.......prior to April 27, Graham's experiences were not atypical for West Baltimore: going to church, getting by, raising her children in a neighborhood that can echo with gunshots. While one daughter aspires to be in uniform, her son resents the police; Graham fears his story ending the same way as Trayvon Martin or Freddie Gray.
After moving her family from Park Heights to a larger rowhouse in West Baltimore, the 42-year-old health care worker injured her back on the job; she eventually lost her position as a caregiver. She made ends meet with the help of her significant other and an older daughter. Graham also enlisted the help of social services.
To compound matters, Graham said, past legal trouble kept her from getting new employment.
"If you have any criminal background it is hard to find work," she said. A court records search showed Graham was charged with second-degree assault in 2002, but the case was dismissed.
Faith and family
............ The youngest of five, she was raised by her parents in a close-knit family in Park Heights.
"Growing up in Baltimore, everyone had a mother and father in the household. Parents were strict. I had to do chores, go to school. We respected elders," she said.
She was devastated when her mother died in 1996. "It was hard for me," she said. Her voice lowers to almost a whisper as she describes family gatherings at the gravesite. "We go up there with blankets and talk to her," she said.
Graham has a "strong connection with the church," she said. Her faith helps her cope, along with a closeness to her father, who often hosts Sunday fish-fry dinners.
She has served as an usher in Berean Baptist Church, where she has been a member for years, she said. Her daughters have been part of the dance ministry there.
Perhaps it is Graham's stern background that comes through in the video that shows her hitting and pushing her son while yelling and cursing at him.
The images stirred sharp emotions, drawing praise for Graham as "Mother of the Year," as well as condemnation for her violence against a child. There were cheers of approval, then a backlash, then a backlash to the backlash.
Graham said she doesn't want any labels. She just wants to keep her children safe.
"I know I'm not alone out there," she said. "It's just that the cameras caught me on TV that day. I was trying to get my son out of a bad situation."
The way she has handled attention since the video makes her oldest daughter, Tericka Tate, proud.
"People are recognizing what she's done for me in my 24 years of living," Tate said. "She's done the best she could."
Graham's father, Robert, echoes the praise.
"She adopted what I was teaching," the 68-year-old said. "To me, she was raising them in the order I tried to raise them."
Robert Graham lives in Westport and works laying tile and marble. He does not view what his daughter did as wrong or abusive.
"I was proud of her for catching him from getting into trouble," he said. "Those were the things I would do to them growing up. I would go to school to check on them."
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