Protecting Poverty’s “Blind Side”

Most people, teachers and schools couldn’t see the potential in Michael Oher. Like many other children in the world who lack opportunity, he also lacked pretty much any documentation that said he even existed. And the few school documents that could be produced indicated a boy incapable of learning. This combined with his inability to communicate his thoughts or wishes and a tendency to keep his head down and eyes lowered – in spite of his 6’5” frame and 300+ weight in ninth grade – had made him practically invisible.

Separated from his drug addict mother and his siblings at an early age, he slept some nights on the floor of his friend Steven’s house so as not to have to return to foster care. When Steven’s father tried to enroll his athletic son in an affluent Christian school for a chance at a basketball scholarship and a better life, Steven insisted Michael come along. So the father talked the school into taking both students as a package deal, even though Michael seemed to have few capabilities.

This movie, “The Blind Side,” is a moving tribute to what the belief in a person can do. Based on the true life story of African-American football rookie Michael Oher, it relates Michael’s struggle to survive on his own through nearly insurmountable odds. But his life does an about-face when Leigh Anne Tuohy, a well-to-do white evangelical woman (played by Sandra Bullock), notices the freezing boy in shorts and a t-shirt, walking down the road. When she finds out he is one of her daughter’s classmates, Leigh Anne insists that he come in from the cold, and to stay for the night. Long story short, what begins as friendly gesture and response to their faith to reach out to others turns into a story of transformation as Michael literally becomes part of the family.

It wasn’t all a bed of roses, though. It was a struggle for Michael to overcome his past and learn how to study. And even though the Tuohys had reached out to people before, nothing prepared them for the scrutiny and racism they experienced as a result of their decision to adopt Michael, or the challenge to find his potential. But the family persevered, found out Michael could absorb his lessons, and set out to find his strengths. They capitalized on the one thing they did know – that his greatest ability was in protecting others and mastering physical skills – a skill the Tuohy’s helped him funnel into playing football, demonstrating his potential in guarding a quarterback’s “blind side.”

I could hear other people sniffling around me, and wondered if they had known kids personally that didn’t have those opportunities. As a teacher, my husband relates stories like that all the time. Stories where it is difficult to find the gifts and talents buried in children – many whose lives do not always have happy endings. Lives that just need someone to look for their potential, confirm their worth and commit to taking the responsibility to do something about it.

The sad part is that there are lots of ‘invisible’ people out there. People who lack a voice in their community, who have been forgotten or victimized by others because they lack the skills, education and confidence needed to affect change for themselves. People like Michael, whose heads hang down, whose gaze doesn’t meet that of others, and who, without the help of other people covering their “blind side,” are destined to remain invisible.

That’s what I appreciate about Outreach International. Because the organization’s mission is about protecting the “blind side” of those living in poverty: searching for ways not only to keep them from harm, but encouraging them to find their voice and rightful place in the world. A place where they are no longer invisible, but can hold their heads high, look challenge in the eye, and create good that is sustainable for themselves and for future generations.

Posted By (Marsha Penrose) on Dec 16, 2009 12:00 AM CST
categories: Advocacy Aid Books Children Education Faith Film Human Rights Justice Media Poverty Relationships Youth

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Protecting Poverty’s “Blind Side”

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