The Village Griot Ezine: Summer 2010

Volume 1: Issue 2 Summer 2010
“Just wanted to stop by to say that this

The Summer 2010 issue –second in the new
evolution of The Village Griot was definitely
worth the wait. An AWESOME Job, I tell format– began to breathe a life of its own,
you!!!! Sharon, You and your team are perhaps because the contributors felt the theme
amazing.” … Erwin A. Scofield was either too basic or too complicated; or this
was the opportune time for their own unique
Greetings… One of the first comments received expression.
regarding the debut issue of The Village Griot
eZine came from a friend who happens to be a This issue’s poetic theme is Summer,
bishop, who happens to be a writer, and who Summertime, Summer Love, Summer Passion,
happens to be a published author. Bishop Summer Fun, etc. The overall theme as always
Scofield is very much aware of the The Village reflects upon a community of creative people
Griot’s evolution, as he has been a contributor devoted to sharing our God given gifts.
and understands that this publication would
not exist without the continued efforts of I am forever grateful to those who adhere to the
others. submission guidelines and willingly contribute
to The Village Griot eZine because you make
Contributors are solicited by various means; this an excellent publication.
word of mouth, online announcements, social
networking, email via subscription, and the Amani na Mapenzi: Love & Peace,
simplicity of asking.
Editor, Designer, Publisher
Cover Theme: The sunflower was a common crop among

American Indian tribes throughout North America. Evidence sug-
gests that the plant was cultivated by Indians in present-day Ari-
zona and New Mexico about 3000 BC. Some archaeologists sug-
gest that sunflower may have been domesticated before corn.
Sunflower was used in many ways throughout the various Indian

tribes. Seed was ground or pounded into flour for cakes, mush or
bread. Some tribes mixed the meal with other vegetables such as
beans, squash, and corn. The seed was also cracked and eaten for
a snack. There are references of squeezing the oil from the seed
and using the oil in making bread.
Non-food uses include purple dye for textiles, body painting and
other decorations. Parts of the plant were used medicinally rang-
ing from snakebite to other body ointments. The oil of the seed
was used on the skin and hair. The dried stalk was used as a build-
ing material. The plant and the seeds were widely used in cere-
monies. http://www.sunflowernsa.com
This work (The Village Griot eZine) is pro-

vided under the terms of this Creative
Commons Public License. The eZine is pro-
tected by copyright and/or other applicable law. Any use of
the eZine other than as authorized under this license or copy-
2 | The Village Griot

Features In Every Issue
African Proverb --- 4
8 Art by LIZ

 Quotes for Meditation --- 5

The artist talks
about what  Historic Village Milestones --- 6
motivates her and
 Crossword Puzzle --- 33
what keeps her
going.
11 The New Mark Cottman Gallery 26 Poet’s Corner

Glynis Matilda Boyd
D’Ardan Bryant
12 The Gold Coin: A Children’s Book Sarah Myles Spencer
Tonny K. Brown Sharon Moore Stenhouse
16 Roots of Steel: Boom and Bust in 30 I Remember (Inspired by

an American Mill Town Congressman John Lewis)
Deborah Rudacille D’Ardan Bryant
32 Ode to Urban Summers

21 A ‘Steel Worker’ Hero Sharon Moore Stenhouse
Sharon Moore Stenhouse
35 Autoimmune
23 Core Connection Lifestyle Sarah Myles Spencer
Takeyah Young
37 JuWasha’s Shroud
24 Lessons From Above Introduction of new novel with excerpt
Savannah J. Sharon Moore Stenhouse
ORIGIN: Oshiwambo (Namibia)
Waalombwelwa noyi niiso paantu.

(Oshiwambo)
If you do not listen to good advice, you will be embarrassed in public. (English)
Background, Explanation and Everyday Use:

Every society has cultural values and norms that give advice to people in order to help them grow
more humane and follow the right way of life. This advice helps people to be successful in their lives and
to be good examples to others in society. Normally it is the elders who have the responsibility to impart
wisdom, good norms, and good advice to young people. This is what is practiced by the Owambo people
who are an ethnic group in the northern part of Namibia.
Language is one of the basic means of education and passing on advice. Oshindonga, the language of
the Ndonga people, is one of the seven dialects of Oshiwambo, the language of the Owambo Ethnic
Group. Everyday young people are told to behave. Those who do not want to listen and to take good
advice due to pride, disobedience, or contempt find themselves in danger or in difficult or unpleasant
situations.
A typical use of this Oshiwambo proverb in Namibia is when a person is advised to clean a spot or dirt
on his or her clothes. When this is not done, the person is later embarrassed in public.
Biblical Parallels:
The Sacred Scriptures provide the norms of faith and help us to lead a righteous life. The Ten
Commandments form our life (Exodus 20:1-17).
Since elders are perceived as the parents of society, what they say ought to be appropriate and
precious as gold (Proverbs 25:11-12) at all times. The Word of God, the foremost elder, is truth (Proverbs
30:5). The instructions that God gives to humankind are formidable and will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8), not
pass away (Luke 21:33), and were there right from the beginning (John 1:1).
Contemporary Use and Religious Application:

As young people become more educated, they tend to reject the advice of the elders. Many youth in
Namibia today focus on material things. They are self centered and do whatever they want. They did not
like to listen to advice beforehand. As a result some get involved in sex before marriage that leads to
unwanted pregnancies and even sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. They realize that
they have made a mistake only when they are already in trouble.
Source: Wilhelm Eita, St. Charles Lwanga Major Seminary Windhoek, Namibia

“Art is a collaboration between God and the
Something to Think About artist, and the less the artist does the better.”
~ Andre Gide (French writer, humanist and
moralist, 1947 nobel prize for literature, 1869-
Summer is the time when one sheds one's 1951)
tensions with one's clothes, and the right
kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how
spirit. A few of those days and you can
become drunk with the belief that all's right to remain an artist once we grow up.” ~
with the world. ~Ada Louise Huxtable (born Pablo Picasso (Spanish Artist and Painter.
1921), chief architecture critic of the "New York 1881-1973)
Times" from 1963 to 1982
“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to
achieve anything requires faith and belief in
“Sometimes being a friend means mastering
yourself, vision, hard work, determination,
the art of timing. There is a time for silence. and dedication. Remember all things are
A time to let go and allow people to hurl possible for those who believe.” ~ Gail
themselves into their own destiny. And a Devers, a three-time Olympic 100 m champion in
time to prepare to pick up the pieces when athletics for the US Olympic Team.
it's all over.” ~ Gloria Naylor (African-
American novelist and educator, 1950)
“You are never too old to set another goal or
to dream a new dream.” ~ C.S. Lewis
“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart (British Scholar and Novelist. 1898-1963)
can believe it, I know I can achieve it.” ~
Jesse Jackson (American Civil-Rights Leader,
Baptist Minister and Politician, b.1941)
“Imagination is more important than

knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all
we now know and understand, while
imagination embraces the entire world, and
all there ever will be to know and
understand.” ~ Albert Einstein
“Write to be understood, speak to be heard,

read to grow...” ~ Lawrence Clark Powell Download the
(American Librarian, Writer and Critic, 1906-
Guidelines for Contributing Writers
2001)
In lieu of compensation, contributing writers

“Writing is making sense of life. You work receive free promotion of their books, events,
your whole life and perhaps you've made projects, etc. Promotions appear in the issue
sense of one small area.” ~ Nadine Gordimer containing the submission. All submissions must
(South African novelist and short-story writer, adhere to the guidelines else, they are subject
1991 Nobel Prize for Literature, b.1923) to rejection.
The Village Griot | 5

July August September
August 1— First African American to September 3—Jonathan A. Rodgers

graduate from a nursing school (1879) is named president of CBS's television
Mary Eliza Mahoney graduates from stations division which made him the
July 1st—Frederick Douglass named
the nursing program at the New Eng- highest ranking African American in
Minister to Haiti (1889) land Hospital for Women and Chil- network television. (1990)
dren.
August 4—President Barack Obama September 4—Author Richard

Wright was born in Roxie, Mississippi.
July 2—Thurgood Marshall, First born in Hawaii (1961)
He is most well known for his first
African American Supreme Court novel Native Son (1940).
Justice born (1908 - 1993)
July 15—The United States Patent and

Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Na-
tional Inventors Hall of Fame and Mu-
seum opened a special exhibit featur-
ing material from Michael Jackson’s
patent and trademark applications. The
exhibit ran from Wednesday, July 15
through Labor Day. (2009)
August 19—Astronaut Charles F. September 9— Poet Sonia Sanchez
The 1993 patent application included
Bolden was born in Columbia, South born as Wilsonia Benita Driver in Bir-
an original sample of Michael Joseph
Carolina(1946). A veteran of four mingham, Alabama (1934). She pio-
Jackson’s signature and the drawings of
space flights, he has logged over 680 neered the fusion of musical formats
his invention. (see diagram on page 7)
hours in space. with poetry and is also known for de-
liberately mispelling words to deliver
her message.

