Books
“Writing this book came naturally because it is the story of my life. I grew up hearing stories of the Great Migration and all the reasons why my parents and extended family moved from the South to the North. I zigzagged between Chicago, Detroit and Memphis as a child, so that, plus being a journalist, gives me a unique perspective.”
Established in 2018 by Travel South, the journey tracks the civil rights story from Delaware to Kansas and as far south as Florida and Louisiana. Covered stops include Charleston, Atlanta, Memphis, Little Rock, The Mississippi Delta, Washington, D.C. and more.Order a copy here. Or support independent bookstores by ordering at Bookshop.
What I learned on the road …
Everybody has a civil rights story, it doesn’t matter how old you are. So many people wanted me to write a book just about them. But seriously, this is history you can touch. You should do travel, learn, taste and touch. And meet living icons while they’re still here.
About Four Hundred Souls
Talk about an experience. Editors Ibram X. Kendi, author of "How to Be an Antiracist," and Keisha N. Blain, author of "Set the World on Fire," invited me to be one of the 90 writers and thinkers to contribute to “Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2021." This is auspicious as so many of the other contributors are people I admire.
What Kendi said …
“FOUR HUNDRED SOULS has ten sections, each spanning forty years. Each section concludes with a poem. Sometimes history is best captured by poets—as these ten Black poets show. Indeed, the lives of Black Americans have been nothing short of poetic.”
What my peeps said …
The word for today, my friends, is "pre-order." Because my Medill classmate Deborah Douglas pens an essay in this collection. Congrats, Deb! #Medill #NU #Wildcats #BlackCats #NUBAA