October 2017

I have been pondering the concept of “writing to save a life” ever since I read, earlier this year, John Edgar Wideman’s outstanding book with those words as its title.  Part novel, part investigative report, part memoir and part social commentary, this compelling story tells of the short, violent life of Louis Till, who like […]

The U.S. got more than it bargained for when it organized two “all-colored” combat units and sent them to France to fight the last year of World War One. While our nation was slow to recognize the great contributions of its “men in bronze,” fearing the impact on American culture of empowered black veterans returning