Potato Chips The Supersoaker
George Crum (1822-1914) Year patented: 1991
Inventor: Lonnie G. Johnson (1949- )
Chef George Crum After a

spent the summer of successful
1853 working at the career as an
Moon Lake Lodge Air Force
resort in Saratoga and NASA
Springs, N.Y., where scientist,
thickly cut, French Lonnie G.
fried potatoes were a Johnson
popular menu item. conceived
When a customer his most famous invention in 1982, when he
complained that their fries were too thick to eat conducted an experiment at home on a heat
and sent them back to the kitchen, Crum pump that used water instead of Freon and as a
became agitated and reacted by slicing the result, his homemade nozzle shot a spray of
potatoes as thin as he possibly could, frying water across the room. Johnson and his partner,
them and sending the crunchy brown chips Bruce D'Andrade, created a workable prototype
back out to the guest. The guest loved the crisps of the SuperSoaker® in 1989 which became the
and other guests began asking for them as well. world's first high-performance, pressurized
They soon gained popularity and were called water gun. They filed for a joint patent, which
Crum’s Saratoga Chips. In 1860, when Crum was granted in 1991, and the SuperSoaker
opened his own restaurant, Crumbs House, became the number-one selling toy in the
each table came with a basket of potato chips. country with more than $200 millions dollars in
Crum never patented or attempted to distribute sales. Overall, Johnson has earned more than 80
his potato chips, but has been credited as the patents, with more than 20 pending. He
creator of the widely popular snack. continues to invent in the areas of thermo and
fluid dynamics, as well as toys.
Source: The Network Journal Black Professionals and Small Business Magazine
http://www.tnj.com/black-history-makers/major-inventions-african-americans
Patent #: 5,255,452 Method

and means for creating anti-
gravity illusion using specially
designed shoes. (1993-10-26 )

Clockwise from top left…
“keep your head to the sky”

22"x28", 2010;
“i can do everything” 36"x24",
2008;
“yes we can” 40"x30", 2009;
“self portrait may 14” is the
image of me;
“float”, 24"x36", collaboration
with Michelle "LOVE the Poet"
Nelson, 2007
To see my work, and keep up to date on what I am up to, visit

www.originalartbyliz.com. On the site you can view all of my
work that is currently for sale, work that has already found homes.
You can see videos of me painting, and also purchase prints of my
work, notebooks, and other goodies. Stop by and please sign the
guestbook. I love it when people leave a footprint!
To check out a recent project where I challenged myself to paint

100 paintings in 100 days, visit www.liz100.com. On there I have
a video blog where I documented the process, I made it to 76
paintings. They are now on sale on the site for a special price: Buy
ONE for $100, get ONE for $1.
You can reach me at artbyliz@gmail.com. I am a real person, and I

make artwork. Holla at me.

walk between thinking, deciding, and executing
specific on purpose ideas, along with letting loose of
any intention, letting the paint and natural energy
of the moment - manifest into what's on the canvas.
Some of my work is way more thought out than
others.
Over time, words started appearing in some of
my work. Sometimes one word, like "Remember",
another time, the 23rd Psalm. Soon I got the
Peace and Light! My name is Liz Wilson opportunity to work with LOVE the Poet and we
and I am a visual artist out of Baltimore. I work created a series together where I painted her words
mostly with acrylic paint on canvas, but recently I along with my art. I have collaborated with other
have been drawn toward exploring mixed media local artists like Taurean Washington. We did a few
and photography as well. I have been painting, pieces where we painted simultaneously on the
showing and selling my artwork since 2005. Its my same piece. There are a couple of poetry venues that
philosophy and belief that we are all born artists. To I show my work at and sometimes do live
me, art is anything that sparks that feeling inside of performance painting. Its been such an incredible
you that makes you come alive. journey. From like one day, with
We all have things we do artfully. some brushes and things I was so
Whether its the way we very unfamiliar with to this. All I
coordinate the clothes we choose can say is God is good! I mean, he is
to wear, the way we steer our car definitely leading this journey and
around a curve, or maybe the this work, and this woman.
combination of spices we choose
to put into a dish. Some creative
feats speak more to one persons
...God is good! I I now have my own website and
have shown at a lot of places -
spirit than another, but we all get mean, he is festivals, galleries, restaurants,
poetry shows -- over the last five
that feeling - that sparks
something inside of us. Writing a definitely leading years. Sometimes I still think my art
is small in the scheme of things.
poem, singing along with the
radio, scribbling a doodle while this journey and Which in a way it is, but in other
on the phone, putting on ways its very large - there are pieces
makeup, shoot... making love - this work, and of me, whether it be an original
painting, a print, a notebook with
we are all artists all the time.
Some crude, some elegant, some
this woman. my artwork on the cover, a rock i
raw, and some refined. painted, even a postcard flier with a
painting on it. . . things people see
My work so far has been a every day in their homes, offices, or
journey for me and also a way for wherever the art lives now.
me to share a part of myself with
others. All my life I have made Some have Bible verses on them,
art, in school and on my own -- like a lot of people. or other inspirational words, some-
But one day, I felt this urge like - get some canvas the colors just feel good to be around, some mean
and make paintings. I had never really done that. nothing to anyone except the one person who has it.
But, I obeyed the feeling and I went down in my But, its amazing because - art is this unspoken
basement and made three paintings over the next thing, that has the power to move people.
few days. I then listed them on eBay to sell-- and Like the way your head might bop when a beat
one sold! So I was like, okay.... let me see where this you are feeling comes on, visual art also stirs the
goes. spirit. I think for me, one of the things I really want
I continued to paint, mostly approaching the to convey through making my work is that -- we all
canvas with a crude idea of a color scheme or have these gifts and are worthy of exploring and
certain shape I was interested in laying down, and expressing them. I want folks to be brave enough to
sort of just let it flow. Its like this tightrope line I sing their songs, or paint their paintings, or act in a

play, or dance like crazy, or whatever it is that
awakens them, like I have found through painting.
Whether my particular work speaks to a person or
not, I want them to see that in themselves. And that
spirit is contagious, you know. We all unlock things
in other people, and we are all mirrors for each
other. If I inspire you, you inspire her, she inspires
him and eventually it comes back around.
I know people say, “my work doesn’t really fall
into a category”. . . so I wont say that. I will just say,
its my work, its kinda like how my voice sounds
like my voice, and yours sounds like yours. It's
what comes out of me. I love color, line, patterns,
natural rhythms, vibrancy, calmness, symbols, and
words... and they all appear in my work. My
process usually involves music, sometimes
translating it into paint or being led by it. And so
far, I have been amazed at much of the things God
saw fit to come through my paintbrush!
Liz Wilson 

The New Mark Cottman Gallery proach most subjects," Cottman says, "that’s
why I select rich, vibrant and jovial colors then
1014 S. Charles Street combine them in a very tasteful and unusual
Baltimore, Maryland 21230 way.
Located in Baltimore’s His-

toric Federal Hill, this new gal- The gallery is open Wednesday to
lery is only a few blocks away Saturday 11am to 6pm and Sunday
from the city’s top tourist at- 12noon to 5pm.
tractions, and is a collection of
Cottman's bold and vivid crea-
Click to visit...
tions. The Mark Cottman Gal-
lery showcases paintings and The Mark Cottman Gallery
other works of art that are fun,
joyful, energetic and passion-
ate. When visiting the Mark
Cottman Gallery, you can park
your car and walk from the
American Visionary Arts Mu-
seum, the Baltimore Conven-
tion Center, the Baltimore Mu-
seum of Industry, Harborplace and the Gallery,
the Maryland Science Center, the National
Aquarium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the
Pier Six Concert Pavilion, Port Discovery Chil-
dren's Museum, the Power Plant and
Ravens Stadium.
Born and raised in Baltimore,
Mark is a self taught, award winning
artist, who favors subjects
from figurative to cycling, still life to
abstracts and anything else that sits
still long enough for him to put on
canvas. A father and grand pop, he
has many life moments to draw
from for the creation of his art.
After a successful career as an
architectural engineer, Mark became
a full time artist. In 1999 he knew
that his decision would lead to a
more fulfilling existence. He paints by creating
stories in his mind, scenarios that help him cap-
ture the feeling of the piece.
His other life experiences as a stand-up co-
median and poet are evident in the subject mat-
ter selected. "Fantasy, love, humor, and deep
reflection are the perspectives in which I ap-

The Gold Coin When one holds a book in his or her hands there
is nothing like it. The feeling of nostalgia is
overwhelming. Books tie us to yesterday when
A Children’s Book things were simpler, times seemed a bit safer, and
by Tonny Brown people seemed a lot nicer. Families would herd
themselves into the family car on the weekend and
just drive. No particular destination; the point was
to get out and do something, take a look around, see
Several years ago, when I decided I could no
what’s going on in your neck of the woods, take a
longer fight the urge to put my thoughts on paper,
moment and breathe in life.
the first thing I felt was fear. I wondered could I do
it. I read enough to know that writing may sound I was so excited about that revelation I could
like an easy craft but if you are a writer then you hardly wait to get started but where should I begin.
know, it ain’t! Some well-meaning
friends, family,
I thought long and hard
publishers, and agents
about what topic I should
told me that the money
“try my hand at.” Should I
was in Young Adult
write fiction or non-fiction?
Children’s Books. The
When I decided on fiction
age Category for
the next questions were,
Young Adult would
should I write horror, sci-fi,
range from about 12 or
drama, mystery, suspense,
13-years-old to about
romance etc.etc? The choices
19 or 20 years- old or
seemed infinite.
there’ bouts.
Then there was that little
They (the books)
voice in the back of my mind
needn’t be that long or
that asked me
sophisticated, just as
continuously...even if you
long as I didn’t
write it, who is going to want to
underestimate my
read it? I realized that this is
target audience – they
the age of computers where
are a lot brighter than
there are instant downloads,
one might think. I also
online shopping, electronic
knew the parents
mail, online social networks,
would always listen to
downloadable movies and
the voice of those
music, online interactive
yearning youngsters
games and ‘this’ and ‘that’
wanting their literary
and so on and so on, and so
fill of whatever the
on.
next hot book was.
Given all of these The Harry potter series
avenues for instant was a prime example.
gratification, who is going to That series of books
slow down long enough to made J. K. Rowling a
read an old-fashioned page- billionaire and if that isn’t enticing enough; allow
turner called a book? Then it hit me. The answer me to remind you of the recent success of Stephanie
was as clear as Hailey’s Comet shooting through the Myers and the Twilight Series. She is not a
night sky. I thought about that movie made not so billionaire but writing two or three bestsellers in a
long ago where the man kept hearing the voice row seems all right to me. But the subject matter of
saying repeatedly, “If you build it they will come.” these books was not what I wanted my books to be
That was it. I knew that a good book is a good book about even though they were “HOT.”
in any generation.

