental value there. But there was also a lot of memories, years of memories that they felt like it was best to continue to move forward from there and not remain in that space. [00:25:43] Which then led us to the East Cleveland area. So my grandparents then found a home that they currently stay in now in this area in East Cleveland off of Euclid Avenue. And so we moved to this community. At that time, my parents had decided that they were also going to begin to relocate from where they were as well. [00:26:08] And ironically enough, they end up finding a home that we began to rent and stay in the East Cleveland area as well. So both my grandparents and my parents decided to plant in East Cleveland. And so that’s how we ended up in East Cleveland. And I began to attend the high school in East Cleveland, because by that time I was in high school. [00:26:32] And so. And then we began to matriculate from there.

Nick Mays [00:26:36] We’ll get to that. But real quick, where is your ancestors from? The South?

Darnell Jennings [00:26:45] Yeah, from Tennessee. So they initially came to the Cleveland area from Tennessee. The majority of them was from Tennessee. And then we also had some family that was in Gary, Indiana as well. But my great great grandmother and grandmother, they all were from the Tennessee area.

Nick Mays [00:27:09] What did your parents or grandparents do for a living?

Darnell Jennings [00:27:13] Yeah, so my grandparents. My grandmother, she worked at University Hospitals. She worked and lived there and worked there rather. Excuse me, for many years. That’s where she actually retired from University Hospitals. And my great grandmother had retired when she came up from Tennessee. Before she came from Tennessee, she actually was picking cotton down there. [00:27:39] And once she moved up here, my grandfather began to continue to work. He was in the military. And then once he retired from the military, he took care of her. So my great grandmother didn’t actually work once she got to Cleveland, but my grandmother did. She worked at University Hospital before we.

Nick Mays [00:28:01] I want to. I want to talk a little bit about growing up in East Cleveland. And I know you. Your parents moved in East Cleveland when you were in. In high school already, but your grandmother had already lived in East Cleveland.

Darnell Jennings [00:28:13] Yes.

Nick Mays [00:28:14] Can you talk about whether it’s just the weekends or summer vacation or, you know, summer. In the summer. Can you talk about, you know, coming up or being in East Cleveland during those early years?

Darnell Jennings [00:28:26] Yeah, absolutely. So we were over quite a bit because my grandmother, my grandfather, he later passed after we moved or after they moved to East Cleveland. So my grandmother was then at home by herself. And my aunt actually decided to. Cause her home is pretty big. It’s a big house to be in by yourself. [00:28:47] So my Aunt decided to move in and my aunt has two kids. So my cousins, both male and female, they lived with my aunt obviously and my grandmother. So that cousin, the male cousin and I are real close. So consequently I would be over quite a bit, especially during the summer and coming up in East Cleveland at that time, being in elementary, middle school was fun. [00:29:16] East Cleveland had definitely a good school district at the time. And then it also had a lot to offer in the community. And that was very, very fun and rewarding to see. Actually being able to come to the community and seeing black owned businesses was great. And then also just being able to see families, you know, as a whole and stable, happy, enjoying themselves was very rewarding. [00:29:46] So we would hang out in the community, we would go to the store as typical kids, get candy and snacks and go to the parks and be able to just have fun, you know, things that kids supposed to be able to do in a safe environment. And that’s some of my fondest memories I have as a younger kid at the time. [00:30:05] Coming up in East Cleveland.

Nick Mays [00:30:07] In general, how would you describe yourself or how would someone describe yourself, describe you during your childhood years, elementary school or junior High, before high school. [00:30:24] As quite, but yet Energetic. You know, I was quiet. I spent time, a lot of time by myself when I would be in the house during those years. And surprisingly enough, I actually used to spend a lot of time in my room when I was in a house playing with my toys alone. But then probably by the time I got to like the sixth grade, I would say I was definitely more energetic and outgoing when I did go out. [00:30:49] I enjoyed interacting with friends, I enjoyed playing sports. So they’ll definitely tell you he was playing football, he was playing basketball, didn’t do too much baseball, and obviously I never did any soccer. But I was definitely energetic but quiet at times as well. I was probably a blended version of, of an introvert and extrovert.

