Tag Archives: Black Writing from Chicago: In the World-Not of It?

Marita Bonner: Escaping Imposed Identities

Word comes from Don Evans, founding director of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, that Marita Bonner is to be inducted into the CLHOF this November.  He said I was the “most knowledgeable” person he knew on the subject, though … Continue reading

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Barack Obama: Race, Class, and Legacy

Barack Obama served as the 44th President of the United States, winning terms in 2008 and 2012. In my book Black Writing from Chicago, I included a passage from his best-selling autobiography Dreams from My Father.  That passage focused on … Continue reading

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Lucy Parsons: Increasing the Sum of Human Happiness

Born into slavery in Texas, Lucy Parsons sometimes shunned her African-American identity, claiming her Native and Mexican-American heritage for self-protection instead.  However, her marriage to the white Albert Parsons so clearly defied Southern anti-miscegenist society that they were forced to … Continue reading

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