In spite of their success, I wanted to do A Gathering of Friends
something different. And my target audience would
be a universal audience because my tale would be a The four of them stood in the middle of the circle. It
universal tale that anybody and everybody could was easy to tell by their posture that they were on
relate to, learn something from and have fun doing
opposing sides. A large tree stump stood in between the
it. After all, the prospect of writing for money did
not seem as fulfilling unless I wrote what I wanted group who had gathered on either side of it two by two.
to write and said it the way I wanted to say it. If I
They seemed to be waiting on the young girl that was
was a huge success then great, if not, o-k...I tried
and I would still write. Storytelling is my blood and sitting under a huge Maple tree, in a large tree trunk that
how many African American Children’s Book served as her makeshift chair. She looked at the first two
writers do you know?
on her left. The rabbit and the fox, Festus John, looked
That notwithstanding, I hoped the few that did
read my books (If indeed it were just a few) to enjoy back silently. The rabbit seemed a bit nervous while on
them for the same reason I enjoyed writing them; the other hand Festus John was as confident and arrogant
self-discovery. I wanted to present such a tale that
the reader and the character would move through as he had ever been. A small twig rested in between his
the pages as one; feeling the anticipation, hope, teeth and his tongue moved it from side to side in his
sorrow, joy, redemption or whatever was to come,
together. But most of all I wanted their journey mouth. His left arm draped around Jack the Rabbit
through the pages of my book to be memorable shoulders as a show of solidarity. Every now and again,
ones. That is why you might find yourself laughing
aloud to what you read or maybe borrowing a he would squeeze Jack’s shoulder and gently pat him on
phrase or two from the characters and adding them the back in order to project an image of support and mild
to your own vocabulary. To be lost in a wonderland
concern. Festus John waited in silence for his chance to
of fiction, searching for a way to stay longer and
longer, never wanting the story to end. That is what speak on behalf of his client and the whole forest waited
I wanted to achieve and I believe I have come close
with him.
with the writing of, “The Adventures of Jack and
Sidney series. The first book or installment, I would The Young girl then looked to her right at Sidney the
call, ”The Gold Coin.” Soon to be followed by “The
Wooden Flute.” Squirrel who stood with his arms folded. The glasses he
wore constantly slid down his nose and he would uncross
his arms, push them back on his face, and then cross his
arms again. He moved as if to a silent chorus. That
notwithstanding, he had a look of determination on his
If you don’t mind joining me, let’s take a face that never wavered, his long tail moved back and
forth and side to side. That gave the impression that he
peek at what’s happening now. Just a quick
was very impatient and wanted to get the proceedings
glance into, “The Wood,” into the world of moving forward.
Jack and Sidney, If we are quiet perhaps they Thelma the owl was close by and standing on several
fruit crates stacked one on top of the wother. It was a
may never know we were there...
crudely constructed configuration meant to act as a place
for her to perch. As always, Thelma was very serious
about the representation of her clients. The fact that
Sidney the Squirrel was a friend only made her more 

determined to win for his side. Sitting on the tree stump voice was low and soft, no more than that of a mere child.
that divided the two sides was a single gold coin. Its
“I will,” Festus John, answered quickly, stepping
artisanship was flawless and sparkled brilliantly in the
forward in front of Jack.
rising morning sun.
“And what have you to say” The Child Princess
The coin was spotless and shimmered in the light like
asked.
a glistening jewel. The beauty of it was captivating.
“We say give us the coin,” (half of the animals
Everyone stared at it. You could hear “ooosss and
shouted a roar of approval) as Festus John went on to say,
aaahhhsss” echoing throughout the assembly. All of the
“Jack is the one found it. If he didn’t, well that there coin
animals in the forest had gathered to witness the
could have been lost forever. Why everybody round these
unfolding events. Every living creature young and old
parts knows old Sidney can’t see hardly nuthin at ‘all
alike had heard about the coin. They all knew that Jack
without them big spectacles he’s always a wearin and ...”
the Rabbit had found it several days ago on the property
of his friend turned enemy Sidney the Squirrel. An “Wait a moment,” Thelma chimed in interrupting
argument had ensued that threatened to destroy the Festus John in mid-sentence, (Now the other half began
peaceful serenity of the forest and the animals that lived to shout their approval) “The probability of my client
within its realm. finding the coin without the assistance of the rabbit is
pure conjecture. Nevertheless, we concede that Jack found
The turtle that stood just inside the circle of animals
it but he was on my client’s property. The ownership of
had warned the young girl of what was developing
the coin should be without question given back to my
between the animals due to the coins discovery. Half of
client. Clearly…”
the animals believed that the gold coin belonged to Jack
because he had found it; the other half believed it belonged “Now hold on there, Thelma,” said Festus John,
to Sidney because it had been lost on his property. interrupting her. “We done already hashed about that
Therefore, the whole forest was just as divided as the once there and …” “You Wait a minute, Thelma shot back;
friendly, almost brotherly, relationship of Jack the Rabbit and this time the other animals joined in the bickering
and Sidney the Squirrel. and began shouting and muttering against each other.
Even Jack and Sidney joined in. It was clear now, that the
It was up to the young girl, who they all believed to
Forest was indeed divided. The young girl had no idea of
be a Princess, to decide. She had to use all of her royal
the extent until now. She raised both of her hands in the
wisdom to answer the question of to which one should the
air and the crowd started to quiet down. Mya the Hawk
coin belong. If she decided correctly then the Forest and
took to flight and started to proclaim as loud as she could,
all of its inhabitants could return to their peaceful and
“The princess will decide …the princess will
amiable lives. If she decided wrongly then the ever-
decide…”repeatedly. With that, all became quiet once
growing division between all of the animals and their
more.
distrust of one another could forever corrupt the serenity
of the forest. The young girl looked again in the direction of
Jack and Festus John and said, “Let the
“Who will speak for the Rabbit?” she asked. Her

Rabbit speak for himself and tell me how these things About the Author
came about...
And there you are. The tempo has been set,
our characters have been introduced and our
story slowly starts to come into focus. How
will this end and how does a young princess
end such turmoil? Pick up a copy and let us
find out together.
The Gold Coin is available at… Tate Publishing

in both paperback and CD audio version.
Also available on Amazon.com and Borders.

Tonny K. Brown
Tonny Brown grew up in Midland, Texas. He is the
youngest of four sons (they have a younger sister)
born to Curtis and Ruby Brown. Tonny,
A Look Back... along with two of his older brothers, Keith and
Terrance, had the opportunity to appear on the
Treasure Hunters is a reality television series reality show “Treasure Hunters,” which aired
on NBC (US) and Global Television (Canada) in on NBC in 2006.
which ten teams of three solve puzzles and com-
plete challenges in hopes of solving the ultimate Self Employed Author/Writer “I write everything.
puzzle and winning the grand prize. Teams travel Currently working on completing the Adventures
across the United States and Europe in search of of Jack and Sidneys' Children's book series while
seven "artifacts" which when assembled will "lead simultaneously finishing a book of pros and
to the key. Find the key, and find the treasure." writing/consulting in two movie scripts and one
The challenges and puzzles are spliced with season of a made for TV cartoon in the vein of
American history, and the ultimate goal is to find Family Guy...Grown up TV Called "The Wild
a hidden treasure, leading the show to be com- Hanlons." To my friends that know me personally, I
pared on various occasions to the film National can't put everybody in a movie, maybe you
Treasure. The value of the treasure in the series wouldn’t mind being an extra. (smiles)”
was revealed on the season finale to be
$3,000,000.
“First Children's Book, "The Gold Coin." "The
Wooden Flute," second book in the series of seven is
The two-hour premiere episode aired on June 18,
coming soon. The worst assumption one can make
2006 and beginning June 26 the series moved to
is to believe my Children's Books are just for kids,
its regular Monday night timeslot. The season
on the contrary, I believe the adults that have read
finale was broadcast live on August 21, 2006.
them enjoyed them just as much. It gives me joy to
make a positive difference in the lives of friends and
Team Brown Family strangers alike. yea, it really does.”

