Who is Leona?

Leona is a young black mother who makes it her goal to have the trash removed from the lot her neighbors are using as a garden. Leona spends most of a day on the phone before she realizes that she will have to go to the public health department in person in order to get the attention she wants. She takes a bag of garbage with her to give the officials an idea of how bad the problem is.

Leona is later mentioned in Marcela’s story. This young pregnant teen likes Leona because Leona listens when Marcela talks about how unhappy she is with the idea she will have a baby. Leona does talk to Marcela about the wonder of being a part of nature. It is while Leona is talking that Marcela realizes that for a moment, she does not want her baby to be dead.