|
Family
Origins—Church, Family, & Place
I call Jerusalem my home. I was born, however, in
South Baltimore at University of Maryland Hospital. Jerusalem
remains a place of refuge and spiritual comfort. It is where Mama
lives, where Daddy is buried. It was and continues to be a
village, a hamlet of about ten families, spread out around a
church, named Jerusalem Baptist, founded by freed Christian slaves
in the late 1860s. There are some who believe it was named, not
merely for the ancient and holy city of Judea, but also for the
former county seat of Southampton, Virginia, that the Christian
prophet and apostle Nathaniel Turner intended to seize in his holy
war in August 1831.
The first sixteen years of my life were
conditioned by this place and when I was twelve I was immersed,
along with others my age, in Jerusalem’s baptismal pool by the
then new pastor Reverend John Boone.
more intro
|
Table of Contents
Introduction
Family Stories
Black
Mama, White Son
A Response to "Black
Mama, White Son" by
Lewis Lawson
The
Confessions of Walter Cotton
Conjuring & Doctoring
Driving
the Blues Away: Or Dying by Degrees Responses
to “Driving the Blues Away”
Dwarf's Lament
Father Son and Mary
Letters
of An Abiding Faith (
Table
of Contents)
Me & the Devil at CrossHairs
Tale for Sam Williams
TeeJay’s Song: Shadows at Midnight
Letter
1 February 19, 1976
Letter 2
February 26, 1976
Letter
3 May 11, 1976
Letter
4 March 7, 1977
Letter 5
January 30, 1978
Letter 6
March 16, 1978
Letter 7
June 3, 1978
Letter
8 July 21, 1978
Letter
9 October 4, 1978
Letter 10
January 24, 1979
Letter
11 February 2,
1979
Letter 12
September 30, 1979
Letter
13 June 17, 1980
Letter 14
July 14, 1980
Letter
15 January 5, 1981
Letter 16
June 19, 1981
Letter
17 January 15,
1982
Letter 18
January 7, 1983
Letter 19
April 22, 1983
Letter 20
May 9, 1983
Letter 21
September 9, 1983
Letter 22
September 14, 1983
Letter 23
September 30, 1983
Letter 24
November 23, 1983
Letter 25
December 8, 1983
Letter 26
August 4, 1984
Letter 27
October 2, 1984
Letter 28
October 16, 1984
Letter 29
October 26, 1984
Letter 30
December 1, 1984
Letter 31
January 21, 1985
Letter 32
February 25, 1985
Letter 33
May 13, 1985
Letter 34
October 23, 1985
Letter 35
December 6, 1985
Letter 36
January 13, 1986
Letter 37
February 24, 1986 Letter 38
March 6, 1986
Letter 39
May 24, 1986
Letter 40
July 11, 1986
Letter 41
August 11, 1986
Letter 42
September 5, 1986
Letter 43
October 2, 1986
Letter 44
January 5, 1987
Letter 45
January 17, 1987
Letter 46
April 19, 1987
Letter 47
May 23, 1987
Letter 48
December 4, 1989
Letter 49
December 20, 1989 Letter 50
February 12, 1990 Letter 51
March 2, 1990 Letter 52
May 11, 1990 Letter 53
May 20, 1990 Letter 54
June 2, 1990 Letter 55
September 27, 1990 Letter 56
March 16, 1991 Letter 57
January 31, 1992 Letter
58 September 23, 1994
* * * * *
Related files
Balance Due Always
Belief, DisBelief & Back
Black Church
Black
Mama, White Son
The
Confessions of Walter Cotton
Conjuring & Doctoring
Cricket:
Jazz & Other Poems
Driving
the Blues Away: Or Dying by Degrees
Dwarf's Lament
The Education of Black Folks in the South: 1860-1935
Father Son and Mary
Hearing the Coffin Close
Home to Jerusalem
Mama's
Letters from Jerusalem (review)
Me & the Devil at CrossHairs
Mona Lisa
Throws A Party
The Official History of Jerusalem
Baptist Church
Poetic
Journey
Public Education in Sussex County
A Response to "Black
Mama, White Son"
Responses to “Driving
the Blues Away”
Rudy
Index
Rudy's Page
Sam Williams
Sharif's Response
Sussex County A Tale of Three Centuries
Tale for Sam Williams
TeeJay’s Song: Shadows at Midnight
Trouble in Mind |
* * * * *
* * *
* *
* *
* * *
|
Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
|
 |
* *
* * *
 |
Weep Not, Child
By
Ngugi wa Thiong'o
This is
a powerful, moving story that details the
effects of the infamous Mau Mau war, the
African nationalist revolt against colonial
oppression in Kenya, on the lives of
ordinary men and women, and on one family in
particular. Two brothers, Njoroge and Kamau,
stand on a rubbish heap and look into their
futures. Njoroge is excited; his family has
decided that he will attend school, while
Kamau will train to be a carpenter. Together
they will serve their country—the
teacher and the craftsman. But this is Kenya
and the times are against them. In the
forests, the Mau Mau is waging war against
the white government, and the two brothers
and their family need to decide where their
loyalties lie. For the practical Kamau the
choice is simple, but for Njoroge the
scholar, the dream of progress through
learning is a hard one to give up.—Penguin
|
* * * * *
The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
* *
* * *
Ancient African Nations
* * * * *
If you like this page consider making a donation
* * * * *
Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
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 /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
* *
* * *
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 1 January 2011
|