were discharged from the Air Force in 1955.
Both had been trained as clerk typists in the Air
Force. The Bethlehem hiring office was
unimpressed. “They said, well, we don’t have that
kind of job for you but you can come and shovel,”
Caldwell recalled. “They wrote on my application ‘a
big husky fellow’,” said Levy, whose nickname is
“Tank.”
The two spent most of their days shoveling ore
in the holds of ships docked at the pier but
depending on conditions, the labor gang they
worked on would sometimes be borrowed by other
departments on the steel side. “We were a feeder
unit. Whenever a unit or department came short, we
would be loaned out to them,” Caldwell recalled.
“The thing I disliked most of all was when they
loaned us out to the blast furnace.” As temporary
employees, they were provided no special training
or gear when they were assigned to the blast
furnaces, the two men said.
“We would go over there and the men who
BOOM? worked there had those big shoes with rubber soles
because they were working with this hot metal,”
An excerpt from ROOTS OF STEEL: Boom and said Levy. “You could see that metal pouring like
Bust in an American Mill Town lava through a trough.” They watched as men called
“cinder snappers” straddled the flaming trough to
remove bits of hardening iron. “You could always
by Deborah Rudacille
tell the cinder snappers because no matter what
they had on, their legs or their feet would have
“Back in the Fifties, that’s when all the struggling sores on them,” Levy said. “Because that stuff was
started.”—Lee Douglas, Jr. splashing, it would burn them.”
Caldwell hated the blast furnaces. “I would
African-American men from Baltimore found leave there every day with a headache,” he said,
jobs readily-available at the Point during the post- “from the smoke and the stench, sulphuric acid
war boom. “We were surprised because we had billowing. I don’t go to church that often but if hell
heard that they wouldn’t hire anyone from is anything like that, I’ll be on my knees from now
Baltimore City, that they only wanted you if you on.”
were from the deep South and wanted to get away The two had more formal education than most
from that mule,” said Roosevelt Caldwell, who with of their white coworkers on the docks and in the
his childhood friend Eugene Levy, drove to furnaces. Levy had completed a year at the
Sparrows Point looking for work soon after they Alabama State and Caldwell began working on a

bachelor’s degree at Morgan State College one year college by “giving me this deal where I could have
after he started working for Bethlehem. “There were the weekend off. So I could stay home on Saturday
a lot of well-educated men [black men] down there, and Sunday to study.” Moreover, like and dislike on
with degrees from Howard, Morgan, University of the Point didn’t divide strictly along racial lines, he
Maryland,” Caldwell pointed out.
pointed out. “With a rare combination of personal empathy “There were blacks
and clear-eyed reportage, Deborah Rudacille who didn’t get
In that era, he
has gone to the heart of Dundalk, Maryland along with blacks
said, young black
and emerged with a careful, cohesive study of and whites who
men were often told
the American dream abandoned…” David
“to go to college and didn’t get along
Simon, creator of The Wire.
when you come out with whites. It was
you can do anything a complex world.”
“...a well-informed, engaging written elegy to
you want. Oh no, no, And the teasing
Baltimore steel as it has gone to rust”
no. You couldn’t do could go both
...Madison Smartt Bell, author of Toussaint
anything you L'Ouverture: A Biography and All Soul's Ris- ways, as in a story
wanted,” which is ing. Levy told me
one reason why so about shoveling
many African- ore with a white
“Capturing workers’ experiences with a com-
American men with coworker on a hot
pany emblematic of American steel’s decline,
college degrees in summer night.
Rudacille’s work is a poignant contribution to
those days worked as American labor history.” Booklist “Around 4 in the
laborers on Sparrows morning we
Point. The other finished, and I
“a book that would do Studs Terkel proud..”
reason was money: said, ‘that wasn’t
Kirkus Reviews
Eddie Bartee, Sr. told too bad.’ He said
me that his cousin was a professor at Morgan “and I ‘no, but the mosquitos was tanning my hide.’ He
made more money than he did.” had on some kind of cologne or something. So I
College degrees did not endear black laborers to said, ‘Damn, they didn’t bother me. Don’t you
their white foreman, some of whom—on the ore know mosquitos don’t bite black people.’ He stood
docks at least—hadn’t graduated from high school. there for a good five seconds. Then he said, ‘you
The hostility was sometimes disguised as teasing. shitting me?’ I bust out laughing.” Levy laughed 
“Hey schoolboy, how do you spell this? Will you fill
out this report for me?” Caldwell recalled. Levy said
that “one guy who worked over at the ships used to
call me Professor. Everybody else called me Tank. I
asked a friend of mine who worked with him, why
does he call me Professor? And he said, somebody
told him you went to college.”
Not all whites were “belligerent”—the word the
two use to describe those who gave them a hard
time. Caldwell said that his general foreman “was a
fair guy” and helped him out when he was in

again recalling the wincident forty years later. Once the precedent of black crane operator had
Still, there were limits to the camaraderie. Once, been set, whenever a black man would ask to
when a white foreman was injured, Caldwell transfer to a position in one of the finishing mills,
recalled, a few members of his crew went out to his “they would say ‘why don’t you take the crane
house to see how he was feeling. “I don’t know if operator’s job? That’s a good job,” Bartee said. In
they were in love with him or what but they went that way, crane operator became a “black” job. But
down to his house, all white enclave. Banged on the black employees asking to apply for other kinds of
door. And this fellow looked out, saw them there skilled and semi-skilled positions and
and said, ‘if I ever see you so and so’s down here apprenticeships were still told bluntly “that’s a
again, I’m gonna fire every damn one of you’.” white man’s job” well into the 1960s.
Being a black steelworker on the Point at that On Sparrows Point, generally friendly relations
time, he said, “was like being left-handed in a right- between blacks and whites on the job could not
handed man’s world. Left-handers are more even- disguise the injustice of a system where black
handed than right because it’s a right-handed man’s steelworkers were expected to accept limited
world. We acclimate ourselves to it.” possibilities for advancement without complaint—
and to be grateful for the opportunities offered
Early in the post-war era, some African-
them. “They told us we had to get along with each
American steelworkers began organizing to fight
other so we did,” one African-American steelworker
discrimination on the Point though they kept their
who declined to be interviewed for this book told
activities low-key. “In 1952, we formed our
me. Retired for nearly twenty years, he is still bitter
organization, The Statesman,” recalled Douglas.
about his experiences on the Point. “You want to
“We would meet every month in one another’s
know what it was like? It stunk,” he said. “That’s all
houses” to strategize. I asked him if he was able to
I’m saying.”
find any allies among whites in those early days,
and he admitted that “we had several allies,” Neil Eddie Bartee, Sr. was elected to union office in
Crowder for one. But it was hard for individual 1963 when black steelworkers and their white allies
white workers to support their black friends and coin the union began working together to get a black
workers, he said, and impossible for them to single- elected to the governing council of local 2609.
handedly change the culture of white privilege on Unlike most of those running for union office,
the Point. “They could not go but so far without Bartee had never been a shop steward. But he
jeopardizing themselves and we recognized that.” attended the classes for shop stewards and so knew
a lot about the contract. “I was an agitator,” he said.
African-American steelworkers did begin
“I used to stir up a lot of stink by telling the guys
moving into a few semi-skilled positions in the
their rights [under the union contract] and say ‘he’s
Fifties. “When the first black guy, Hemphill, went
screwing you.’ I was very good at that and the guys
into a crane, all the other crane operators walked
thought I was smart. I wasn’t smart. But I went
out,” recalled Bartee. “Hemphill had his problems
from nothing to vice president and then stayed
because they didn’t teach him how to operate a
either vice-president or president for 32 years. I
crane.” But the man persevered and after the
never lost an election.”
precedent had been set, “that’s where a lot of blacks
got an opportunity to leave the labor gang and the He had to display some nimble footwork during
lower paying jobs because most of the crane the Sixties when civil rights activists, including his
operator and tractor operator positions were Job old friend Lee Douglas, were using every means
Class 7, 8 and 9.” possible to pressure the company and the union. “I

was right there with him,” he said—but as a USW Schmeiser, hired in 1965, told me that “I didn’t even
officer he also had to mediate between the white think about it [discrimination] until I was there for
union hierarchy and black workers demanding several years and then I couldn’t see that something
change. Once, a reporter interviewing him on wasn’t right. One of my best friends [a black man]
camera after a civil rights rally at Sparrows Point, had an all daylight job because he was the second or
pointed out that he, a black man, was vice-president third senior man in the department with thirty some
of a union that discriminated against blacks. years service. He was getting what they called the
“I wasn’t prepared for that question, even handyman rate, which was a job class 9. I was there
though I knew there was discrimination and I had a third his time but was three job classes higher—
been exposed to it. So I said to her, ‘the officers are job class 12, untested.”
elected and they didn’t discriminate against me. But When his friend finally protested and asked to
there is discrimination in the mills and the union be promoted to a temporary millwright position,
agreed to the discrimination before we came into “our foreman said ‘well, I’ve got to give it to ya. But
office.” When he went to work the next day, he we might have to put you on turn work. And the
discovered that his white union colleagues “were man had thirty-some years service!”
very pleased with my answer because it didn’t Another method used to police the boundaries
incriminate them. There was a history, you see.” between “black” and “white” jobs was testing.
It was an ugly history of collusion between “They set up a testing procedure because they knew
union and company. “You just couldn’t rise above that most black workers were not able to deal
that bigotry,” said Roosevelt Caldwell. “They properly with fractions, algebra and geometry and
wanted to batten down the hatches in you.” they would make these tests to block them,” said
The main mechanism used to protect “white” Lee Douglas—not that the ability to do fractions,
jobs on Sparrows Point (and other steel mills) while algebra and geometry were necessary to do most
seemingly adhering to the union contract was unit jobs on Sparrows Point. But even black workers
seniority. Under this system, a worker’s seniority well able to deal with higher math found tests used
was based on the number of years he had spent in a against them.
particular unit, not in the plant as a whole. By Once, when there was a cutback in his
assigning the majority of African-American department “a bunch of us [black steelworkers] got
employees to just a few units, the company and the laid off,” Bartee said—including a teacher who had
union created separate (and unequal) lines of switched to working on the Point “because he liked
seniority and promotion. Seniority was used not the freedom of the steel mill and of course it was a
only to determine who was next in line for a few dollars more.” When a vacancy for a steelman
promotion, but also who was next in line for a lay- position in the open hearth (a “white man’s job”)
off. Benefits too (vacations, pensions, insurance) opened up and the teacher requested a transfer and
were tied to seniority. The unit seniority system took the required test for the job, he passed easily.
effectively locked black employees into place At that point, the foreman administered another
because few were willing to trade away their test. When the former schoolteacher passed that test
seniority privileges for the bottom job in a “white” too, they gave him another one. “He passed all the
unit. tests they gave him till the last one,” Mr. Bartee
Steelworkers of color were often threatened recalled. “The foreman looked at him and said, ‘you
with a loss of seniority privileges if they tried to ain’t gonna pass this one.’ And he didn’t. He 
buck the system. White steelworker Melvin failed the last test they gave him. He should’ve got

the job after passing the first test. But they didn’t
want no blacks on that job. They kept bumping it
up till he failed.”
“Our union did not represent blacks right,” Neil
Crowder confirmed. “They let that discrimination
go on.” Despite the “in unity is strength” rhetoric,
many union members were no more enlightened
than the rest of American society when it came to
civil rights, Joe Kotelchuck pointed out. “A lot of
people had the impression that once you were in the
union you were for civil rights. But it wasn’t so.”
About the Author

