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Connie Scott,
Librarian and Avid Reader
February Review
2003
MATTERS OF THE HEART
By Dr. Juanita Bynum
Charisma House, 2002
$13.99, ISBN 0-88419-832-4
At the
start of each year, we resolve to tighten the financial belt or loosen the
grip of fast food dining. Yes, we start off with good intentions but end up
with dead dreams. New Year’s Resolutions. You may smile while most of us
will let out a groan or sigh. Been there and done that! Face it, we’re
human and according to this author, what we so desperately need is a heart
change.
Prophetess
Bynum is a well-known preacher and teacher. Her ministry is worldwide and
her message is bold-spirited. She has been featured in magazines such as
Charisma and Essence. Prophetess Bynum discusses the importance
of obtaining a new heart from God. It is only through a “heart transplant”
that we can live a fulfilling life. It is through the heart, not the brain,
that we can overcome the negative habits, thoughts and emotions that so
easily influence us.
Supported
with the Word of God, actual life experiences and scientific evidence, she
provides a deep and timely contribution that readers will want to
immediately act upon. This work is not for the faint-hearted. If one is
serious about positive life change, this book will be a useful guide.
March
Review
2003
FOOLISH/UNFOOLISH: REFLECTIONS
ON LOVE
By Ashanti
Hyperion, 2002
$16.95, 100 pages
Ashanti
Douglas was born Oct. 13, 1980 on Long Island in New York. She has been
dubbed the “Princess of Hip Hop and R&B.” Ashanti grew up singing in the
church choir, dancing and modeling. She had her first record deal at age
14. Her face has been on the covers of Ebony, Honey and Teen People
magazines. She has recorded with Ja Rule, Fat Joe and Big Pun. She has
recently been nominated for five Grammy awards. Now at the age of 22,
Ashanti adds a published book of poetry and journal musings to her list of
accomplishments.
The
motivations behind this creative venture were her fans. Interspersed with
black and white photos of her from toddler to teen, Ashanti gives glimpses
of her personal life. The book is divided into four sections- Falling,
Jealousy, Breaking Up and Hope. Events such as dating, proms, clubbing and
phone calls are the backdrop for the poems. The flavor is somewhat mild and
cutesy.
She talks
of her first public kiss at TGIF and college-age boyfriends. Her ideas
center on the search for love and how it makes one do “crazy things.” One
episode is the time she was driving and talking on her cell to her “man” and
ran over some boulders resulting in a damaged oil pan. Ashanti just took it
in stride as she does with much of the drama and everyday happenings in a
young person’s life. Hope is the shortest section in the book and she
focuses on her family and goals for the future. Tweens and teens will
relate to her celebrity status as well as the anxieties of growing up.
Let’s hope that in the next 10 years readers will request another work that
will offer some serious wisdom.
HIGHLIGHTS
E.A.R.L., THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DMX
As
told to Smokey D. Fontaine
Harper, 2002
346 pages
Includes full-page
black/white & color photos, and lyrics. E.A.R.L. stands for “Ever Always
Real Life.”
And the Winner is…
By L.L. Cool J.
Scholastic, 2002 with CD
LL has written a book for young hip-hoppers. It is a positive story about
winning and losing.
April/May
Review
2003
WHY I LOVE BLACK WOMEN
By Michael Eric Dyson
Basic Civitas Books, 2003
$23.00, 314 pages
It
is a catchy title. That’s one of the reasons why I was determined to read
this book and I’m glad I did. Michael Eric Dyson is the author of many
controversial subjects. He has written about race and rap. He has covered
the lives of Tupac Shakur and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mr. Dyson is an
ordained minister, lecturer and professor. His style of writing is very
engaging. A few times I had to consult a dictionary but that didn’t deter
from the message he is imparting to his readers. He concisely shows the
challenges Black women face within our society. How women connect to men,
children and lifework. Through his many personal observations, he
passionately relates how women have helped him to live life to the fullest.
He sets out to dispel the myth of the “jezebels, sapphires and mammies.”