Nick Mays [00:31:13] Okay, so, so now you’re in high school, you’re. This is when your, your parents officially move to East Cleveland. So now you are an official East Cleveland resident. Not that you weren’t before because sure, your family and grandparents were here and you were often here. So what is high school years like? What do you do for leisure, fun? What’s. What are you like in school?

Darnell Jennings [00:31:38] Yeah, so East Cleveland at that time again was still a thriving community. So by the time we got in and I got to the high school, I still was energetic, fun, outgoing more by high school, I definitely was more outgoing by then. My favorite things at the time to do in East Cleveland and as a whole was to go to the parks. [00:32:05] There was always things to do at the parks. If we wasn’t playing basketball, we were playing with one another, wrestling. You know, at the time, everyone thought that they were, you know, one of their superheroes from wrestling, you know, at that time. So we would wrestle, but we did a lot of sports. [00:32:24] We were outdoors a lot, playing sports, hangout, departure, you know, go over a friend’s house, play video games. Of course, that was huge during high school years as well. But it was fun. It was just really, really, really fun. And East Cleveland always has something going on within the community, the teenagers or even in the elementary that kids can do and being able to go around and get everything you need within your city. [00:32:54] Even though East Cleveland is small in comparison to other cities, East Cleveland had everything that you needed from sports, recreation centers, grocery stores, clothing stores. I mean, it was almost a one stop shop in East Cleveland. So as a kid coming up, it was the perfect place to be, you know, because you can always get what you need right within your community and not have to go far for anything.

Nick Mays [00:33:18] Can you, can you contrast. Oh, first, what year did you graduate high school?

Darnell Jennings [00:33:23] 2000.

Nick Mays [00:33:23] Okay, so you graduated in 2000. So you were first a freshman, I don’t know, 96 or something.

Darnell Jennings [00:33:31] 96, yes, sir. Freshman.

Nick Mays [00:33:33] Can you contrast East Cleveland today from your high school years in terms of infrastructure, homes or businesses or lack thereof? Can you recall that?

Darnell Jennings [00:33:49] Yeah. So, you know, in 96, you know, as opposed to 2025, some of the biggest differences that, you know, we have now is that there’s not as many businesses in the city. The main businesses now are more like gas stations, you know, a few, a few convenience stores. But as a whole, there’s not as many residents currently as it was in 96. [00:34:25] That’s in the city of East Cleveland as well. And I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that there’s new development that’s going on because again, people have either retired and since moved out to Florida somewhere or, you know, somewhere else just as a whole. But you know, a lot of the people that when I was younger growing up there were homeowners have since moved on. [00:34:49] And if they haven’t passed, they definitely moved out of this city. They probably sold their homes and just moved out of the city. The educational, the schools, there’s more schools, you know, I personally believe now than it was then. You had two main schools at that time, elementary wise, and now there’s a couple other school options. [00:35:14] Even some charter schools have since moved into the East Cleveland area. But there was just more community. It was more close knit in the 90s, the late 90s and the early 2000s. Now. [00:35:33] It’S more up and coming now. I believe a lot of the generation that was that I grew up with moved on outside of East Cleveland as well once completing high school. And the exciting thing now is to see people that I grew up with and even perhaps people before my time or even after my time, deciding to come back to the city now and to help rebuild the city or help to repair some of the breaches within the city as well.

Nick Mays [00:36:03] Thank you. Staying along the same topic. Do you remember your first job in high school? Did you have a job in high school?

Darnell Jennings [00:36:11] I did actually, yeah. I worked at a restaurant. I washed dishes and I also, I later became. Began to bus tables, as they would say. It was at a, at an Italia restaurant called Geraci’s. And that was my first job. And it was great because as a high school kid, coming home with tips, not just waiting to get a check every two weeks, made me feel real good about myself being able to buy things throughout the week for myself, including clothing and things like that, because I did well with tips once I started busting tables. [00:36:48] But yeah, i

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Download

Share

COinS