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.””
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“…every wish one lives for or doesn’t…”
A poem. …The body remembersevery wish one lives for or doesn’t, or even horror.- Yusef Komunyakaa(“The Body Remembers”) She wakes, her body rolling over waves that do not crest.The tide has carried her out, far beyond the limits of her mother’s permission— She fears she will not make it back.Regret lodges itself inside her chest,Continue reading ““…every wish one lives for or doesn’t…””
From Where I Was Standing
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”
The Place of No Hope
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”
April Fools
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”
Reckoning with Nehemiah
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”
Beyond the Reach of Resurrection
In December 1969, Ridgecrest Baptist Church, the church my father had pastored for nine months, voted to dismiss him, 27-11. The night before, buckshot had ripped through the middle of a party in the parsonage, narrowly missing friends of mine, both Black and white. Ridgecrest fired my dad because he refused first to cancel theContinue reading “Beyond the Reach of Resurrection”
Dangerous Proposition
Bringing people together has always been a dangerous proposition. The man in the black and white photograph is looking to his right. The camera captures him from below, emphasizing his stature. His right hand is extended, the long fingers spread wide. Caught mid-speech, mid-sentence, mid-thought, he is intent on what he is saying. His narrowContinue reading “Dangerous Proposition”
My Mother’s House (revisited)
In honor of my mother for Mother’s Day, 2026. The photo is black and white, but I remember the deep wine red of the couch. I used to run my small fingers along the raised design of roses and leaves, tendrils and vines. But in this photo, my mother is a newlywed, and I wouldContinue reading “My Mother’s House (revisited)”
“You going to that party?”
“An integrated party? In the Harricans?!“ When his daughter Bettie told him that a white friend at school had invited her to a party out in the Harricans, Mr. Oney Edwards peered at her with a look that ran the gamut of incredulity. The “Harricans” was a region out to the west of the smallContinue reading ““You going to that party?””
holy discomfort: Love letters from a reluctant Christian 