Owning his own home was a dream of Dave Rowe’s for as far back as he can remember. After years of struggling with depression and addiction, which led to homelessness, Dave has found inner peace and healing and is now at home in rural Motley. As he reflected on Black History Month, Dave recalled the speech of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream,” which always inspired him, even during his darkest days.

Dave Rowe of Motley: Living ‘the dream’

At home

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Dave Rowe could always hear the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reciting his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Even when he was living under a highway overpass in Chicago; and during the dark and lonely days spent in treatment and prison, he could hear it. “With all the stuff I’ve experienced, that speech still rings in my head,” Dave said recently.

“It was on one of the record albums my mom would play when I was a kid,” Dave said of the speech by the late Baptist minister and civil rights activist. “She also had records of JFK, Elvis Presley and the Jackson Five. We listened to those all the time.”

He still has portions of the “I Have a Dream” speech memorized.

Dave was a teenager when he first heard those words penned by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and like the author, he had dreams of his own...a quiet home in the country, the acceptance of his neighbors; and perhaps his own business one day.

It would take a few decades for these dreams to come to fruition, slowed down by the effects of racism, depression and addiction.

Today, at home in rural Motley, Dave wears a smile a mile wide, has a new lease on life and is optimistic about the future. “I wake up these days singing church songs,” Dave shared. “This morning, it was, ‘I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.’”

That wasn’t always his story, however.

Now 54, Dave was 13 years old when he moved to the United States from Jamaica.

“Everyone told me, ‘You’re going to paradise,’” Dave recalled, adding that jobs were scarce in Jamaica and poverty was  abundant. His mother had already left for the states, seeking a better life for her three children Dave, Hopeton and Annette.

“We lived with our  grandparents for awhile, until we could join our mother in Chicago,” Dave said, adding that their father had left the family years earlier.

The Rowe family settled in the Rogers Park neighborhood. “We lived on the north side of Chicago, by Wrigley Field,” Dave said.

By the time her children joined her, Dave’s mother, Mavis, had graduated from college and was working as a nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

The move to ‘paradise’ ended up being a shock in more ways than one.

“It was the first time I had seen snow or experienced cold weather,” Dave said. “And, I grew up speaking Creole, so there was a language barrier.”

He was also not prepared to be a target because of his skin color. “I experienced a lot of racism at school because I was black and because I had a language problem,” Dave said. “My siblings and I had to fight our way home every day.”

This was very different from his experience in his home country. “In Jamaica, we love white folks. I remember we laughed and joked with them...ate with them. We never judged people by their color.”

It certainly wasn’t something he expected to encounter when he moved to Illinois, The Land of Lincoln, named for the United States President who freed the slaves.

“After awhile, you knew it would be coming,” Dave said of the fights, adding that as difficult as things were for the Rowe kids, “We couldn’t ditch it. Mom insisted we go to school.”

He managed to graduate from the 8th grade at George B. Armstrong School and moved on to Sullivan High School. “There were more problems and more fighting than before,” Dave said.

By that time, he was beginning to suffer from depression. “I was still having trouble learning English and after my third year in high school I was still a freshman.”

He recalled one good teacher, Miss McGee, who tried to intercede on his behalf. “But there was only so much she could do.”

In the end, Dave dropped out of school and joined the United States Marine Corps.

“They threw color out the window,” Dave said of the marines, noting that his officer told them, “You’re all green...not black or white.”

While serving in Japan, his grandmother, Lillian Johnson, died. “That was tough. She had been one of my role models...she taught me how to cook and clean and how to be independent.”

Other role models for Dave had been Walter Payton, football player with the Chicago Bears, and his mother.

“I learned from watching him play,” Dave said of Payton. “His message was, ‘Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Hard work pays off.’”

“My mom was a hard worker, too,” Dave went on. “She always worked two or three jobs a week to make sure we had everything we needed. We never went hungry and we never went without a pair of shoes.”

In spite of their positive influence on his life, Dave would go through a very dark valley that encompassed over 20 years of homelessness and addiction.

“After I got out of the marines, I went back to Chicago and lived with my mom for a couple of months until she kicked me out,” Dave said. “That was my first experience with homelessness.”

He spent the next five years in Chicago, staying at shelters and eating at soup kitchens. Later, he moved to New York City, hoping to get back on his feet. “I had an aunt that lived in Brooklyn. I found some odds and ends jobs, day labor.”

While working a security job at Sunset Park, Dave met his ex-wife, Jennifer. “She was a minister and music leader at a church.”

Shortly after marrying, Dave and Jennifer brought two children into the world; a little girl they named Sheana and a boy, named Dave, Jr.

“We moved back to Illinois to be near my family,” Dave said, adding that they lived in Evanston.

After three years, however, Jennifer asked for a divorce. “I’d been drinking heavily again...ever since the military, I’d been an alcoholic.”

Dave packed up a few belongings and hit the streets. “I was homeless again,” he said.

Somehow, he managed to get a job working at R.J. Wright clothing store and thought again of Walter Payton, the football player who never gave up. “I saved up my money and with my last pay-check I bought a one-way bus ticket to Minneapolis.”

Dave figured Minnesota was close enough for him to see his kids; but far enough away for him to get a fresh start.

Minnesota would indeed prove to be a positive chapter in Dave’s life; but not before he experienced some more dark days.

He continued to live in homeless shelters and sought treatment for both depression and alcohol addiction. Somewhere along the line he attempted suicide and when his doctor asked, “Why?” Dave could not come up with an answer, he said.

He joined the national guard in 2004, shortly before having his first heart attack. In 2006, Dave had another massive heart attack; and in 2007, received his first felony DWI, which landed him in prison.

“I finally got some help from the VA (Veterans Administration) in St. Cloud,” Dave said. “Dr. Mary Howard told me, ‘We’re going to treat your depression first and then your addiction.’”

In speaking with Dr. Howard, it became clear that there were a few factors that fueled his depression.

“I was six years old when my dad sat me on his knee and said he was going away to Canada,” Dave recalled. “I remember crying, chasing after his car until I couldn’t see it any more.” It would be 40 years before he saw his dad again. “I made a trip to Canada to see him...I had so many unanswered questions.”

Then, there was the stress of moving to a new country and feeling responsible for his younger siblings in the midst of racial tension.

Through the help of his doctor, divine intervention and a lot of hard work, Dave has been able to get his life back on track.

“I was able to purchase a house in Motley...out in the country, just like I dreamed. When I saw the picture, I said, ‘That is a home.’” 

He has also found a spiritual home and healing at Motley United Methodist Church. “It really just snuck up on me...I wasn’t seeking it.”

Dave was quick to add that, “I’m not perfect, I still make mistakes. But, I am fulfilled.”

He’s a blessed man, Dave went on, mentioning that while he was in St. Cloud he met his fiance, Kathy. “She is a wonderful woman and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her,” Dave said.

He no longer feels angry at the people from his past...including his father and those that treated him badly because of his color. “I let it go...all of that anger. It just happened naturally one day.”

Someday, he hopes the world will not be defined by color. “I see the world as one. No one is better than anyone else. I would rather hear folks say, ‘People’s   Lives Matter’ rather than, ‘Black Lives Matter.’”

In the meantime, Dave is thankful for all that God has brought him through  and continues to dream, just as Martin Luther King, Jr. did years ago.

“Someday, I would like to have my own plastic recycling company,” Dave said. “Yes, I still dream.”

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