Deborah Rudacille is an independent journalist and
science writer. Her first book, The Scalpel and the
Butterfly (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2000), was named
one of the year's best nonfiction books by the Los
Angeles Times. The Riddle of Gender (Pantheon, 2004)
was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Her
new book, Roots of Steel: Boom and Bust in an
American Mill Town will be published in January
Above: Worker stoking hot molten iron churning in one of the
2010. She also contributes to local and national blast furnaces at Sparrows Point. Below: Bessemer converter
publications, including SEED, The Defenders Online, (iron into steel) Photos: courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Baltimore Brew, and Urbanite.
Visit the Author’s Website
Roots of Steel is available at… Amazon.com,

Barnes & Noble, Random House. Also check your
local library and bookstores in your neighbor-
hood.

A ‘Steel Worker’ Hero converters. It seems that’s where all the young
Negro men ended up or at least those who felt they
by Sharon Moore Stenhouse couldn’t or shouldn’t speak up for themselves.
He never talked badly about working at ‘the
Benjamin Franklin Moore –no, not the wall paint Point’ until one day I remember hearing that daddy
manufacturer; my father, was the kindness, most was hurt. As a child it never dawned on me what
gentile man I have ever known. People often being hurt could mean until I saw my father after he
flocked to be in his presence. He was born, along came home from the hospital. He had been
with his twin brother Joseph, on a tenant’s farm in splattered with hot steel which burned through his
Abbeville, South Carolina sometime between 1910 skin nearly to the bone on his arms and hands.
and 1920, no one still alive knows for sure. Most in
After what seemed like an eternity to heal, my
the family called him Ben although I can remember
father was anxious to get back to work. He missed
he loved when the churchwomen called him
the camaraderie of his fellow workers, though they
Benjamin. To me he was simply Daddy.
did visit him often while he was healing, and he
Before he reached school age, my father, his missed the rhythms of the job. Besides, Bethlehem
brother and his cousins manually worked the land Steel made it possible for him to live somewhat of a
to plant and harvest tobacco, corn and sometimes middle class lifestyle; not so bad for a
cotton. Tending to livestock, hogs and South Carolinian with very little
chickens, was something he education. His pride in this
dreaded. He realized at an achievement is what kept
early age that there was him going.
nothing promising about
His brother, my
farming crops to sell to
Uncle Joseph stayed in
the highest bidder,
South Carolina where
especially since the
he tenant farmed until
family did not own the
factory jobs began to
land. My father wanted
open up to blacks. My
more.
father often returned to
I am his only child, his Abbeville and on one occasion,
daughter, whom he always said when I was about thirteen, he
reminded him of Mother. He was referring to insisted that I spend the holidays with him.
his mother, a gracious black woman named Anna
There we were, father and daughter traveling in
who shared her love of life with her sons. She was
his stylish beige colored circa ’62 Buick Electra 225
especially proud of Ben because “he had the
on the long drive to South Carolina. By the
gumption to pick up and leave Carolina to go up
standards in those days, the Electra, known as the
north and work in the steel mills.” Never having
“deuce and a quarter,” was the best of the Buicks.
completed the third grade, he joined the Army at
Nothing but the best was the motto my father lived
age 17. Upon receiving his discharge, he went back
by. Along the way, he shared many stories of the
home to South Carolina. With the country still in the
rural tract of property where he lived as a child,
midst World War II, Ben traveled to Baltimore to
called the ‘promised land.’ Later in life, I would
find work at the old Maryland Steel Company, later
learn the ‘promised land’ referred to the Special
to become Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point. He
Field Order No.15 issued by General Sherman at the
had big dreams.
end of the Civil War, offering 40 acres and a mule to
The work was more difficult than he ever freedmen (freed slaves) who served in Sherman’s
imagined; hot, labor intensive and dangerous. For army.
nearly 40 years he worked with the hot molten iron
One of my fondest memories of those days
melting in the blast furnaces or at the iron to steel
wwhen it seemed I had my father all to myself is 

the 13 weeks of vacation from the steel mill. He took little tenant farm in Abbeville, South Carolina and I
the time off in one lump sum to enjoy his favorite miss him dearly. He went home to glory in
pastimes, hunting and horse racing. November 1986 after suffering a debilitating lung
Daddy was dangerous at the racetrack. In fact, cancer called methoselioma, caused by the heavy
he sold a coat I had given him one year for load of asbestos in the blast furnaces he worked at
Christmas right off his back because he knew he Bethlehem Steel where most of his dreams came
was on a winning streak. I don’t recall that he won true.
that day though. He often came home from a Not only did he have the determination to carve
hunting trip filled with glee and loaded down with out a good life for himself and his family, he held
the ‘kill’ of the season, whether squirrel, rabbit or onto his dreams all of his life. He traversed some of
deer. Then he took great pride in prepping and the hardest of times in the history of this nation
cooking the meat to show off his culinary skills to including the Great Depression, World War II,
anyone brave enough to sit at the table. Korean and Vietnam Wars, the Jim Crow era, and
Another memory is his skill at the game of the Civil Rights Movement. As a long time
Pinochle. Time after time, there would be a howling employee of Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point,
good game going on with his Sparrows Point co- Maryland he was embedded in the tensions, fought
workers and friends. I marveled at the perplexity of against the barriers, held steadfast to ups and down,
the games, and gathered my own friends in the good times and bad standing along side his
neighborhood to start playing our own. It was not hardened brothers working the steel mill .
long before I discovered that just about everyone
back then who is black in Baltimore played
Pinochle.
Then one day, after many games lost, I asked
my father to teach me the game. His response was
“the best way to learn is to play.” It didn’t take long
to found out that playing against my father was not
a good idea, so I decided to sit at his side during
some of his games. “God makes three
What a lesson! There I was sitting next to him
watching his play strategy; how he counted the requests of his children:
cards and which cards he always played first. When
the time came for me to play against him again, I Do the best you can, where
beat him at his own game. He questioned how I had
learned to play so fine, and of course, my response you are, with what you
have, now.”
was... from you. The last time I spent with my
father, before he died, was playing a game of
Pinochle; and he actually tried to cheat.
During his later years, after his retirement, my
father devoted his time to the church. He served on
the Usher Board at City Temple Baptist Church and
eventually became their president. Benjamin
became know as the ‘proud usher’ because of the
manner in which he led the march down the aisles.
He strutted with head held high, shoulders back
and the brightest smile he could muster as the great
Christian soldier he had become.
I love this man from humble beginnings on that

Are Your Principles
Leading the Way?
This time of the year is often full of
renewal, rebirth, growth, development,
restoration, and cleansing. However,
after clearing the way, do you find yourself
asking “now that there’s nothing holding me
back, which path do I take?” If your answer
is “yes”. You’re not alone.
Companies adopt mission statements

and a set of core values for a reason: to
give everyone a set of operating philosophies
or principles to guide their goals. Most
companies who do so have sustainable
businesses that last a long time. So it totally
makes sense to do the same for you. What
would your life be like if you were guided by
a set of operating principles? What would it
be like if everyone around you acknowledged
and interacted with you around those
principles?
Core values vary across belief systems

and demonstrate what is most important
to you. Find out and own that which
represents your personal passion and defines
who you are. Whether you claim
authenticity, integrity, compassion, creativity,
freedom, health or some other value as your
own, decide what major ideas most guide you
in life. Once you’ve settled on 1 – 4 ideas,
consider the different areas of your life and
Takeyah A. Young identify at least one corresponding action
that affirms the principles you embraced. As
Life Balance Expert | Certified Holistic Health Coach you go through your everyday walk in life,
Corporate Wellness Trainer | Speaker continue to explore and familiarize yourself
with your set of core values. Ask yourself,
is this next step in alignment with who I
By submitting this article, Takeyah A. Young/Core say I am and what I say I deserve?
Connection Lifestyle is giving the Village Griot/Akihoro
permission to publish this article in their publication and
on their website. Takeyah A. Young, Life Balance Expert and
Speaker, is the founder of Core Connection
© 2010 Core Connection Lifestyle Lifestyle and the Blueprint for Balance TM , the
step-by-step program that shows you how to
have increased vitality and more time for healthy
Life Balance Coaching | Health Counseling nourishment habits. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio
Yoga | Wellness Education Download and receive her monthly tips and
www.CoreConnectionLifestyle.com articles on bringing balance back into your life,
hello@coreconnectionlifestyle.com | 866.611.5546 visit www.CoreConnectionLifestyle.com

