Writer Ellen Morris Prewitt Blog

All Saints’ Day

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on November 6, 2022. Posted in Featured, General, GOD, LOVE, Racism to Reconciliation. 8 Comments on All Saints’ Day

On this All Saints’ Day, as we left the church singing “Oh, when the Saints, go marching in,” I connected with my ancestors. If you’ve read this blog, you realize that’s no mean feat for me. I’ve spent a lot of time talking about my father’s family and their sins. I do not consider them saints. I don’t...

Rain in NOLA

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on November 5, 2022. Posted in Featured, General. 7 Comments on Rain in NOLA

I zip my pink raincoat up to my chin. Flip on the hood and head out. Rain falls. So common to New Orleans, but missing in action for weeks then months. We’ve had beautiful fall weather, but we glanced at the sky, wary of the dry clouds. At my feet, rain dimples puddles. The toes of my tennis shoes disappear in the runoff. I turn left onto...

Lynching On the Courthouse Lawn

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on November 1, 2022. Posted in Featured, General, Racism to Reconciliation. 10 Comments on Lynching On the Courthouse Lawn

It’s a hard topic to write about, lynching. This stream of violence running through the middle of American history like the great Mississippi flowing down the center of our county is hard to face. But Sherrilyn A. Ifill uses an apt phrase in the introduction to her book, On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st...

Let the Glider Glide

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on October 13, 2022. Posted in General. 11 Comments on Let the Glider Glide

In the last 10 days, I’ve joined a new Bible study and registered for an intense Coming to the Table workshop. I’ve gained groundbreaking revelations in the continuing attempt to make IN THE NAME OF MISSISSIPPI publishable. In two of those days, I wrote an article for the Mississippi Episcopal Diocese newsletter and a funny, poignant...

The Sentences that Create Us

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on October 9, 2022. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 6 Comments on The Sentences that Create Us

Reading The Sentences that Create Us raises a question: how do we handle the adjectives that are appended to descriptions of writers? “Southern” writer. “African American” writer. The adjectives often encapsulate the heart of the writing. But they can also carry an implied—and often condescending—”only” (She is...

The Truth of High School

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on October 4, 2022. Posted in General, Racism to Reconciliation, Writing. 6 Comments on The Truth of High School

Y’all wanna see the truth of what I looked like in high school? It’s a hoot. And now it’s out there for everyone to peep at. Why, you might ask? Well, I wrote an essay about my odd junior high and high school experience in the land of the integrating South. Journalist Ellen Ann Fentress was kind enough to publish the essay...

THE MOVEMENT MADE US: A Telling

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on October 1, 2022. Posted in Featured, General, Racism to Reconciliation. 2 Comments on THE MOVEMENT MADE US: A Telling

As I read THE MOVEMENT MADE US, I reflected on what I learned about generational racialized trauma in books such as My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem. Menakem’s book is wonderful, full of wisdom and advice. But what we learn from the father/son telling in THE MOVEMENT MADE US is on a different level. David Dennis Jr., in collaboration...

A Fatherless Child..Just Not the Right One

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on September 22, 2022. Posted in Featured, General. 9 Comments on A Fatherless Child..Just Not the Right One

I grew up in Mississippi a fatherless child. But something tells me State Auditor Shad White’s “fatherless” report wasn’t talking about me. For ten years in Mississippi, I was raised by a single mother who didn’t have a paying job. We got by thanks in part to government assistance from Social Security. Yet, no one cites studies that show how...

I’ve Joined Medium

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on September 14, 2022. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 8 Comments on I’ve Joined Medium

No, I’m not becoming a seance aficionado. I’ve joined the writing site called Medium. I’m learning something new. Inspired by wonder-blogger Marie Bailey, I’ve joined Medium. But, as usual, I did things a**-backwards. I wrote a story for Medium, and I can’t figure out how to re-post it here. In the future, I’ll...

Emmett Till’s Memorial

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on August 30, 2022. Posted in Featured, General, Racism to Reconciliation. 14 Comments on Emmett Till’s Memorial

This weekend, my husband and I went to Emmett Till’s memorial. In 1955, when Emmett Louis Till had just turned fourteen, a group of white men murdered him in Drew, Mississippi. Emmett had come to Mississippi on summer vacation. His cousin, who was his best friend, was returning to the family’s home state, and Emmett wanted to come with...