Writer Ellen Morris Prewitt Blog

The Truth of High School

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

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

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

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

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

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...

How the Word is Passed (with apologies to Clint Smith)

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on August 21, 2022. Posted in General. 2 Comments

I’m intentional about it with my grandsons. I take every damn opportunity to repeat what my grandparents said to me. Even if it’s a simple, “Show me your money bags!” as I studied a lizard with an obvious pouch beneath her chin. My two grandsons halted beside me on the front porch. “What are you doing?”...

Respect-Centered Reparations

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on August 12, 2022. Posted in General, Racism to Reconciliation. 8 Comments

My last blog post talked about the shift in direction my reparations journey needs to take. That post introduced the impetus for the change. This blog post talks about what it might mean to shift from white-centered reparations to respect-centered reparations. Reparations: Story I Here’s a story: my Bigmama’s grandfather fought...

White-Centered Me

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on August 7, 2022. Posted in General, Racism to Reconciliation. 6 Comments

I’ve been attending lots of Zoom meetings on racism along my reparations journey. It’s got me listening to myself. What do I hear? Me. Little ol’ white-centered me. I used to talk about the ways my family was on the right side of history. “My grandfather refused to join the White Citizens Council.” “My great-grandfather...

Countries of Africa

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on July 16, 2022. Posted in Featured, Racism to Reconciliation. 6 Comments

Call me geographically challenged. By which I mean, put me in a hallway in a hotel, and I turn the wrong direction toward the elevator. Every. Single. Time. My husband learned early on that “You’ve been there,” wasn’t a sufficient response to a request for directions. Been there? More than once? Irrelevant. As for me, I’ve...

Family Hero Stories

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on July 7, 2022. Posted in Featured, General, Racism to Reconciliation. 12 Comments

If you are white and committed to racial justice, be prepared to give up what you are most proud of. I’m talking about your family hero stories. Your proud family—or personal—accomplishments. Look underneath those stories, and you might find harm done. What’s the Rest of your Family Story? Let me go first. Long as I remember,...