Lessons from Above let’s take it a step further and practice the same
principle with our own children. And for those of us
by Savannah J. who are grandparents, aunties, uncles, etc the same
thing applies.
Have you ever prayed and waited/waited and How wonderful it is to parent/mentor after the
prayed for something significant to take place in likeness of God. Teaching and leading by example
your life? Perhaps you are standing for financial as we show our young people that waiting is a good
freedom or the birth of a much wanted child. Some thing. But if they see us fretting over a prayer that
of you may be believing for the healing of your has gone unanswered for a time, how can we expect
body or a marriage; the deliverance of a loved one them to grasp patience. We have to practice what
or from a job that has you in bondage. we preach.
Whatever it may be, have you ever stopped and The next time we find ourselves pounding on the
taken inventory of the time spent waiting? I know I throne room door trying to gain God’s attention or
have and I don’t think I’m alone on this one. I have throwing a temper tantrum because the answer isn’t
prayed, searched the scriptures for answers; cried, coming fast enough, let’s stop and remind ourselves
screamed, stared at the ceiling fan for hours during that young eyes are watching. Young ears are
the night. I’ve even sought counsel from Elders who listening. And believe you me, they will mirror our
are strong in the faith and Word of God. behavior.
I have learned in all of this that “to everything
there is a season . . .” Ecclesiastes 3:1a. I have God’s blessings!
learned the deeper meaning of that statement is, I
can not rush; push nor force the hand of God. He is
About the Author
the perfect parent and knows exactly how to order
my steps. Savannah J. was born and
In parenting we can learn a lot from Father God raised in Wilmington,
or as some refer to Him, Dad. He knows precisely Delaware in an Italian
the right time to move forward and when much to neighborhood affectionately
my dismay at times, to hold fast. referred to as "Little Italy".
When reading His Word we find that His The unconditional love and
promises to us are yes and Amen though at times it support of her family and
seems that He will never answer. Now, I must influence of her environment
honestly admit that some of the answers to my fostered her love and talents
prayers are met with a resounding no! But in in the Arts. Savannah J. also
looking back; I’m happy that He said no. After all credits her eldest deceased
He is the ultimate parent. sister with inspiring her love
for the Arts. Subsequently,
For instance, if your 10 year old comes to you during her college years, she studied music and
and asks for the car keys to take the car out for a literature, which fed her passion for writing.
spin, you would say no, right? Although a drive to
the mall makes perfect sense to a 10 year old, we Her first book, "Toward the Light" is an edgy,
know it would be detrimental to their life and the contemporary love story with a little dose of
lives of others. Well, God is like that. I have come to Southern charm. This beautifully written story
see that His no’s are for my good and the yes’s come about love, redemption, and transformation follows
in the right season. the life of Adaliah (pronounced Ah-da-lie-ah), who
struggles to shed his past and embrace a bright
I am learning to wait on Him for my blessings
future with Sable, the woman who haunts his
and to trust that He will bring it to fruition in the
dreams.
right season. I don’t want my desires to come to me
too soon and when I find myself growing impatient, Visit her on the web:
I remind myself of His perfect timing. Savannah J. Publications
So, let’s encourage one another to wait patiently
for Him as David said in the Psalms. Not only that,

Be our guest at the Hotel Sierra in Essence Best Selling Author Nikkea Smithers, author of On the Flip Side
Richmond, VA as talented, national and Inside Danica's Closet
best selling authors gather to show- Award winning Author Iris Bolling, author of The Heart Series.
case their books.
Popular Children's Author Naana Kyereboah, author of Soul Name.
Later come back for an evening Award Winning author JJ Johnson, author of The Conductor Truth Unveiled
of elegance at our Black and White and The Conductor 2 Some Victims Some Survivors
Event featuring a special key note
Creator of Spiritual and Inspirational Poetry Sharon Moore Stenhouse
speaker and spoken word by local
aka a'Kihoro, author of Amani na Mapenzi volumes 1 and 2, Momism,
and regional poets. the The Village Griot e-Zine, and an upcoming new novel JuWasha’s Shroud
Festival hours are 11am to 4pm; it Urban Lit Writer NDEA B, author of Too Good To Be True
is free and open to the public. For
The Authors of Passion: Omegia Keeys, author of Seduction.com The
every book purchased your name will Queen of Seduction is Back; Sindee Lynn, author of Changing the Rules and
be entered into a drawing for a Sony Prince's Donor; Jo Davis, author of Domestics
e-Reader! We will also host youth
from our local schools showcasing Philosopher and Writer Mercury Jones, author of Evidence of God: A Final
their poetry and short stories. In addi- Resolution of Meaning
tion, there will be a book given away Non-fiction Author Cicely J, author of the controversial Black men vs White
every hour. Men: the Black Woman's Choice
The Black and White Event 7pm Author of Erotica Lady Illusions, author of Euphoric Elevation An Anthology
until 11pm features Motivational Poet, Producer and Author Jeff Motley aka Black Skramm, author of Soul
Speaker, Author and Life Coach, Centered: Thoughts, Emotions & Poetry
Joyce Dungee Proctor. Listen as Author and Editor Charles Carroll Lee, author of In The Black and Preacher
you enjoy your favorite beverage Man
from the cash bar and dine on heavy Award Winning Author, Publisher and owner of Michele's Place Book
Hors D'oeuvres as Joyce motivates Lounge Michele A Fletcher, author of Charge It To The Game
us to Take The Limits Off! Then relax
with Spoken Word performed to Urban Romance Writer and organizer of the festival Savannah J, author
of Toward the Light and The Prodigal Son
smooth jazz.
Urban Romance and Suspense Writer Brooklen Borne, author of The
Tickets for the Black and White Write Lover, Interrogators and Savannah
event are only $35.00
Award Winning Author Edith Hughes Hill, author of Memories Lost and
For hotel rates / accommodations Found and Charice A Fallen Angel
This Poem
this poem is for those
who love the ones

who do not love
who hurt others
to not feel pain
who do not say words
that fit the deed
who scream when
they want to cry
who run far away
when they want to stay
who do everything
to be untouchable
while everything inside
hopes to be touched
a poem for those
who stay up all night

to keep despair at bay
Sarah Myles Spencer who worry for those
too numb to care
who do what is right
because it is right
who believe love
heals all wounds
this poem is for you
you know who you are

you have a name
but it is not your true name
D’Adran Bryant for what you give
again and again
could never be
of any ordinary being
the giving of you
is from God alone
you who will not stop loving
you who will not stop caring
you who will not stop
believing in me
Glynis Matilda Boyd i suppose this would be an ode

if i knew the correct meter and all
but since i do not
i will call it what it is
an expression of humility
another day of amazement
and a prayer of thanks to God
for the healing power of you. 
Sharon Moore Stenhouse Glynis Matilda Boyd © 2010
26 The Village Griot

Summer Dreams The Water’s Edge
i need summer’s massage Here we are walking along in a mist
long reaching fingers of warm
Touched by God’s surroundings
to hot sun caressing muscles
stiffened with age. i need Orange oval sun peeks over the horizon
summer sand to smooth the
Creating the light of day
tired aching feet of winter
where toes stuffed into Morning’s freshness is oh so sweet
stockings and socks and boots With cool white sand cushioning our feet
and shoes are unable to breathe.
We hold the snares of the world at bay
i need the fruits of summer,
melons and strawberries and peaches As we stop, kneel down to pray
and a tall glass of lemonade
Full of imaginings, the hope of all people
sweetened with sugar cane and
a sprig of mint to add a bit of flavor. That life be sprinkled with caring and love
but most of all i need to be there For our brothers and sisters across the globe
on the lanai rocking in my hammock
To begin each day, with help from above
feet dangling over the sides
as the warm summer breeze Then with spirits lifted, we stand again
lulls me into dreaming.  Stroll to where new life begins
Sharon Moore Stenhouse © 2010 Taking a dip while covering our heads
Peace overcomes us, releasing all dread
Oh, how magnificent is this place
That reminds us of God’s grace
Strolling along the water’s edge 
Sharon Moore Stenhouse © 2010
The Village Griot 27

Jew Rican
© 2003 Sarah Myles Spencer I
Unassumingly - It’s the root in me

Passion fruited herbal tea - It’s the groove in me
Salsa and meringue move in me - It’s the juice in
me
African drums and tribal tongues to boot in me
It’s the Jew in me - The sun scorched days of
Hebrew slaves
move in me - It’s the mood in me
am a descendant of Abraham, a descendant of
(Platanos y mangoes, so Frito, peccadillo, red beans and
Puerto Rican Islanders, a descendant of Slaves
rice with a side of "Hay Dios Mio") Boil and fuse in
and Holocaust survivors
me.
I am a descendant of a wide variety of ethnicities
(Fried chicken and greens, cornbread and black eyed I am a well preserved piece of history in modern
peas, peach cobbler and homemade Mac and cheese) Boil day culture:
and fuse in me. Hip Hop soldier, Brown Skinned Mestiza, Queen
of the Nile
(Apple sauce and potato latkes, gefilte fish and kosher
salted matzo; matzo and butter, matzo ball soup and Taino Indian Afro European Jew Rican Love
honey drizzled matzo brie) Child.
Boil and fuse in me Undeniably - It’s the light in me

A star that shines so bright in me - It’s the sky in
In a melting pot inside of me me
The night in me - Vast and wide like the ocean
I am a variety of ethnicities
tide in me
I am an ageless piece of history in modern day pop
culture: It’s the fight in me - I will not stand by idly nor
Hip Hop Soldier, Brown Skinned Mestiza, Queen silently
of the Nile Indifferently - It’s this gift in me - Shiiit!
Sometimes it’s even the Bitch in me - Listen see
Taino Indian Afro European Jew Rican Love
I am an invaluable piece of history in modern
Child.
day pop culture:
Hip Hop Soldier, Brown Skinned Mestiza, Queen
Uncontrollably - It’s the soul in me of the Nile
Sultry R&B Rhythms flow in me
It’s the old in me - Gospel hymns from days of Taino Indian Afro European Jew Rican Love
Nimh glow in me Child. 
(Amazing Grace how sweet the sound...)
It’s the know in me
Ancient scripts from Egyptian crypts show in me -
Grow in me
Ghosts of ancestors past have chosen me

The Art of Storytelling
© 2003 Sarah Myles Spencer darkness where every window is a shielded look-
ing glass and not a mirror to your fears. Keep cry-
She likes it best when it hurts. ing until the dewdrops become the tears. 
She hides the tears with dewdrops.

