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I grew up in a very large, poor family.

My mom grew up in poverty in Oklahoma - like Dust Bowl, nine people in one room kind of place - and the way she got out of poverty was through education. My dad grew up without a dad, with very little and he also made his way out through education.

I grew up in a very modest house. We were poor-we lived on the poverty level. We all got jobs as young kids.

My family was a poor farming family, and we lived under absolute segregation.

We were poor. But my mom never accepted that. She worked hard to become a residential contractor - got her master's with honors at the University of New Orleans. I used to go to every class with her. Her father was my paternal figure.

My family didn't have any money growing up. I'm just a girl from the ghetto; from Indio, California.

I was just a regular kid in poverty, struggling.

I grew up poor. I never had any money. I was a hobo, you know, ride the freights.