Tag Archives: Nation of Islam

Me and Malcolm X’s Murderer

On this day in American history, Malcolm X was murdered.  I was four years of age.  Fourteen years later, I would meet Malcolm X’s killer.  The first thought that crossed my mind: He, Thomas Hagan, is unremarkable.  And then: What … Continue reading

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, Growing Up, Lest We Forget, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Murder, Nation of Islam, race, raising black boys, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From my novel “Streets of Rage”

PROLOGUE The little black guy was in the living room, kneeling on the floor as if in prayer. Papers were on the floor before him. A Bible was before him, too. He was intent upon what he was doing. “Peace, god!” the … Continue reading

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The Three Erics

Three years ago, when I turned 50 years of age, I wrote a poem in the tradition of Ginsberg’s “Howl!,” talking about what had happened to some of the best of my generation. I titled it “Celebrating Fifty Years of … Continue reading

Posted in Fathers, Growing Up, Malcolm X, Uncategorized, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment