Tag Archives: Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass

The King is Dead — Long Live the King!

I canโ€™t let this day pass without saying something about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr! In the Decisive Decade (the 1960s), Black leader after Black leader was assassinated, but this is the assassination that made it into my … Continue reading

Posted in Politics & Public Affairs, Religion, Streets of Rage | Tagged , | Leave a comment

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. Purchase and read one of my three books of poetry. My first, award-winning book, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass: Co-winner of the Edwin Mellen Poetry Prize . . . this poem is … Continue reading

Posted in Justice Chronicles, Mother's Messages, Politics & Public Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mommy

Some people have a fear of growing old.  Some people die young.  Those who fear growing old, methinks they wouldnโ€™t want the alternative, dying young.  Dying young shortens the timeline to fulfill dreams, to see the world, to see your … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Memory & Personal Essays, Mother's Messages | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Prison Portal

Poets are on a quest to find a word that is worth a thousand pictures.  I donโ€™t know if thereโ€™s a poetry gene, but thereโ€™s connective tissue joining poets.ย  Even before I know a writer is a poet โ€“ a … Continue reading

Posted in Justice Chronicles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Poets Are Revolutionaries: Drop Poetry, Not Bombs!

Poets, at heart, are revolutionaries.  In addition to being incurable romantics, they are idealists.  Even in their poetry, they seek the ideal.  They are always in search of the ideal. I also met Susan Rosenberg through my work with PEN … Continue reading

Posted in Justice Chronicles, Literature & Cultural Criticism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Poets, Prison Writing, and Pantoums

Poets feel deeply, oftentimes too deeply. Sometimes theyโ€™re overwhelmed by their feelings. Poets are incurable Romantics. They love Love. Theyโ€™re always on a quest to find Love. Poets are human, deeply human, as human as can be, with all the … Continue reading

Posted in Books & Writing Projects, Literature & Cultural Criticism | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

My Two White Sisters

One day, when we were kids, Mommy made a Pronouncement: โ€œToday, you are going to meet your white relatives.โ€  I donโ€™t recall meeting our white relatives (maybe I was traumatized), but I remember this pronouncement.  I was still innocent, and, … Continue reading

Posted in Genealogy, Politics & Public Affairs | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Triumphing Through Levels of Grief

Today is International Womenโ€™s Day.  During Black History Month and these first couple of days in Womenโ€™s History Month, I have uplifted women, mostly women authors.  Today, though, I want to uplift a woman near and dear to my heart, … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Memory & Personal Essays, Mother's Messages, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The “new” Jim Crow is as old as the Union

Ever have a โ€œEureka!โ€ moment?  During my legal research in the early 1980โ€™s, I came across something that, beyond a reasonable doubt, confirmed what people had been talking about without much evidence, beyond the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, … Continue reading

Posted in Politics & Public Affairs, Race, History & American Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ida B. Wells: The Black Woman Crusader Against White Knights

Ida B. Wells was born into slavery on July 16, 1862.ย  She was “freed” by presidential proclamation and executive order (the Emancipation Proclamation) issued by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, during the American Civil War. Ida B. Wells … Continue reading

Posted in Politics & Public Affairs, Race, History & American Society, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment