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The Heart of Danger

My family heads into hurricanes. They pinpoint the spot of landing – why, it’s almost a hundred miles from our beach! – and pile into the car. Hurry, they say, we need to arrive before they close the bridge. The governor has declared a state of emergency. The authorities have warned 150,00 people to retreat inland, and we are going to the...

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Origin of Black History Month

Today, the last day of February, we’re going to give credit where credit is due. The origin of Black History Month. Q: Who started it? A: Carter Woodson. Woodson was a major American historian living and working during the first half of the 20th century. He founded the predecessor to the Journal of African American History, one of the...

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Basquiat Our Patron Saint

In 2011, we rented an apartment (not a condo; everyone wants to make it a condo) in New Orleans. On the walls lived Jean-Michel Basquiat. For a while, the building had been abandoned and inhabitants used the walls for murals. The developer who bought the dilapidated building leaned into the graffiti and made Basquiat our patron saint of the...

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Until August Wilson

I had given up on plays until August Wilson. Much of my social life for decades had included attending plays. New Stage Theater in Jackson. Several theaters in Memphis. At one point, during a performance, I thought, What are you doing here? The play was not engaging. I was not having a good time. Until I discovered August Wilson. I would...

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The Work of Julius Chambers

When Mother remarried, we moved to my new dad’s home state of North Carolina. We went briefly to Durham then on to our forever-home, Charlotte. We arrived September 1970 when, thanks to the work of Julius Chambers, school across America was about to change. Chambers was a graduate of my alma mater, UNC Law School. Unlike me, he...

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The Work of Thurgood Marshall

From when I was in the fifth grade until I went off to college, the work of Thurgood Marshall dominated my educational experience. Before Marshall was a United States Supreme Court Justice, he was an NAACP lawyer working for the Legal Defense and Educational Fund. He tried Civil Rights cases. Over and over again, he tried them. And he...

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Don’t Call Me Miss Ellen

When I was practicing law, I frequently appeared before an administration judge. This one trial, the old dude who the agency hired to act as the judge would call me Miss Ellen. He called the opposition Mr. Cockrell. Me, Miss Ellen. I was a lawyer. The male person on the other side of the case was a lawyer. But I was being talked down to every...

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Right to Serve

Twice, I’ve been called to jury duty. The first time, I was dismissed because my ex-law partners were trying the case. The next time, I refused to agree to convict someone if it meant an automatic life sentence without chance for parole. Both times, I was ready and grateful to be on the jury. I wanted to exercise the right to serve. A...

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Black History Month by Me

Okay, guys, I missed February 1st. But they say don’t sacrifice the good-enough to the perfect. This year, 2025, as the Federal government works tirelessly to pretend no merit resides in anyone but straight white males, I will during Black History Month blog on how extraordinary Black Americans have impacted my personal history. Short...

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