If you’d like to read more about Khalid, click here to purchase an essay written by best-selling author Alex Kotlowitz.

Or read more about Khalid’s Mother Afaf’s experience on PBS/Frontline Website.

Today, July 7, 2012, marks the six-year anniversary of Khalid Mohammed’s death. On July 6, 2009, Jorge Pena, a member of a gang called the Maniac Latin Disciples, was found guilty of the murder of Khalid. I spent July 1 and 2, 2009 with Afaf Ahmed, Khalid’s mother, at the courthouse in Chicago to lend support in her time of need. Her strength serves as an inspiration during these difficult times and reminds me of what truly matters in life.

Khalid’s story reminds all of us what is at stake for many of the kids I served in Chicago and try to here in Cincinnati. He joined the circus in 2004 after emigrating to the U.S. from Sudan. His mother wanted him to flee the violence and eventual military service of his country and seek education and opportunity in the U.S. Afaf had worked for Legal Aid at the American University in Cairo.

As a recent refugee, Khalid wanted to fit in and fell under the peer pressure of street gangs. While spending two months in juvenile detention, Khalid’s probation officer discovered from Khalid’s school principal that his behavior was exemplary on Mondays and Wednesdays. On those days he would come to the circus, where he learned to juggle, ride the unicycle, walk on the rolling globe and, with help from the lead tutor Felicity Hessed, improve his English comprehension and acquisition.

As part of Khalid’s probation, he attended circus twice a week. He continued to work on his skills and was assigned various tasks such as peddling through Uptown on his unicycle to hang posters announcing the upcoming Annual Spring Circus. I also offered him a job as a teen apprentice, teaching with me at the Francis W. Parker School in hopes that the opportunity would give him the direction he needed. Despite my efforts, Khalid was drifting. His last day at the circus was spent passing juggling rings with his friend Mason in early June. On July 7, 2006, Khalid was shot and killed in an alley in Logan Square, Chicago.

On August 8, 2007, at 7:07 pm, my son, Lucas Khalid, was born on Khalid’s birthday. Khalid’s story, memory and family have remained an important part of my life. Helping kids like Khalid overcome obstacles and embrace opportunities has been my mission and vision. The world needs fewer kids on the streets and more kids in great schools, clubs, circuses and other positive arenas that encourage them to dream on. This idea has motivated my work, and I truly hope the spirit behind that work continues to thrive.~Paul

Our family continues to connect with Afaf; last summer we celebrated Lucas and Khalid at a concert in Millennium Park (below).

The following statement is taken from the website of the Charter for Compassion. Spread the love.

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

******

Earlier that day a vandal stole a bike from the parking lot (by the way, local artists – contact us about creating a circus bike rack on commission). The police were called and the bike was found a few hours later; it was stripped of the stickers, pegs and special items on it. The kid who stole it will go to juvenile detention.

A few days earlier in the week my doorbell rang at midnight. My local police had received a call from their Ludlow department reporting that a vandal used a pellet gun to shoot the back window out of my van, which had been parked in front of the circus. I headed out to clean up the glass and to remove the circus props, sound system and gym wheel.  The following morning we’d have our circus summer camp youth arrive, delivered by their parents in the likes of Porsches and Range Rovers (a busted up van isn’t quite what I want to display, especially for this clientele). Later that day, 30 kids were happily having a pie fight and a good hosing down in the same spot where the van had been parked.

We’ve also received a letter from the water district to check if we have a leak due to a higher than normal bill (last month we had no pie fights).  Actually the neighbors are dragging the hose to their yard…. Yes, people are even stealing our water.

Making a Difference

We work with kids from detention centers (not during the summer camp sessions). What I’m about to say isn’t politically correct, but I can honestly tell you, from experience, that these kids, who are great at shooting people and stealing cars, are perfect for the circus.

The summer of 2010 we had kids going AWOL from the Children’s Home of Northern KY (CHNK, for whom we’re currently offer programming) come down to summer camp. The usual protocol is to send a police car to pick up wards of the state. NO WAY – I convinced the kid to get in my van so that I could give him a ride instead. The last thing I want heard at a participant’s dinner table is “How was camp today honey?”… “Fun but a kid was taken away in a police car…”

Last summer in the middle of the day two kids from Ludlow came, throwing batteries at the buildings when they thought everyone was gone at lunch. I ran out and yelled, using my best tractor beam voice to get them to stop and come to me. It worked: they cowered and sat at a table as I gave them old circus programs (I showed them my picture from when I was with the Ringling Bros.) to review while we waited for the Ludlow Police. I had both boys clean the parking lot and gave them each summer camp registration forms. One of the boys came each week for the balance of the summer, and in the final show Renee Harris, Circus Mojo Operations Director, smiled as I announced in the show: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ralph (name changed for anonymity). Ralph is good at throwing stuff and now he can catch too!” The entire time, Ralph was juggling four balls and smirking.

