By Guest Blogger Peter de Lissovoy I met Peter in Albany on research trip, June 2011, during the 50th Anniversary of the Albany Civil Right’s Movement. He worked with SNCC in Albany during the 60s and graciously agreed to write this guest post: Well I wasn’t much of a pool player, but the poolroom was… Continue reading The Poolroom was an Institution
Category: Fleshing It Out
The Barber of Birmingham
Boy I tell-ya…it’s amazing what can grow in your own backyard. Robin Fryday lives about a mile down Center Road from me here in Novato, CA, and I’m so glad we met about a week ago through our mutual friend, Sharon Eide (met Sharon years ago on my morning walk). Sharon follows this blog and has been… Continue reading The Barber of Birmingham
Three Heroes—with more on Emmett Till
133 people visited the blog yesterday! A recent high, topped by 296 the day I launched six months ago. I’m psyched! Thanks to all who came, read, hopped around the site and commented. It’s 5:30 am Saturday and I spent a restless night thinking about Emmett and Trayvon and their families, finally pushed from the… Continue reading Three Heroes—with more on Emmett Till
Trayvon and Emmett
Back in March, I had my husband take this picture of me, still using it as my Facebook profile. Life has its moods and swings, ups and downs, and so does this blog. As much as I was renewed by my post honoring Ms. Irene, and encouraged by Angela Blackwell, I am drained by this… Continue reading Trayvon and Emmett
Ms. Irene
Ask anybody who knew my mother well and you’ll get stories of her positive attitude, her love of people and how she was a leader; in the Gaines family she was born into, and the Jones family she married into. Oh…and they may mention how she liked giving you a loving maul with her fist… Continue reading Ms. Irene
Harlem Barbershop ~ Tells Its Own Stories
June 2011 ~ ALBANY, GA Nope. Not talking about the infamous Harlem in New York City, but rather its namesake 1000 miles south in Albany, GA. It’s hot as the dickens that day, but nice and comfortable inside the barbershop on the corner of W. Highland and S. Jackson Streets in this historic district. When… Continue reading Harlem Barbershop ~ Tells Its Own Stories
Charlotta Janssen ~ “So Abstract she’s concrete”
~ Anita’s Journal Entry June 1, 2011 Albany, GA :Researching novel at 50th Anniversary of the Southwest Georgia SNCC Movement Tonight after a long day of speeches and panels, a bunch of us left Albany State University’s Hyper Gym for an after party in the lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn on the banks of… Continue reading Charlotta Janssen ~ “So Abstract she’s concrete”
Angela Davis in 2011 Documentary
We found this over the holidays while browsing Netflix instant play. Highly recommending: Leave it to a Swedish film crew to deliver a deeply insightful look at America’s Black Panther Party with rare, rare footage of such icons as Stokely Carmichael (and his mother, Mabel R. Carmichael), Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and Angela Davis (a potent… Continue reading Angela Davis in 2011 Documentary
50 Years After the Albany Movement
Albany Civil Rights Institute, June 2011 (ACRI) Photo: A.G. Jones While in Albany researching the novel in June 2011, I snapped the picture above during the opening reception of the SNCC 50th Anniversary of the Albany Movement. The Movement was founded on November 17, 196, so ACRI has had many festivities throughout 2011… Continue reading 50 Years After the Albany Movement
Poor People’s Campaign ~ Lessons from the Streets of 1968
My family was living on Hazard Drive in Albany, Georgia when Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968—my late mother’s 42nd birthday. I was two months shy of 14 and felt doubly sad—that King’s life had been snuffed out and my mother would cry for him on her birthday. Five weeks later, on… Continue reading Poor People’s Campaign ~ Lessons from the Streets of 1968