Sun kissed and shaven clean legs wrap around About the Poet
pillows stuffed with feathers. Double Sarah Myles Spencer is a poet/musician/activist
cased pillows to stop the stems from piercing whose self-published works Poetic Izms and Sh*t
her soul when she sleeps – if she sleeps – when from the Heart pulse with rhythmic celebrations
she dreams. Her arms reach out across open of cultural richness, revelations of tragic occur-
plains inviting the muted voices to sing as her rences, and exposés of social injustice. Sarah is a
fingertips dance. writer and editor for several publications and an
established singer/songwriter who has worked
They dance when she dreams – if she sleeps when and performed with a variety of musical artists
she sleeps. They dance across the open plains of over the years. She is the 2007 Winner of The
her bare breasted splendor because tonight – that Northern California Idol Competition and the
Foul 2009 City Wide Grand Slam Champion of Chico,
Ca. She is currently writing, recording, and per-
Mouthed Groin Groping Testosterone Toting forming with her band Laydibluez.
Female Authority that lives in the pit of her
womb is absent and she becomes the nude frames
painted by chaliced fingers priceless and admired For further info you can visit her blog at
from afar. She is in her own element. And on such www.laydibluez.blogspot.com or listen to her
a rare night as this the screaming is silent. music at www.myspace.com/laydibluez
The screaming is silent and the silence is singing.

The scars are sweet and the silence is singing:
“Hush little baby don’t say a word

Papa’s gonna’ Buy you a mocking bird,
and if that mocking bird Don’t sing,
and if that mocking bird don’t sing…”
Then I will tell him to look to the stars –

“look to the stars” I tell her. I feel your energy.
I feel your energy pumping and pulsating through
your veins and I want you to know that you’re
beautiful. And if ever you feel like life is caving in
on you – look to the stars – look to the stars
and peel away their bandages and you can shine
together.
You can sing together

You can dream together when you dream
if you sleep, or at 4 in the morning when you’re as
wide awake as you’ll ever be
Because it’s beautiful when it’s ugly

and it’s ugly when you pretend to be someone else
so don’t change, and follow that pain into the

I Remember (Inspired by Congressman John Lewis)
© 2010 D’Adran Bryant
Recently, I watched a story about John Lewis the boy walking

with Dr. King. He was being spit upon called Nigger, rocks
thrown at him, and everything. They showed another reel of
Rep. John Lewis- the distinguished man and HERO. Here
also he was walking against a sea of angry voices treating him like a ZERO. My mind could not
be restrained from recalling the indelible impressions when I was just a boy. Images -from my own past
- both read and lived - of angry faces and hatred being spewed to steal my joy. Red, angry, faces. Hot,
red, angry faces; with their mouths gaping wide open and death being launched from it and not
wasted. Spit running down the sides of our faces which came from the mouths of deceitful bigots
who call themselves aces.
I remember such memories - I wish would stay buried and dead. But they won’t stay dead - like Freddy
Kruger visiting me in my bed. Images - of brutal beatings and killings the sounds of racial slurs and
anger-illing. So hateful it could only be spoken by demons from hell. With clinched fists and white
knuckles, veins popping from their necks and temples - well. Their bodies, rigid, tense and stiff. I
remember those images as if it were yesterday. Images so vivid, fluid and real they took my breath
away.
While I remember, I struggle to capture my own fleeting breath. My body producing what seems to me
now, an intoxicating sweat. That now covers my body, face and brow. I try telling myself this is only a
memory and that I am safe out loud. But no change lives in my consciousness that breeds hope against
such vulgar vile raw hatred; I gasp for air and try to focus my eyes to see, what appears to be in my
backdrop - an object of joy, peace and serenity. But it only fosters a more habitable moment for more
memories to rush in and run free…ah, I know you now understand and are feeling me.
Snapshots of demons running wild in my head; the ones captured in Negro literature and history books
I’ve read; faces in places that have long been forgotten and never uttered from pink lips. I see an image;
A man and boy swinging from a large oak tree. The oak tree is almost one hundred years old. It is a
mighty and regal sight to behold. From its huge reaching branch-like arms, reaching up to heaven’s
fencing, it provides the perfect setting and assistance to host a Sunday lynching. Many will die in this
place, many have died in this place; I FEEL…LIKE… I… DIED, IN… THIS… PLACE!
From this place - a black man and boy were selected as adornments for the old oak. Hanging from a
thread with his head steadied by a rope; I stare - because I know hatred hung them - there. History will
keep them - there. Shame will try to forget them - there. Only Grace will free them from - there. They
dangle, just the two of - them. There is no life in them - there. Only the mighty oak lives with these
haunted, lingering, lifeless memories of etched out silhouettes…there.
And as I drew closer to the images and search for a logical reason why; as I inspected their bodies I
realize, this was pure evilness that was unleashed on these human beings. Though they do not now
look human, nor does their treatment suggest that they were ever human. Hanging from a tree - burned
- are two humans beings. Their charred bodies swinging - gently, against the backdrop of an impatient
night coming on - mentally.

My eyes search their bodies for an answer - why - with family and friends; riding in our big expensive
they, died, THIS DEATH. Why wasn’t hanging - cars that follow pagan trends.
enough - dead? Why did they have to burn them
dead as well? Their hands were tied behind their
No more bare feet unless we chose to plant them in
backs and their feet bound as far as I could tell. white sandy beaches, on some exotic distant
Why? Their bowels were hanging out and their vacation resort that teaches, that…e are far from the
male genitals cut off. Why? Why did they have to echoes and faint voices of out past. We have begun
have all of this done to them - to be - dead. Why to self-medicate ourselves with drugs of success,
wasn’t death by hanging enough - dead? Wasn’t the education and false religion that won’t last. Yet,
stretching and snapping of their necks enough - buried deep in our consciousness are the memories
dead? Enough – said. and images of the monsters who never grew
up to become humans - vast.
My mind withdraws from these images that I’ve
been seeing - only to realize I have not been I remember, though painfully I recall our tragic loss;
breathing. I’m soaked and thoroughly wet. I’ve I remember - and celebrate how far we have come
urinated on myself. I must have been standing here because of this cost. I remember - the God who
for hours - set. The images are etched in my mind brought me thus far. I remember - despite our
and will not die: White people walking by these failures just who we really are. I remember - on a
lifeless silhouettes with children admiring the hill far, far away; the stories of an old rugged cross
handy work of their kind. One mother encourages that continues to save. I remember - one King Jesus
her son to look on - and tells him, “Someday, you being nailed to it for me and my captors. I
too, will be expected to hunt and destroy these remember - Jesus hung bled and died to be my new
monsters until they’re all, gone.” Monsters are not master. The words, “No one takes my life, I lay it
human. They are legally not human; though they down freely. I have the power to lay it down and
are figments of someone’s take it up again” completely.
imagination, the myth lives on.
As I stand here alone singing the same
I recall the haunting, yet, sobering words from the o’l song; about hateful and debilitating images of
Book of Judges 2:10-12; that talks about a people humanity gone wrong. I remember that Jesus died
who turned from God and began to delve. And all for evil men to belong. The same evil men who
that generation were gathered unto their fathers - won’t acknowledge this song. I remember. I
and there arose another generation after their remember our shame - every tittle and jot. I
slaughter. Who knew not the Lord, nor yet, the remember – and won’t ever forget my people’s lot. I
works which he had done for their fathers. And the remember. But the men hurling accusations and spit
children of Israel did serve Baalim which got hotter. at John Lewis apparently - forgot…but then, maybe
They forsook the Lord God and followed other gods not. But I remember. 
who put them in danger; gods of the people who
provoked the Lord to anger. Then I recalled, we
black people had forgotten the God of who About the Author (Poet)
delivered us from our scar. We have forgotten the Rev. D’Adran Bryant and his wife Dawn have seven chil-
God of our Fathers who brought us thus far. dren (ranging in age from 27 to 13). He is a prolific cele-
brated writer, author and poet with numerous works to
his credit. He possesses an MBA from National Univer-
Now, with degrees on our walls, the ability to live
sity of La Jolla and a Bachelors of Arts from San Diego
in once only white neighborhood places; our State University. Though he is sought after for his
children attend their public and private schools - preaching and public speaking he is also a noted consult-
setting next to once sacred white faces. Living in ant for Fortune 500 companies on matters regarding Di-
owned houses instead of huts, well prepared meals versity in the Workplace and Improving Corporate Ties
on our tables as we drink from cups. Our clothing is with the Black Communities they serve. Rev. Bryant’s
the best and puts us far from the memories of our latest work: Inspiration for your Aspirations: A Collection of
past. We enjoy wealth and traveling making Motivational Quotes and Spiritual Devotions.
memories that fade fast. Freely we laugh out-loud