That same summer the “other boy” broke into Ludlow High School and spray-painted the halls and broke many trophies. As a result, he went to juvenile detention.

These kids need to be engaged, challenged and rewarded. THESE are the OUTCOMES of the circus.

And You Can’t Just Blame the Kids

As for adults, we work hard to give opportunities for success… Gateway Community College has a ready-to-work program for people on public aid, which requires them to work 20 hours a week and go to school to receive aid. Circus Mojo has tried three young women in this project for cleaning and other admin duties… The first “hire” was no cost to Mojo; she was all talk and didn’t show up on day two. The second ”hire” was given a cell phone; I added a new number to my plan for $10 a month so we could be in contact. She lasted a week and then disappeared; she did at least return the cell phone.

The third “read-to-work hire” was great! She even brought her 3-year-old daughter to our Circus Silly Willy classes. She was working hard I had some big cleaning and equipment to move in the theatre and she asked if I could hire her boyfriend to help… We agreed on $8/hour. For two days they cased the place, then on Friday afternoon, when we had meetings with the Miami University Social Entrepreneurship Class, they stole my DeWalt tools: sawsall, drill, sander and the copper in the theatrical lighting cords for a heroin fix. I was able to work with the Ludlow Police to secure a confession and there is a judgment against them to replace the tools but I’m not holding my breath. 

We work hard to give chances but we also stick to certain rules. For example, if you drop out of school, you won’t work for us. We had an amazing 16-year-old acrobat who has been featured in many performances and attended the prestigious School of Creative & Performing Arts in Cincinnati, but who unfortunately quit school. We let him go.  You must be in school or have a GED and pass a mandatory drug test and background check.

I asked Renee Harris, Circus Mojo’s dynamic Operations Manager, to help one particular employee to get his driver’s license. His car had a cracked windshield and so it couldn’t be used to take the test, and his parents had been jerking him around. Renee was impressed with his ability behind the wheel. She casually asked, “How did you get to be such a good driver?” The young man didn’t bat an eye as he replied, “I used to steal cars.”

This individual was hired after he passed his GED and was released from probation. He learned about circus skills as vocational training at Hillcrest Juvenile Detention Center. We’re no longer offering this due to Hillcrest’s new private management company taking over  and lack of funding. He passed his driving test but failed a drug test and isn’t working with Circus Mojo.

When the System Works, It Works Very Well

Let me repeat: we are safe while working with our diverse student population. We hired six kids from Hillcrest to work with our CircAbility class for people in wheelchairs. Catholic Residential Services approved the staff prior to classes beginning since the Hillcrest youth had no sex offenses and I, Paul Miller, was in the room with them at all times. These youth helped teach circus to the disabled. A group that may have been made fun of by these young men now became their students and a new respect was established. I couldn’t have served the 18 disabled people in class without their help. This is not grant funded our clients pay for the class and we us the funds to hire staff who learn vocational skills in detention. There are market forces and employment opportunities of society that are often ignored.

We are not a non-profit. I’m working to shift perspectives. If we’re to solve the pending social security crisis we need to make taxpayers, not lock them up. Each of these people – from the young men from Hillcrest to the young women from Gateway – COST us all enormous amounts of money. The status quo is not sustainable!

Most of the kids in detention have earned significant dollars selling drugs or stealing cars…. Few of them have every paid taxes . One of the best parts of this job is giving young people a paycheck and explaining when they ask: “What is FICA and why did $10.40 go to to it?” Answer: you’re paying for your grandmother’s retirement check.
“What is Kenton County OLF and why did they get $1.76?” Answer: Thank you. You’re paying for the parks I play in with my kids, and you’re also paying for the jail here and the streets. “Why did Ludlow get $3.71?” Answer: You’re paying for our Police and Fire Departments and the great streetscape here in the city.

Despite the Vandalism, Business is Good!

We have great press, full summer camps and corporate events, and a solid staff in development. But in circus, we say that a trick is called a TRICK for a reason. It’s tricky.