(An excerpt was included in the February 2003 edition of Essence.)
Part One is
entitled “Heads and Hearts” in which he covers teachers, writers and icons.
(Yes ladies, he does include his mother). He talks of his boyhood crush
on his high school French teacher. He describes Toni Morrison as sexy. He
gives high regard to Betty Shabazz, Coretta Scott King and Mamie
Till-Mobley, women who not only stood by the men in their lives, but shaped
their own causes for freedom.
Part Two is
“Halls and Hills” where he leads a discussion on the likes of Angela Davis
and Barbara Lee. These women and others make a very definite impact on our
society. Highlighting Davis’s trademark Afro, Dyson delves into the
indecencies that she experienced as well as those she exposes. Ms. Lee
vehemently opposed the war on Iraq immediately following 9/11 and was looked
upon as un-American. She is now “seen as a prophet.”
Part Three
deals with the “Hurts and Highs” of Black womanhood. Married three times,
Dyson speaks of the emotional ups and downs that women must confront. His
wife, Rev. Marcia Dyson, is a social activist in her own right. He allows
their daughter to describe her while he writes lovingly of her upbringing.
He takes us on a trip to the Johnson Publishing Company, home of Ebony
and Jet magazines. His visit is amusing yet informative. He is greeted
by a former student, mesmerized by librarian Pamela Cash Menzies and
interviews Lynda Johnson Rice-President and CEO. He manages to keep his
libido in check when he gets to meet divas such as Denise Nicholas, Mary
Wilson and Freda Payne at a party.
To
conclude, Dyson ends with a very non-traditional sermon. His words call for
a healing of relationships between male and female. He also implores the
church to show love to women as they minister in their own way with the same
power God bestows upon men. He is also open to an assortment of spiritual
theories.
If you need
some mother, sister, or grandma love then you will find it in these pages.
Women are the birthers and caretakers and often the breadwinners of our
race. It makes me proud to read of the accomplishments of so many and know
that there are others-ordinary women who are charting their own paths.
Half bio and half love letter, I recommend this book for those who desire a
positive and uplifting story. This work would make a great Mother’s Day
present!
June/July
Review
2003
INNER CITY
MIRACLE: A MEMOIR
By Judge Greg Mathis and Blair S. Walker
Ballantine Books, 2003
$23.95, 197 pages with photographs
Judge Greg
Mathis’s candid biography gives insight to the achievements of a once
wayward youth. It is also a testimony of how the choices one makes can
impact a life for success or failure. This book, dedicated to the memory of
his mother as well as all single mothers, chronicles his life from boyhood
to his present status as a TV judge.
A difficult
youngster, Mr. Mathis lived a double life on the streets of Detroit,
Michigan. A mama’s boy who attended church he began shoplifting at the age
of five. He hung around a bad crowd and eventually became a full-time
gangster. He called himself the “most defiant and incorrigible” of his
three older brothers. Partly influenced by the hustlers and pimps of the
neighborhood and his disdain of the Seventh - day Adventist church-goers,
young Mathis carved out a life of rebellion.
He was a
very bright student who could connive and think fast on his feet. He was a
robber, purse snatcher and school shakedown artist. Like most offenders, he
truly believed he was never going to get caught. Each hit was meticulously
managed.
Planning
his time according to the dog-eat-dog mentality of the streets, Mathis’s
life took a turn at age seventeen. He was put in Wayne County Jail for
possession of a firearm at his high school. He was surviving time behind
bars, but the big blow to him was his mother’s announcement that she had
cancer. He promised God that he would change his ways.
This led
him to apply for college but soon after his mother, Alice Lee Mathis, died
of colon cancer. He pressed on, although angry with God. He found a job
with the Detroit city council and excelled at his work while attending law
school. Having an earlier encounter with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Mathis
became his Michigan Presidential Campaign manager in 1988. He found his
niche in being a public servant and the rest is history.
This book
was fast-paced. The memoir is straightforward. Some readers may find the
language to be offensive. Judge Mathis never forgets where he came from.
