PRESIDEO SENTINEL SAN DIEGO, MAY 2012
By Laura Walcher
If you
can read this, you’re ‘way ahead of the thousands of adults and children in our
town who can’t. Because they
can’t, they either fake their way through their lives, or settle for minimum
achievement – minimum opportunities; they never experience the pined-for
successes they could actually achieve – if they could read.
With his
own grit and determination, and the support of the
San Diego Council on Literacy, Clando Brownlee beat all the
odds.
Overcoming, drugs, petty criminality and illiteracy, Clando today –he
is 51 - is a productive - read that “successful” businessman,
community activist and family man.
One, I’d add, with a major dose of passion, a warm veneer of charm. We talked:
LW: You were
diagnosed as dyslexic at 19. How
did you manage to get along until then?
\
CB: I used skills like sports, dancing, singing - ! I had lots
of friends around me; I hid my
disability. If I got cornered, I would pretend to be sleepy or claim a
headache. But it eventually began to be noticed, that I would never read or
write anything. I actually lived a
life of covering up fears and anxiety.
LW: 2. How did dyslexia affect your ability –
not only to read, but
to function in all areas?
CB: I couldn’t read – for starters. I couldn’t drive (legally!), nor plan trips, give greeting
cards, fill out an application. I was always on pins & needles, working overtime to try to mask my disfunction! I once asked a girl for her phone number; she included
her address but I couldn’t read the street name! I was always facing situations like that!
LW: How long was it before you could consider yourself
functionally literate? What was
the most important help you had?
CB: I would say I started becoming
functionally literate about six years after my diagnosis.
My sister, Deborah, helped me sound out words, and made me lists of the words I couldn’t read
- they would be my ‘homework.”
I understood basic math, though, and have an above average mechanical aptitude.
Those helped me do well with tools & machines, so I actually could get and
keep a decent job, but I knew I could do better one day!
I saw a flier from ‘San Diego Read,’ a program
affiliated with the S.D. Literacy Council. It said I could be tutored
through the organization. They turned out to be the nicest,
kindest people I’d met in quite a while! I had three tutors, but the most memorable was John
Yevttich, an engineer. We clicked on
technical issues, and he was also knowledgeable about stocks &
bonds, one of my greatest
interests.
LW: Clearly,
today, you are a reader, and a passionate contributor to our community! Your resume is impressive; give us some
sense of the issues most important to you?
CB: First, my faith (note: Clando describes himself as a “new
testament believer”)! Then,
the sustainability of the planet, and the community; they all tie together! I
truly fill a seemingly ‘divine’ call to ‘Environmental Stewardship.’ For the
last nine years I’ve been preaching & teaching reduce, reuse, recycle; for
the last two years I’ve focused on electronic recycling, or ‘E-waste.’ Thru our E-waste events we’ve diverted hundreds, thousands of pounds of toxicants away
from the local landfills - and the
best part is that the events serve as fundraisers for our charities, such as Chelsea’s Light Foundation and
the S. D. Children’s Coalition. On May 5th I’ll be
hosting a E-waste fundraiser for the S. D. Council on Literacy!
LW: You and
your wife own and operate “Shirley’s Tender Loving Daycare, “ for children – but
that’s hardly all you
do!
CB: Well, I’m pretty proud of
launching The S. D. Brotherhood
Lions Club, the first African-American club in the State! I also co-formed the San Diego
Children’s Day Celebration, and I’m the founder and CEO of Kool Climate Kids.
I was also thrilled when Mayor Ron Morison signed a
proclamation honoring our California Recycling Days Initiative.
LW: “Eat.
Drink.Read. A Culinary Event for Literacy” is Wednesday, May 16, and I know
you’ll be there. We expect a dozen
wonderful Chefs, food, drink
– but you’ll be the
inspiration for focusing our attention on the 440,000 adults and children here
who can’t read. Give
us a preview of what you’ll tell us?
CB: We all have
choices. And what we do with those
really helps determine our future.
It took me a long time to make the right ones; I was always
apprehensive, let down, embarrassed – all of
that and more! I’ll tell everyone what I finally
know: push past obstacles, take
chances, make the choices that ensure a better life!
“EAT.DRINK.READ. A Culinary Event for Literacy”
www.eatdrinkread.com
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