Recent birthdays of my daughter Lana in July, and my late son Steve in August, somehow sparked memories of unforgettable, and very similar incidents in their teenage lives. I shouldn’t be surprised at the sudden flashback of such long ago memories, as that is what it means to be an old grandpa. Lana now […]
You Should Have Made Me Do It! Read More »
It’s not often one gets the opportunity to look back almost 200 years into family history and discover a first-hand account of what happened to ancestors from many generations past. But that was exactly my experience when I recently learned about my great-grandfather, Solomon James Johnson, an extraordinary man who, at one time, was
The Other Life of Abraham Lincoln’s Barber Read More »
I never got to see Denzel Washington in The Iceman Cometh during its 2018 run, the fourth Broadway iteration of the Eugene O’Neill classic. But that’s ok. Long before the play began its first run in the1940’s, the kids on my Harlem block and I enjoyed regular performances of our own real-life iceman, the guy
When the Iceman Cameth to my Harlem Block Read More »
Malcolm X is claimed to have once said: “If you want to hide something from black people, put it in a book!” If these words had been spoken by almost anyone else, they would have been considered a serious racial insult. Close to fighting words. But coming from the minister, they were a call
Brothers Also Read Read More »
I’ve been asking myself this question ever since the passing of the most powerful musical force of nature the world has ever known. I have my doubts, but since I don’t want to be that grumpy old guy, locked in the past who can’t or won’t appreciate new talent and trends, I try to keep
Can Anyone Ever Pick Up Where Aretha Left Off? Read More »
College fraternities are often thought of as rowdy packs of privileged college boys who waste their time boozing, partying and brutalizing prospective new members. In many cases, this criticism is well-deserved. But not all fraternities fit this description. Alpha Phi Alpha, the nation’s oldest predominantly black fraternity, is anything but a bunch of pampered
Alpha Phi Alpha – 100+ Years of Black Academic Achievement and Excellence Read More »
The following is a repost of a story/exhibit on display at the National Museum of African American History in Washington DC. For the full story and all related image, click here. Photography and art of black women in the 1960s and 1970s created a new space of recognition. These images of black women presented
Seeing Black Women in Power Read More »
My mother, Margaret Louise Lucinda Johnson, was born one hundred and eight years ago on December 13, 1910. Shown here on the right in this 1925 family picture, she was the fourth of five children born to prominent New Yorkers, Solomon H and Emma (Boyce) Johnson. Known to family and friends as Margie (pronounced with
Born Generations Too Soon Read More »
A while back, I took a break from my weekly posts to this blog so that I could devote more time to finishing my new novel, The Bones of Louverture. Since this was my second book, I thought I could easily improve on the two years it took to research and write my debut novel,
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
Writing To Save A Life Read More »