His compassion for those living in the hardcore inner city comes through as
very real. I would recommend this book to those who not only want to read
about a celebrity but about making wise choices with the opportunities that
life presents.
August/September
Review
2003
Chantal Shelton,
Vice President of Operations
and Avid Reader
chantal@myblackinfo.com
Spiral
By Denise turney
Chistell publishing, june 2003
cover: morris publishing
$12.95 isbn: 0-9663539-2-7
205 pages
We here at
Myblackinfo.com we pride ourselves on being very avid readers, and consider
ourselves to be up on the latest authors. But it seems that one has really
slipped thru our little hands. We often review books that are suggested to
us, but this one was sent to us by the author herself, Denise Turney. And
the name of her book is “Spiral”. Needless to say, this is one of the best
books that I have read in a good while. I just absolutely could not put
this book down. And can you say skeletons! This book has many twists and
turns, that I could see coming until I was right in the mist of it. And let
me tell you this book brings up many social issues that still dog our
community to this day. This book is an absolute book clubs dream the
discussions would go on forever. I really loved this book so much that I am
going to get her other books so that I can read them.
This book
starts off in the summer 1934 in Louisville, Kentucky, where a young girl is
missing. Needless to say they roundup all of the black men and question
them. Of course someone knows what has happened to the young girl but they
can’t tell what they saw for fear of being accused of the crime themselves.
This book takes your thru the lives of all the people whom this crime
touches. How in the unlikeliest places people find friends, and secrets.
Now
that I am through with praises for Spiral, let me tell a little something
about the talented author Denise Turney. She is a columnist for Indigo
Magazine and the New Citizens Press. Her works have been published in
magazines and newspapers around the world. She is also the author of the
books Love Has Many Faces, Portia and Spiral. She also has a fourth book in
the works. Please take a minute and check out her website
http://www.chistell.com and read about this wonder
author.
May/June Review
2004
My Life With Bob Marley No Woman No Cry
By
Rita Marley with Hettie Jones.
Hyperion
U.S.
$22.95 Canada $33.95 isbn: 0-7868-6867-8
209 pages
My Life
With Bob Marley No Woman No Cry, by Rita Marley with Hettie Jones.
When I
first received this book for review, I thought Rita Marley! This must be one
of Bob Marley’s children. But, little did I know, this is Bob’s wife! Not
that I knew a lot about Bob Marley or his life, I surely knew his music. So
straight from the jacket this book had me intrigued. I couldn’t wait to
find out about the woman behind the legend.
This book
is truly an inspiring book on so many levels. First of all for now on when
ever I hear that old saying “behind every great man is an even greater
woman,” I will think of Rita Marley! Rita really laid it out on these pages
for everyone to see. Telling of times when she had known that her husband
was being unfaithful not once or twice but numerous times. It would be easy
for those of us looking in to say “why didn’t she leave him.” But, after
reading this book I came to realize that it would have been the easy way
out, and love isn’t always easy.
Rita takes
you on the journey of her life from the poor streets of Trench Town, trying
to make a living. Falling in love with and marrying Bob Marley. The good
times and trials of their marriage that lasted until his death, thru the
fighting over the estate that she had help build. And in my opinion the
only thing that helped her thru every thing was her family and faith. I
believe no matter who you claim to be your higher power, rather you call him
God, Jah, or Allah, sometimes faith is all you need to help carry you on.
Rita
Marley often mentions how great and deep Bob Marley was, but I think that
she is just as deep and strong as he was. This is one of the things that
Rita wrote that really stuck with me, “Wealth and fame are things that I see
as added, not given. What is given is life, and for whatever is added, give
thanks.”
Get
this book, you will enjoy it, not just because it is about the life of
someone great and famous, but it has meaning it has something to say.
