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When I left home in 1965, there was no indoor plumbing. Water had to be carried from the well that Mama and Daddy dug when they first moved up to Jerusalem in 1948. Most people in the neighborhood used outhouses |
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When I
left home in 1965, there was no indoor plumbing. Water had to be carried
from the
well that Mama and Daddy dug when they first moved up to Jerusalem in 1948. Most people in the
neighborhood used outhouses
Letters
of an Abiding Faith Legacy of a Slave's GrandDaughter to her Son written by Ella Lewis to her Son
(Rudolph Lewis)
* * * * * Letter 4 (No Date) Well I got the Water Back in the house.** I had to
dig a new line. But thanks to God I got it Back. It cost me one hundred
and forty dollars. I thank to God I got it. It was so pretty here to
day. It was 59 degrees. But in places the ground is still Frozen. How is School going with you. Better I hope. All here
is about the Same. Able to work stead of complaint. Uncle Sam is about
the Same.*** I am still trying to work. I am Smoking my meat now.****
Sistuh's Sonny recked Elaine's car Sunday night. But no Body got hurt.*
I guess he went to sleep. So you take care of your self. And dont forget to
pray. I am praying for you that the Lord will keep you to Be what you
want to Be. And dont forget Mother loves you as always. I preshate you
giving me the things. But what are you going to stop house keeping or
what. You take care of your self as you know I am a poor
riter. So you rite when you can. Dont forget me. Susie drop case of
apple Sause on her foot. Broke it. She was on the job. Let me know if
you got the money I putting it in plain letter. Bye from Mother Ella, I love you * * * *
* Commentary * For the word
"appreciate," Mama often will write "preshate." **Getting "water back into the
house" refers to fixing the plumbing. A line ran from the well to
the main house; an electric pump was used to draw the water from the
well. When I left home in 1965, there was no indoor plumbing. Water
had to be carried from the well that Mama and Daddy dug when they
first moved up to Jerusalem in 1948. Most people in the neighborhood
used outhouses, which was set off at a distance from the main house.
It posed a difficult situation in the winter time. In addition, none
in our community had a telephone. We were fortunate to get our first
TV, a Zenith, in August 1958. Our cultural isolation came to an end. I
got my first chance to see the outside world. How wonderful indeed. ***"Uncle Sam" is Mama’s
brother Sam Jackson. He is now dead. (See Introduction for other
names.) ****There was a house in the backyard used to smoke pig meat.
The floor of the smokehouse was the cement porch of the first house
built at Jerusalem that burned down about 1952. Letter
3 < > Letter 5 * * * * *
(August 11, 1910--December 28, 2009) * * *
* *
AALBC.com's 25 Best Selling Books
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#1 -
Justify My Thug by Wahida Clark #10 -
Covenant: A Thriller by Brandon Massey #11 -
Diary Of A Street Diva by Ashley and JaQuavis #12 -
Don't Ever Tell by Brandon Massey #13 -
For colored girls who have considered suicide by Ntozake Shange #14 -
For the Love of Money : A Novel by Omar Tyree #15 -
Homemade Loves by J. California Cooper #16 -
The Future Has a Past: Stories by J. California Cooper #17 -
Player Haters by Carl Weber #18 -
Purple Panties: An Eroticanoir.com Anthology by Sidney Molare #19 -
Stackin' Paper by Joy King #20 -
Children of the Street: An Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery by
Kwei Quartey #21 -
The Upper Room by Mary Monroe #22 –
Thug Matrimony by Wahida Clark #23 -
Thugs And The Women Who Love Them by Wahida Clark #24 -
Married Men by Carl Weber #25 -
I Dreamt I Was in Heaven - The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang by
Leonce Gaiter Non-fiction
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Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning
Marable #10 -
John Henrik Clarke and the Power of Africana History by Ahati
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Fail Up: 20 Lessons on Building Success from Failure by Tavis
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The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life by Kevin Powell
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The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore #15 -
Why Men Fear Marriage: The Surprising Truth Behind Why So Many Men
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Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American
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Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority by Tom
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A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle #19 -
John Oliver Killens: A Life of Black Literary Activism by Keith
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Alain L. Locke: The Biography of a Philosopher by Leonard Harris #21 -
Age Ain't Nothing but a Number: Black Women Explore Midlife by
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2012 Guide to Literary Agents by Chuck Sambuchino #25 -
Beyond the Black Lady: Sexuality and the New African American Middle
Class by Lisa B. Thompson
Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All
By Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons knows firsthand that
wealth is rooted in much more than the
stock
market. True wealth has more to do with
what's in your heart than what's in your
wallet. Using this knowledge, Simmons
became one of America's shrewdest
entrepreneurs, achieving a level of
success that most investors only dream
about. No matter how much material gain
he accumulated, he never stopped lending
a hand to those less fortunate. In
Super Rich, Simmons uses his rare
blend of spiritual savvy and
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principles for developing an unshakable
sense of self that can weather any
financial storm. As Simmons says, "Happy
can make you money, but money can't make
you happy."
* * * * *
Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness
By Michele Alexander
Contrary to the
rosy picture of race embodied in Barack
Obama's political success and Oprah
Winfrey's financial success, legal
scholar Alexander argues vigorously and
persuasively that [w]e have not ended
racial caste in America; we have merely
redesigned it. Jim Crow and legal racial
segregation has been replaced by mass
incarceration as a system of social
control (More African Americans are
under correctional control today... than
were enslaved in 1850). Alexander
reviews American racial history from the
colonies to the Clinton administration,
delineating its transformation into the
war on drugs. She offers an acute
analysis of the effect of this mass
incarceration upon former inmates who
will be discriminated against, legally,
for the rest of their lives, denied
employment, housing, education, and
public benefits. Most provocatively, she
reveals how both the move toward
colorblindness and affirmative action
may blur our vision of injustice: most
Americans know and don't know the truth
about mass incarceration—but her
carefully researched, deeply engaging,
and thoroughly readable book should
change that.—Publishers
Weekly
* * * * *
The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher) * *
* * * * * * * *
If you like this page consider making a donation * * * * * Browse all issues Enjoy! * * * * *
The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
* *
* * *
The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
* *
* * *
ChickenBones Store
(Books, DVDs, Music, and more)
update
31 December 2011
#2 -
Flyy Girl by Omar Tyree
#3 -
Head Bangers: An APF Sexcapade by Zane
#4 -
Life Is Short But Wide by J. California Cooper
#5 -
Stackin' Paper 2 Genesis' Payback by Joy King
#6 -
Thug Lovin' (Thug 4) by Wahida Clark
#7 -
When I Get Where I'm Going by Cheryl Robinson
#8 -
Casting the First Stone by Kimberla Lawson Roby
#9 -
The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth by Zane
#2 -
Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans
#3 -
Dear G-Spot: Straight Talk About Sex and Love by
Zane
#4 -
Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny
by Hill Harper
#5 -
Peace from Broken Pieces: How to Get Through What
You're Going Through by Iyanla Vanzant
#6 -
Selected Writings and Speeches of Marcus Garvey
by Marcus Garvey
#7 -
The Ebony Cookbook: A Date with a Dish by Freda
DeKnight
#8 -
The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors by
Frances Cress Welsing
#9 -
The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter Godwin
Woodson
#23 -
Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul by Tom Lagana
#24 -
101 Things Every Boy/Young Man of Color Should Know by LaMarr
Darnell Shields
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