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I Feel to Believe

When we took an apartment in New Orleans, I began reading the Times-Picayune newspaper. I would spy a column by Jarvis DeBerry and feel as if I’d found an Easter egg. Back then, we were in the city part-time. I didn’t know DeBerry’s publishing schedule. So each column was a surprise and delight. A collection of those columns, each so...

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Reparations: Why Creative Writing

This is the 6th installment in my reparations series. Click to read the introduction. Continue with background facts about me and the salacious real me facts. I’ve included some warnings, plus the joy of reparative work. Today, we turn to what led me to take up reparations. Fiction Leads to Fact Twice, I’ve delved into...

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Happy New Year’s, NOLA

There’s a softness in the New Orleans air. The littlest birds make the loudest flutter of wings as they fly into the cedar next door. The white pup down the street calls his barking hello from his balcony, the door behind him open to let in the soft air. The sun slants. The man working on his house speaks, nodding. Black garbage cans dot...

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“Oh, No!” Godzilla: Mardi Gras 2022

I removed my hat. The priest’s thumb against my forehead was warm with oil, the ashes gritty. Afterwards, he urged us during Lent to take a step—maybe two steps—Godward. The quiet service with no singing, no Alleluias ended quietly. But before that, for a solid ten days, up and down the streets, day and night and into day again, the...

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Reparative Work

A scene from our reparations journey: We sit in the office of Dr. Ebony Lumumba, the Chair of the English Department at Jackson State University. We’re discussing the amazing conversation the night before on the stage of the McCoy Auditorium between Dr. Lumumba and Imani Perry. Dr. Perry was discussing her new book, South to America. (as soon...

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Take That, Facebook

It’s not often you have a major impact in the world. So it is with great pride that I announce Facebook is set to lose $10 billion this year. Sure, I appreciate the help of the other 499,999 users who left the platform in the last quarter of 2021. I could not have done it without them. Particularly, I want to thank the young people....

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Reparations Warnings

Before we get into reparations warnings, I want to thank y’all who’ve contacted me to let me know you’re reading or were intrigued to read The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. I truly loved this collection of stories (as you can tell from my review), and I’m glad to have successfully shared my joy. Next we continue my...

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The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Life is circuitous. I follow a list serve put out by Jackson State University professor C. Liegh McInnis who wrote about an interview between Kiese Laymon (Heavy; Long Division) and Robert Jones, Jr. (The Prophets) wherein they recommended, among other titles, THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES. And just like that, I have a new favorite...

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