In praise of The Lost Daughter, Call Me, The Strong Black Woman and "Chess Moves," superior works from women this Women's History Month...
Ladies, I Salute You
In this month where the women in our world get more attention, I salute you and the women in my life for extraordinary impacts on this planet.
Celebrating Gwendolyn Brooks on World Book Day
Gwendolyn Brooks was the very first real famous writer (the gods!) I helped organize a special event for. My ad hoc University of Chicago "sorority" for women of color on campus was blessed enough to get Ms. Brooks as the first guest speaker we ever booked, to launch our name and mission on campus. What a launch it was!
Justice for Jelani Day
For a young black man in central Illinois plains to just go missing from his university didn't even make sense and almost didn't make any national noise. His mother changed that.
My Favorite 2021 Books
I love to give books as gifts and this is the giving season! I'll continue giving readings from and going into details about these books on the negression podcast, but I'm announcing them all in time for those like me who love to give books as gifts. Comment on what you read this year. Happy Reading!
The Smollett Verdict
#JussieSmollettTrial: Reflections from Chicago. How are we measuring "success"? What's worth it? What's not? For context on hate crimes, I read from #RichardWright's posthumous novel The Man Who Lived Underground. Be grateful for what you have or achieve, people.
Sisters Jennifer and Jordan Turpin Give Testimony to Life
It is my privilege to salute Jennifer and Jordan Turpin, two young women who escaped and started over after a lifetime of the unimaginable. David and Louise Turpin raised their 13 children in secret squalor and tortuous rules, until, to save her siblings, Jordan found the courage at age 17 to leap into the world she'd never known.
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