The buildings that Circus Mojo uses now were abandoned three years ago. The city just sold us two more empty and abandoned buildings for $1. This will be the site for a training center to harness the potential in marginalized people as well as retiring circus performers. Creating jobs and wealth via the circus. This last month a Sudanese Refugee one of my former students graduated from Carleton College, a Posse Foundation Scholar who now has a job in her field of choice: working in Poverty Law. Circus as social venture = wealth. Her success is replicable and is worth all the vandalism and efforts in effecting change for the marginalized via circus.

You comments appreciated!
Paul Miller

#1 May 9 we performed for more than 600 kids at Ft Wright Elementary for the “Greatest Scores On Earth” Pre-testing motivational assembly with the children from FT Wright’s Circus Mojo classes. The day before we offered a similar show for the student of Beechwood Schools.

From 600+ public school kids to 50 kids in a psyche unit, to 12 wards of the state, circus is a tool for motivation and connection.

Our second event of the day was for the Spring Carnival at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Psychiatric Unit in North College Hill where we offered a bit of performance and hands-on opportunities for success. To see a teenage girl learn to spin a plate with cuts and burns all over the arm she was using was an amazing sight to behold. When I say amazing, I mean it was profound to see a girl who had inflicted these wounds to her own body, behaving with such delight after learning how to spin a plate. It went beyond a “trick” and even better, this person happened to form a bond with her teacher, Sharon Alvarez Miller. (Sharon learned many circus skills in Mexico and has been working with Circus Mojo for more than a year. Our other staff members have been around the world performing on stage as well as for detention centers, enhancing the overall scope of experience needed to connect with this population.)

Our last event of the day was our third class with the young men from the Children’s Home of Northern KY (CHNK) or Chunk as they call themselves. The litany of syndromes and disorders at the top of this blog all came from the pre-session meeting with the staff. (We are hosting two twelve week sessions with CHNK and are working to track behavior and attitude progress) I share our biggest achievement with this group – there was a boy who was obstinate; HE DID NOT WANT TO PARTICIPATE! I cracked a few jokes hoping he would crack… but to no avail; it was just not working. A bit later, I was trying to get a song on my iPhone for the act and my phone froze, so I asked for his help. He was resistant at first, but then decided (albeit begrudgingly) that it looked like fun to help out with the tunes… “Maestro can you please rewind the song?” Then he did it. In the Circus Mojo way of engagement we choose the toughest people to work with and once they fall in love//line all others follow.

And please, don’t even get me started on the 21 OB/GYN third-year Residents we hosted for an all-day retreat. These folks had been one of the toughest events I’ve ever worked! Tune in next time to see how the Doctor’s gig went!

Gratefully,
Paul Miller

I’ve been an apprentice for several months now at Mojo, and so I’ve been working very hard to train my muscles (and tame any fears/apprehension/etc – it can be intimidating to step out of your comfort zone) to be able to do things I’ve never done before.

But this past weekend – you guessed it, at Circus Mojo – I learned an important lesson. Neither childbirth nor age can hold a person back from something they want to accomplish. I saw this in two instances.

The first was during the Advanced Circus class on Saturday morning, when I met Emily, a friendly acrobat instructor that Pauly so kindly has brought into the Mojo atmosphere to train us all further on gymnastics. The class (about 20 of us) split into three rotating groups of juggling, walking the tight wire and training with Emily.

It was during this time that the important lesson we’ve all heard about being able to do anything became an “ah-ha” moment for me. Granted, I have these often, as I’m a creative through-and-through, but since I joined Mojo, there’s been this high-pitched voice in the back of my mind asking me if I’m too old to start this, and questioning if it’s too hard. I think this voice is common for others as well, hence the reason I’m sharing this with you.

So, three things that Circus Mojo helped me accomplish on a bright and chilly Saturday morning: handstand (without a wall! Thank you Emily!), several new juggling tricks that involve passing rings with one- to three other jugglers (Thank you Donald!), and holy smoke, I actually walked across the tight wire (Thank you Kaitlyn, Andrew and Adam!). Unbelievable. So I sort of feel like if I can do this, anyone can. You just have to want it bad enough. I’m also toying with the aerial silks, which seems like a distant dream…part of me thinks it’s just too hard given my age/weight/flexibility, but then my audacious side counters that thought with the notion that those are simply excuses. Stay tuned.

Wolfgang Bientzle performing on the gym wheel during a private party at Circus Mojo.