Chantal
November Review
2004
Connie Scott,
Librarian and Avid
Reader
LIVING ON PURPOSE
It is a delight to resume the book review
column for this great website. I have been on a journey of fulfillment and
many changes have occurred in my life. The journey continues as I grow
emotionally, mentally and spiritually. It is an exciting and faith-filled
path. I have had to leave some things behind. At the same time, I have had
to step out into the unknown. That is why the revival of this column will
take on a new focus. It will be on uplifting books that cultivate positive
attitudes and actions. I feel it is time to stop blaming others (them), the
“system” and ourselves for our circumstances. Personal growth is about
empowerment. We need to move towards successful lifestyles and start LIVING
ON PURPOSE. Join with me as I share and promote reading that impacts our
daily lives.
LISTEN TO YOUR LIFE:
FOLLOWING YOUR UNIQUE PATH TO EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS
by
Valorie Burton
Waterbrook Press, 2004
$13.99, 219 pages
If this book were a novel-you, the reader,
would be the main character. This title requires an open mind and honest
soul-searching. You won’t be disappointed. The book is arranged into 7
chapters with a dynamic introduction and reassuring conclusion. Ms. Burton
has written with a distinctive format. She includes real life applications,
questions and checklists to guide the reader through the process of
successful living.
For example, the chapter on Expectancy,
has the reader list 5 definite routes to strengthen their actions to
their stated mission and vision. The sky is the limit because the reader is
mapping out his or her own path. I especially appreciated the chapter on
Flow. I worked through the 48 Hour Challenge of
how to learn from the detours one encounters on the journey of life. By
completing this exercise, I am better equipped and alert to potential
answers in the disturbances that affect the natural flow of things. I
imagined myself surrounded by water, allowing the ebb of the waves to carry
me to my divine destiny. Hence the expression “go with the flow.”
Ms Burton ends each chapter with a prayer.
She doesn’t come off as preachy or legalistic. Her writing style is
soothing. She also encourages the reader that the journey to success takes
time. Don’t let this book overwhelm you. Read it and work through it at
your own pace. Ms. Burton is eminently qualified to pen this title. She
is a Life Coach and Motivational Speaker. She writes a column for
BlackAmericaWeb.com, which is sponsored by DJ Tom Joyner. Her other works
are Rich Minds, Rich Rewards: 52 Ways to Enhance, Enrich & Empower
Your Life and What’s Really Holding You Back? (March
2005)
Start Living on Purpose,
Connie
January & February
Review 2005
Addicted to Hurry: Spiritual Strategies for
Slowing Down
by Kirk Byron Jones,
Judson Press, 2003
$13.00 and 119 pages
Fast, speedy, quick, and rapid. These are
all words that indicate the rush that we live with daily. Hold on, I hear
you! “But Sister Connie, I can’t slow down. I don’t have time to read this
book. The holidays are upon us….” Yes we have access to palm pilots,
programmable coffeemakers and an array of technological tools. Retail
businesses promise us quick service. If we aren’t served in 3 minutes,
another line opens or we get a special discount or a free beverage. We are
an accelerated nation of people who are spiritually depleted because we are
in a chronic state of hurriedness.
The author, Dr. Kirk B. Jones outlines
tactics that can help conquer the hurry within us. A pastor for 20 years,
he knows what he is writing about. I like the phrase “voluntary
incarceration” that he uses to describe our need for overload and pressure.
He acknowledges that people should recognize that burnout is a stark reality
that we must deal with in a spiritual manner. This book is not just a
message for surviving but for change.
He explores the why of the obsession with
busyness. He analyzes why we welcome such a thief into our mental and
physical states. In three chapters, he explains how one may be trying to
escape from hurt and fright. Another may be fleeing from themselves. Still
another is moving further away from God who really wants to bless with
divine balance. Dr. Jones encourages the reader to face the fears and seek
wholeness. He urges one to commit to taking time for oneself.
Have you ever taken a “Mental Health Day” off
from work or the family? He says call it a “Wellness Day” and inspires the
reader to connect with God in day-to-day living. There is something
powerful in experiencing the silence. Then he introduces his “Savoring Pace
Alternative.” Instead of just kicking back, one must release old mindsets
and develop a passion for relaxation. We all can benefit from Sabbath-that
7th day of rest. We so desperately need it.
