Columbia Center for Oral History Portal > Oral history interview with Kareem Nelson, 2017Biographical NoteKareem Nelson was born in New York City in 1974. He grew up an only child in Harlem and Far Rockaway, Queens. Nelson began selling drugs when he was twelve years old. In the following years, he sold drugs across the Eastern Seaboard including in New York City, Atlanta, and Baltimore. In 1995, at the age of twenty, Nelson was shot and paralyzed while working as a crack dealer in Baltimore. In the early 2000s, he was indicted on drug charges, and he was incarcerated until 2008. In 2005, he married Laquisha Howser Nelson. In 2013, he founded Wheelchairs Against Guns to educate students about bullying and gang violence. The organization gives workshops at inner city schools and churches to teach conflict resolution, critical thinking, and self-esteem-building techniques
Scope and ContentsKareem Nelson begins this life history interview with a description of his childhood in Harlem and Far Rockaway, Queens. He discusses how he started selling crack cocaine at twelve years old and details his nine years as a drug dealer in New York, Atlanta, and Baltimore. He describes how he was shot, the aftermath, and his life as a paraplegic drug dealer. He describes the circumstances of incarceration in the early 2000s. Nelson also speaks about his family structure; his mother, with whom he is particularly close; friends, many of them shot and killed before he was twenty;, and the doctors and nurses who helped him. He describes the nonprofit he founded, Wheelchairs Against Guns (WAG). He closes analyzing circumstances for at-risk youth at the time of the interview, and why the situation has not changed since his childhood
SubjectsAccess ConditionsCopyright by Kareem Nelson. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York hold a non-exclusive license to enable library activities
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