Who’s in charge around here? That would be you, the person at the top of the chain, the head honcho, the Fearless Leader. Your desk is where the buck stops in your organization. Everything is in your hands and you’re in charge – but, as in the new book “A Fever in the Heartland” by Timothy Egan, don’t get too comfortable on that throne. When the Ku Klux Klan first appeared, they came in the night and people thought they were ghosts – which was the point. None of the six original founders, nor any of their subsequent followers wanted…
Author: Terri Schlichenmeyer
A good building starts with a substantial foundation. No matter where you go from there, that base is an opening action, an announcement, a public sign of things to come. Whether it’s a new home for human, hoopty, or heirlooms, or the future site of industry or ideas, the foundation is the start of something exciting. In a new business and as in the new book “Black Founder” by Stacy Spikes, it needs to be solid. With high school graduation on the horizon, Stacy Spikes was itching to move. His hometown of Houston, Texas, had become “too small” to hold…
The gas tank is full of fuel. The tires are new, you checked the oil twice, the speedometer’s calibrated, your headlights are intact, all good. The vehicle’s not flashy, so there’s absolutely no reason to attract attention. And yet, as in “Driving the Green Book” by Alvin Hall and as your ancestors did, you sweat that all-day roadtrip. In 2015, while doing research for a podcast, Alvin Hall discovered something that intrigued and surprised him: one of his sources mentioned The Negro Motorist Green Book. Granted, when he was small, his family didn’t travel much from their home on Florida’s…
You turned the TV on and look…. Nine hundred forty-eight channels and there’s still nothing you want to watch. Seen that, seen that, watched that twice, but it wasn’t always the case. Once, your Monday nights were spent with a show you never missed, featuring a young guy who made you laugh. And in the new book “The Fresh Prince Project” by Chris Palmer, he made America laugh, too. Born to solidly middle-class parents in West Philadelphia, young Will Smith gained a reputation early for being something of a class clown. Though he tried, he was not athletic; instead, his…
Your parents and your teachers try to tell you about the past. You like the stories they share, the things your grandparents did and the important celebrities that lived long ago. It’s history and it’s fun to know, so why not reach for these Black History Month books for kids ages 5 to 8…? Who doesn’t love ice cream? If you do, then you’ll love reading “Ice Cream Man” by Glenda Armand and Kim Freeman, illustrated by Keith Mallet (Random House Kids, $18.99). It’s the story of Augustus Jackson, who was born a slave in Philadelphia and worked for a…
Every day, you fly just under the radar. Nobody bothers you because they don’t know who you are and that’s just fine. As long as you can keep your head down and get stuff done, you’ll survive and thrive to work another day. You don’t need fame or fortune to have a good life. As in “The New Yorkers” by Sam Roberts, they might come someday anyhow, though. Through the years, as a writer of “quirky accounts” of New York City, Sam Roberts has come to know many people whose names have been mostly forgotten – people who, in merely…
One dollar. That’s not a lot of cash when it’s your turn to pick the tunes and you want to hear your song now. Just a buck for the juke box and everybody can enjoy what you’ve chosen. That’s not a lot for four minutes of entertainment, especially when, as in the new book “Well of Souls” by Kristina R. Gaddy, it features your favorite instrument. In 1687, the English slave ship, the Benjamin, left the coast of Loango with a cargo of 375 adults and children headed for Jamaica and lives of slavery. Three hundred sixty-nine people arrived but…
Your entire life is like a gigantic game of “Chutes and Ladders.” Shake the dice, move two steps ahead, and you hit a ladder that takes you to higher places on the game board. Three more squares, and you hit a chute that sends you back to the bottom. Life and children’s games are alike in this way: as in the new book “The Light We Carry” by Michelle Obama, the only way to win is to keep playing. Pandemic, recession, political divide, market volatility. For many months, you’ve wondered every morning what fresh chaos you’ll deal with that day.…
It’s possible. Not now, but probably later… if at all. The thing is, you’re patient and you can wait. It’ll happen eventually, one way or the other, and you’re fine with things as they are in the meantime. You’re good. Whatever you hope for, it’s possible – except when, as in the new novel “Someday, Maybe” by Onyi Nwabineli, life has other plans. She prayed that he hadn’t read the last texts she sent to his phone. Eve Ezenwa-Morrow had been angry at her husband, Quentin. She’d sent him a flurry of “where are you?” messages that escalated until she…
It looks like your ticket was purchased the day you were born. Your destination was unknown and the journey takes a lifetime, but a seat was reserved for you that no one can take away. And yet, you could change courses any time you wished, for greener pastures or safer homes. In the new book “From Underground Railroad to Rebel Refuge” by Brian Martin, your fellow travelers are good with that. Even in the earliest days, there were slaves. In 1501, says Martin, a Portuguese explorer came to the easternmost shores of what’s now Canada with at least one slave.…