Towards the end of the book, he gives useful
advice on how we can relish these downtimes. We need to observe more
closely, listen with a caring ear and reflect more deeply. I recall years
ago I worked in Chicago and my train commute was an hour or so. Many times
I had my head in a book (even while standing) or doing some last minute
work. One summer, I decided to look out the window and watch the scenery.
It was the same view each morning and evening. Yet, I began to really look
at the surroundings. I noticed nature, architectural beauty and people
going about everyday life. It was a freeing time for me and my mind was at
ease from the hustle and bustle around me.
Dr. Jones nudges us to move from the known to the
unknown thereby gathering new insights. Each chapter asks a series of
questions, exercises and multiple-choice quizzes. These are to assist the
reader in self-coaching. At times, his style is more textbook than easy
reading. Enjoy the poetry, quotes and the new pace in your life. To see
how fast you are moving, visit his website at
www.savoringpace.com.
Keep Living on Purpose!!!
Connie
March & April
Review 2005
THE END IS JUST THE
BEGINNING: LESSONS IN GRIEVING FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS
by Rev. Arlene Churn, Ph.D.,
Harlem Moon, 2003
$12.95, 241 pages
This subject matter is not a popular one that
is easily discussed. We talk about last night’s football game or eagerly
await a weekend dinner and a movie with all vigor in the world. Everyday we
live out our lives, but the finality of death is a reality. I chose this
book because I believe it fits in with the theme of Living On Purpose. I am
aware that this review may be read during the height of the New Year. This
is a time for beginnings not endings. However, many will find this review a
timely one. With so many emotions within us, how do we cope? Rev Arlene
Churn guides us through “healthy grieving” with humor, love, wisdom and a
whole lot of truth.
As a people, we die in so many ways. Because
of our ancestral background and “isms” we often don’t deal with the deep
issues of grieving. I know I am not the only one who has experienced family
and extended family suffering with the loss of a loved one. It runs the
spectrum: the young; the old; those in the prime of life are taken away from
us by violence, poor health treatment, and other tragedies. Many times we
shy away from any type of counseling. Others fall back on religion, cause
that’s what you do- go to church. Still others seesaw between anger and
guilt because the loved one has left them without a financial future thereby
setting off family feuds. This divides the loved ones even further at a
time when closeness and comfort are needed. We can miss the most important
part of the journey of mourning and that is why this book is a valuable
resource.
Rev Churn leaves no stone unturned. Death is
one of life’s transitions and we must deal with it. She is a Certified
Grief Counsel Specialist. She gives biblical and clinical hope to those who
need support. It is almost as if you are in her office sitting in on
individual and group counseling sessions. She talks of AIDS and suicide
deaths. Each chapter ends with instruction for healing and affirmations of
relief. A list is provided on various agencies (some with web addresses)
that can assist the living.
She cautions the survivors about fantasizing
the deceased. She admonishes friends and family on how to serve the
grieving. African Americans are a strong and proud people who have been
through much and will continue to go through. Rev. Churn encourages all of
us to embrace the change that comes to crush our spirits and allow time for
wounds to heal. Grieving is a process and she cautions us not to get “stuck”
but move through it.
Other titles to read: Lead Me Home: An African American
Guide Through the Grief Journey
by Carlenn Brice
Passed On: African American Mourning Stories: A
Memorial
by Karla F.C. Holloway
Keep Living on Purpose!!!
Connie
May Review 2005
DOING BUSINESS BY THE GOOD BOOK: 52 LESSONS
ON SUCCESS STRAIGHT FROM THE BIBLE
By David L. Steward with Robert L. Shook, Hyperion, 2004
$16.95, 270
pages
David L. Steward heads the largest
African-American owned business-World Wide Technology Inc. It serves the
telecommunication field. The book he has penned is not only a how-to on
managing an enterprise, but a testimony of how the faith of one man opened
the entrepreneurial doors of success. This book speaks to the CEO, middle
manager, worker and anyone who is interested in how the principles of the
Bible are applied to the marketplace.