Saturday morning was one big instance put together. The other was Saturday night, when I met the incredible gym-wheel performer from Germany, Wolfgang Bientzle. I’ve been hearing about Wolfgang since I became a Mojo apprentice – this man is 45, has performed and coached for Cirque du Soleil, has won eight world champion titles, 11 European champion titles and more than 60 German champion titles for this art form. Obviously he’s no longer in his 20′s, but during Saturday night’s show (see circus pictures here) for 200 Jewish YP’s (Event by Access/Mayerson Family Foundation) I watched Wolfgang perform (as very nearly as I could through the curtain backstage) and felt inspired by his age and skill. Audience members were letting out little screams as he commanded the wheel this way, then threw his body that way.

What does all of this mean? No excuses. Circus teaches us that anything can be done!

Enthusiastically,
Cherie Dawn

Tonight, we – Pauly, Matt and I – brought circus as a healing art to this special group of people who’ve lost loved ones. When I heard about the opportunity, I jumped on it, as I’m always looking for ways to give back. And it was just what I expected. When we entered the room for the evening, Pauly immediately invoked smiles from the dozens of children who were sitting front-row on the floor, with dozens more parents and helpers seated behind them. If you haven’t seen his hat routine, then I encourage you to look for it – this simple hat becomes a character itself, bouncing from head to hand to shoulder, to audience and then back again. The kids loved it (I loved it, too!).

Next, I hopped up and performed with my glow poi; it went well.

Matt, who has an ability to be spontaneously funny, took the stage next with juggling and stilt walking. Shortly after that we welcomed our audience to join us in spinning plates, walking on stilts, and balancing on the rolling globe. At least for an hour or so, grief was not at the forefront. I think, we were able to offer more than simply tricks and entertainment, but also a reprieve.

I’m grateful to have shared this evening with this group of warm people who opened their minds to experiencing things that were possibly new, and definitely silly.

As I wind down for the evening, I realize that this is the stuff that really does make the world a better place. Keep reading below to hear Pauly’s perspective on this unique evening.

Humbly,
Cherie Dawn

“What, a circus at a grief event?!” Earlier that day Renee, Circus Mojo’s Operations Manager who holds the circus together, got a call at her home: “Will there be a clown in make-up?” a nervous caller asked.

The tension was thick as we entered the room…Half the room was red-eyed from crying in the past hour, a quarter didn’t want to be there (teens who were dragged out to deal with personal loss in a group setting), and the other quarter was children who needed a good laugh.

On our way in, I ran into the door and caused a scene. Slapstick is funny, and the kids laughed because they hurt and are delighted that someone else “hurts” too, although in a much different way.

After this, I entered slowly while playing a tune on the melodica. Then a few bits with the hat. First, I tossed it to a kid who doesn’t want to be there. One of my rules is to engage the tough ones.

I was thankful to the little giggler who was at the front of the group laughing – this gave others permission to others to enjoy something. Working in these unique environments is easy on some levels because we bring the unexpected. Adults laugh when they’re uncomfortable; kids laugh when they’re having fun…. Adults laugh when they see their kids having fun, which brings comfort.

Another thing I like to share with others, is this: when you’re frustrated, BREATHE. This evening we spun plates together; I encouraged everyone to not think about it too much as they became flustered while trying to spin the plates – but thinking won’t help you spin a plate.

By the end, all where smiling and had a achieved something special…even us, who get to bring JOY to those who need it.

Gratefully,
Pauly

Through the early part of this year I have felt somewhat discontent with my division of time and the number of books I am able to get to. However, this month has seemed better.

I have just finished reading what turns out to be my favorite book for this month. It was a “reread” dating back to the years when YA was still a new category. It is not my typical choice of book or subject matter, but I had it on my bookshelf and remembered being very moved by it, so I thought I’d return to it and see if it still packed the same punch.

My Enemy, My Brother, by  James Forman opens with the fall of Nazi Germany and the release of prisoners from the concentration camps. It follows the story of a survivor, Dan, who emerges with his grandfather, his lone living relative, to the nightmare that is war-ravaged Poland. As the two begin to rebuild their lives, Dan makes friends with a group of teens he meets who plan to emigrate to Israel. With his grandfather’s blessing, Dan joins them and the novel unfolds as he makes his way to Israel just as it is emerging as a sovereign nation.

The novel explores issues of love, friendship, nationalism, warfare and pacifism, the desire for freedom, and our common humanity as Dan navigates this new world.

Forman raises more questions than he answers, and various viewpoints are represented by different characters. The novel can provide a great jumping off place for discussion.

Reading My Enemy, My Brother, I was moved as I had been moved when I was young. This book will definitely return to my YA shelves to be visited someday in the future.

What is your favorite or the best book you read this month?