Author Archives: kbryantlucas

This is the fifth in a series of excerpts from my memoir, The Edge of All the Light You Have (formerly, From Where I Stand). In the cartoon, a portly man, in clothes several sizes too small for him, stands in front of a church, a double-barrel shotgun stuffed under one arm. Above him isContinue reading ““It could be my house tonight….””

The fourth in a series of chapters from my memoir, The Edge of All the Light You Have (formerly, From Where I Stand). This post follows “This is our fight, too.” Two days after the shooting, it was Monday morning and back to school. After they dropped us off, Mom and Dad went with MaMawContinue reading ““…refugees from a war zone””

This post is the third in a series of excerpts from my memoir, From Where I Stand, a story of love across race and time. This post follows “Choose this day….” Mom had put a ham in the oven that morning, but forgotten to turn the oven on. When MaMaw took Bryant back to the parsonageContinue reading ““This is our fight, too.””

An excerpt from my memoir, From Where I Stand, a story of love across race and time. This post follows “I thought they would come for me.” Sunday morning, December 14th, dawned clear and cold, stubbornly cheerful. Granddaddy was outside, smoking his pipe. He poked around with his cane in the weeds and ivy onContinue reading ““Choose this day…””

An excerpt from my memoir, From Where I Stand, a story of love across race and time. This post follows from a previous one, “You going to that party?” A few days before, the deacons of my father’s church threatened him that, if he allowed his children’s party to go on as planned, with bothContinue reading ““I thought they would come for me.””

In memory of Dr. Barney Old Coyote Jr. (Apsáalooke/Crow) In the white history books that I grew up with, the battle was called Custer’s Last Stand. On June 25-26, 1876, we were taught, a large force of Indian warriors ambushed a much smaller troop of brave white U.S. soldiers and slaughtered them without mercy. ButContinue reading “From Where I Was Standing”

What you discover may surprise you. Welcome to The Place of No Hope. I will be your tour guide for our time together. What you experience on your visit may surprise you. You may think that you know what awaits you, but you do not. Not unless you have been here before. First, take aContinue reading “The Place of No Hope”

Fifty-two years is a lot of unfinished business. This post is drawn from parts of my memoir, From Where I Stand, a story of love that crosses time and race. In this excerpt, William Lucas and I meet again for the first time in five decades. William and I plan to meet on April 1, 2022. AprilContinue reading “April Fools”

One of the Black singers said, “You know, it’s curious, but none of the white people I’ve ever met have ancestors who owned slaves….” We stood outside Riverside Church in New York City after morning worship, a group of white and Black singers, all of us members of the Riverside Church Choir in the lateContinue reading “Reckoning with Nehemiah”