Mr. Steward’s book gives a fresh view of how
professional ethics and personal integrity are keys to success in the
workplace. The idea for the book began while he was teaching these
principles in a Sunday school class. He writes about setbacks he suffered
personally and financially in creating and managing WWT. He is a firm
believer in empowering people. He is a true servant leader. This comes
through so clearly in the 52 chapters of the book. He is genuinely caring
for his employees, staff, customers and the community in which he lives.
Mr. Steward knows without a doubt that he is a man of influence. His desire
to make a difference is commendable. Many corporations have failed due to
the corruption, greed and injustice of leadership.
Chapter 7 covers serving others. Leaders
should inspire those surrounding them. All workers should own the mission
and vision of the company. Chapter 21 talks of passion and how the
excitement and energy of serving others should compel us to do good works.
In Chapter 30, he emphasizes the importance of listening and follow
through. There were times when he missed a paycheck but his workers never
did.
As Chairman of WWT, Mr. Steward adds the
“personal touch” in his business. He always sends thank you notes and makes
personal calls in the beginning of the year to wish people well and
encourage them. It is essential to show personal concern especially in
times of adversity. A contingency plan must be in place to prepare for the
unforeseen as well as for future generations as discussed in Chapter 43.
Giving is a joy and Mr. Steward is an active
and loyal member of St. Louis, where WWT is based. He cheerfully gives
monies, time and talent to many boards and fund-raising programs. He is a
man of faith. In the November 2004 issue of Current Biography, David
Steward states that “My whole life is God’s business.” This book goes
beyond the facts and figures of operating a business. It is a personal case
study of trusting God to guide us to our destiny and calling. For more
information visit Mr. Steward’s website at
www.bythegoodbook.com
Related Readings: How to Be An
Entrepreneur and Keep Your Sanity: The African-American Handbook & Guide to
Owning, Building and Maintaining Successfully Your Own Small Business
By Paula McCoy
Pinderhughes, Amber Books Publishing, 2004 $14.95, 184 pages.
The Ten
Commandments of Working in a Hostile Environment
by T. D. Jakes, Berkley, 2005, 216 pages
Keep Living on Purpose!!!
Connie
June & July Review
INNER CITY MIRACLE: A MEMOIR
By Judge
Greg Mathis and Blair S. Walker Ballantine Books. 2003 $23.95, 197 pages
with photographs.
Judge Greg
Mathis’s candid biography gives insight to the achievements of a once
wayward youth. It is also a testimony of how the choices one makes can
impact a life for success or failure. This book, dedicated to the memory of
his mother as well as all single mothers, chronicles his life from boyhood
to his present status as a TV judge.
A difficult
youngster, Mr. Mathis lived a double life on the streets of Detroit,
Michigan. A mama’s boy who attended church he began shoplifting at the age
of five. He hung around a bad crowd and eventually became a full-time
gangster. He called himself the “most defiant and incorrigible” of his
three older brothers. Partly influenced by the hustlers and pimps of the
neighborhood and his disdain of the Seventh - day Adventist church-goers,
young Mathis carved out a life of rebellion.
He was a
very bright student who could connive and think fast on his feet. He was a
robber, purse snatcher and school shakedown artist. Like most offenders, he
truly believed he was never going to get caught. Each hit was meticulously
managed.
Planning
his time according to the dog-eat-dog mentality of the streets, Mathis’s
life took a turn at age seventeen. He was put in Wayne County Jail for
possession of a firearm at his high school. He was surviving time behind
bars, but the big blow to him was his mother’s announcement that she had
cancer. He promised God that he would change his ways.
This led
him to apply for college but soon after his mother, Alice Lee Mathis, died
of colon cancer. He pressed on, although angry with God. He found a job
with the Detroit city council and excelled at his work while attending law
school. Having an earlier encounter with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Mathis
became his Michigan Presidential Campaign manager in 1988. He found his
niche in being a public servant and the rest is history.
This book
was fast-paced. The memoir is straightforward. Some readers may find the
language to be offensive. Judge Mathis never forgets where he came from.
His compassion for those living in the hardcore inner city comes through as
very real. I would recommend this book to those who not only want to read
about a celebrity but about making wise choices with the opportunities that
life presents.
Keep Living on Purpose!!!
Connie
October & November Review
We Were There: Voices of
African American Veterans, from World War II to the War in Iraq
By Yvonne Latty with Photographer Ron Tarver
Amistad, 2004, 184 pages.
Our history tells us that Cripus Attucks was the
first African-American fatality of the United States quest for independence.
Since that time many men and women of African descent have served and died for
their country. The 28 stories throughout the pages of this book are told as if
they happened yesterday. Despite harassment, degradation and homegrown terror,
they are proud to have represented and served their country. Many volunteered
willingly because they believed in the cause for freedom.
Beginning with World War II, blacks helped
liberate the concentration camps. They were in the first wave of combat on
D-Day. Yes, many sorted mail, cleaned toilets, and carried the dead but they
were on the front lines too. Samuel Gravely Jr., who was a Vice Admiral in the
Navy and the first African-American to serve and command a navy fighting ship,
put it this way-“I didn’t have the time to let the problems, the racism, defeat
me. All I knew was that I had to be the best I could.”
Next are memories from the Korean War. This was
the 1950’s and a time of persecution for Blacks on the home front. It was also
the last segregated military. Army Corporal Stephen Hopkins was a Prisoner of
War. He made the march to China with 300 of his fellow soldiers. Only about
100 made it. He lived through 3 and one half years of torture. He stated that
growing up in the projects of Philadelphia helped him survive. The Chinese
played mind games on the Black prisoners by showing them the hostile conditions
American Blacks suffered during the civil rights era. Despite major health
issues that the military did not address, Corporal Hopkins says he is “blessed.”
The Vietnam accounts were the harshest. Hostility was all
around-in the jungle, on the base and on American soil. Army nurses Elizabeth
Allen, Marie Rodgers and Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Olivia Theriot, share
poignant narratives of treating the wounded. They felt that the men needed
them. These women had the fortitude to face a very rough time in history.
Ms. Allen wanted to stay in Vietnam. She flew in helicopters and survived
rocket attacks on the hospitals. She is currently a professor of nursing in
Michigan. Ms. Rodgers was a surgical nurse who ran a tight unit. Former
President Lyndon Johnson presented her with the Bronze Star. Ms Theriot was a
flight nurse who encouraged the men in many ways. She tried to give them hope.
It was a moment of pride when she marched during the dedication the Women’s
Memorial in Washington
D.C. One of the
men who she took care of was present on that eventful day.
The Persian Gulf War took many of the troops to a
different fighting zone. It was heat, sand and chemical warfare. J Alexander
Martin, co-creator of FUBU, was a member of the Navy during this war. He says
that it helped him to get his life on track. Though he is not overly patriotic,
he does enjoy the freedom that America has. The War on Terror gives us insight
on what it was like those first few days after the September 11 attack. Air
force Captain Anthony LaSure flew the planes for Operation Noble Eagle. He
patrolled our coasts immediately after the assault. Captain Eric Mitchell flew
during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His duty was to provide fuel for the fighter
planes. He gives accolades to the Tuskegee Airman and their leader Gen. Benjamin
O. Davis. There are so few African-American pilots now then there were during
World War II.
This book is a living testimony to the
contributions that Blacks have made in the military. These wars affected them
personally as well as collectively. Some joined because of societal unrest or
instability of economic and educational opportunities. These are moving stories
of heroes and heroes decorated with Purple Hearts, Silver Stars, ribbons and
medals. As we embark upon Memorial Day (May30) and Flag Day (June 14) let us
honor the heroic lives that not only faced war but also the enemies of racism,
segregation and bigotry. A must read!!
Keep Living on Purpose!!!
Connie Scott and
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