Ode to Urban Summers
© 2010 Sharon Moore Stenhouse
Vanished are memories of cold days and colder nights bundled under the comforter with remote in
hand, watching mindless trivia blurting out of the techno box sitting on a stand looking back at
you.
Gone are the shortest of days when darkness arrives before you can shut down that techno thing
sitting on your desk or in a cube at the office now that sunlight lingers well into evening with the
sounds, tastes, smells and memories of summer.
Sum, sum, sum, sum, summertime oozes from the thing in your car blasting lyrical sounds as a
Fresh Prince and a jazzy d. j. recite rhythmic poetic images of summer in the city; bringing in sum,
sum, sum, sum, summertime.
Not so long ago hot fun was summer’s mantra when a brother named Sly and his Family Stone
brought a groove and a beat urging the masses to engage in all the fun the heat of summer brings;
or the mellow blow of instrumental horns turning us all around, up and down as we swayed to
Kool’s blissful Summer Madness.
Even a Gershwin melody came scatting at us when Billy of DC took a turn at telling us how our
momma is rich and our daddy’s good looking in summertime.
Sum, sum, sum, sum, summertime and the living is easy.
The ring-a-ling-ling of the ice cream truck brought us running from everywhere as we stopped
whatever our play to grab a two stick popsicle –orange, grape, cherry flavors running over dirty
little fingers skipping merrily down the street. Then back we go to hopscotch, jump rope –double
Dutch and all, stick ball, running bases and shooting marbles with cat eyes and hudgies.
Sounds of life fill the neighborhood as pull cords start the symphony of power mowers cutting grass
and hoses unfurl into misty showers of washing cars while spraying one another into laughter; or
where there is no grass hydrants opened to flood the streets for barefoot children’s playful
imaginings of beaches.
The smell of late afternoon fired up charcoal waifs through the air awaiting the sizzle of hot dogs
and burgers, chicken and ribs with some watermelon and sweet tea on the side as stereo speaker
wires run back through an open window and fill the air with music; we dance the night away.
Long rides in the countryside, cool air blowing through car windows cooling bodies from the heat of
summer in the city and one last stop at the snowball stand for flavors of blue and green, purple and
pink colored ice eaten with a wooden spoon; making slurping noises as the cold hurts our teeth.
Sum, sum, sum, sum, summertime and the living is easy.
For two weeks little angels gather in Vacation Bible School to learn how to love ourselves and our
neighbors so momma and daddy will be proud. Then grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles,
cousins come together to unite with one another telling stories of family and friends, checking out
how much we’ve grown or wanting to know how well we did in school this year or what kind of
trouble we might be thinking of; then warning us to behave.
Carnivals and fairs where hawkers shout out –one last time, chances to win that big stuffed bear
smiling back at us after we just finished riding a huge circular monster with swings taking us way
up in the air, legs dangling; screaming with joy.
Our little minds knowing the fun is over, school is calling for another year and we can’t wait to see
friends we’ve missed to tell them all the happy things we did in summer.
Sum, sum, sum, sum, summertime and the living was oh so easy. 

1 2 3
6 7
8 9 10
11
12 13 14 15
16
17
18 19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Solution on page 39
Across Down
2. invented 1839 by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, N.Y. 1. takes milk to make it (two words)
4. outing to share a meal in the open air 3. game played with shuttlecock
9. regular gathering of friends or associates 5. expanse of sand or pebbles along a shore
10. most popular ice cream flavor 6. expression or appearance of merriment or amusement
11. recreation area at country facilities for sports 7. makes hot summer days unbearable
13. favorite of all the summer fruit 8. outer rind can be pickled
16. designated for independence 12. fifth month plus three
19. freedom from control 14. borne along on or in a vehicle or other kind of conveyance
20. solstice on or about June 21st 15. pyrotechnic display
21. flavored with fruit or other syrup and served in 17. poem intended to be sung
a paper cup 18. recreation
23. favorite summer food in Maryland 22. grated utensil for broiling over fire
24. done mostly for leisure in summer 25. fine debris of rocks, consisting of small, loose grains
26. time devoted to pleasure, rest or relaxation

Family photo documentary
Family photograph albums hold the history of generations, preserving the memories of birthdays, holidays,
travels, and all general aspects of life. For starters, digitally record conversations with family members and
friends who have memories related to the photos; take video shots of the photos or groups of photos; make cur-
rent video recordings of people, places and things older photos in the album, etc. You are ready to assemble a
documentary keepsake. Once you’re satisfied with your digital masterpiece you can share it on You Tube or
burn to DVD for sale at the next family reunion.
Motivate your kids to read

Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. prepares and moti-
Do you or your children like playing on the com- vates children to read by delivering free books and
puter? How about trying some fun reading and writ- literacy resources to those children and families who
ing games? need them most.
Read to your child today

and inspire a lifelong love of reading. Read.gov… explore new worlds. Read.
Resources for kids, teens, adults, educators and par-
ents.
Lessons in Faith…
Individually, with family or as a community.
Momism: Bible Study Exercises is based on the poem

of the same title published in Amani na Mapenzi:
Love & Peace. This Bible study exercise book will
prayerfully, be used as a tool for those who teach our
children in the church, faith-based organizations and
at home.
You may wish to use it as a study guide or study

companion; develop exercise games; or a special rit-
ual for quality time with family and friends, which
will be pleasing to God.
Published: 2009
Publisher: a'Kihoro SPIRITUAL CREATIONS
List Price: $10.00 plus S&H
Available at LULU or Amazon

© 2010 Sarah Myles Spencer or
“Autoimmune Disease: An illness that occurs when “Let’s try these chemo treatments used for cancer
the body tissues are attacked by its own immune patients. We’re not sure if it will work, but there’s
system.” always a possibility.”
(More frequent in women than in men. The It means a lot of “we think, we hope, it should,
presence of one automatically increases your maybe this” and sometimes, if they’re really good
chances of developing another simultaneously.) and honest, which is rare, “we just don’t know.”
____________________
It means your reproductive organs don’t work
But what they fail to tell you in the medical properly any longer, you have three weeks of
definition of autoimmune disease is that they don’t menstruation and one week of freedom, you spend
know shit about it. inordinate amounts of time in the bathroom and
people at the coffee shop where you do your
writing must wonder why you get up so often.
And what that really translates to is: You’re fucked.
It means pain, fatigue, chronic inflammation,

And what it means to me is: Uncertainty. headaches that feel as though tombstones are being
hammered down into the foundation inside your
Not knowing what’s going to happen next in the skull; it feels like your sanity is trying to claw its
deepest possible sense. way out.
It means Doctors visits multiple times a week, cat It means having steroid treatments for so long that
scans, MRIs, peeing in cups, blood work so often you develop cataracts and glaucoma before you’ve
you play hooky just to hide from pin pricks and a even had your thirtieth birthday.
lack of answers.
It means intricate surgeries that you pray will help a
It means at least a dozen possible diagnoses: small fragment of the complex issues you are
Sarcoidosis, Iritis, Polymyositus, Chronic Urethritis, dealing with.
Interstitial Cystitis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Reiters,
Lymes, Diabetes… some test positive and some It means fear.
don’t but the doctors tell you it doesn’t really matter
because “autoimmune disease often doesn’t show
up in systemic testing.” That you could potentially die from the same thing
that killed your mother eight years ago.
And they say things like

It means insomnia – not as a novelty, but as a real
and debilitating “I’m so frustrated I break down
“In a field full of horses, you are a and cry because I can’t sleep like normal people”
zebra.” (Congratulating themselves on their ability problem.
to form metaphors that explain why you’re so
different they can’t understand you… but they
remind you that it’s “fascinating” to them It means you are a burden. That some days you’re
nonetheless) just fine and some months you’re not. It means

being shuttled and chauffeured and people asking It means you cry when no one’s watching,
why you don’t drive yourself; why your partner
Laugh when everyone can see you,
carries your weight on his back like mortar and Sleep whenever you can.
cinderblocks, waiting to be laid down when the
foundation has finally settled.
It means you thank God for everyday.
You love your children more than the same.
It means your children get used to not having you
up in the morning to fix breakfast and make
lunches, volunteer in their classrooms, or pick them It means you know the true meaning of “in sickness
up from school, every single day, like you used to. and health” and kiss your scars in forgiveness
because if someone else thinks it’s good to love you
unconditionally than you realize that you must be
It means they love you the same anyway, maybe
crazy if you do not love yourself.
even more.
It means you pray for time, you don’t always do

It means you force yourself to reckon with not being
what’s right, you struggle, you fall, but you always
the “All” you once were… and you try and make
get back up.
peace with the new reflection you see in the mirror.
It means that some days you do the very best that

It means you often take longer to get things done.
you can
You forget. You’re sorry. It hurts.
And some days, you don’t.

It means that every time you prepare to do a set you
know there’s a good possibility you will end up in
the Emergency Room or at the very least having to It means you try.
choke down a shit load of pain killers because your
doctors warn you ‘not to strain yourself, get too
It means you fight.
excited, don’t bend over, don’t lift anything heavy,
don’t don’t don’t!’
It means you live.
But you get your ass up on that stage and do it
anyway because if you didn’t… you’d die just the
same.
It means you wrestle with being selfless and selfish

on a daily basis.
It means you don’t have anything to hide, but you

don’t always want to share, because you’re afraid of
being looked at differently. You don’t feel
comfortable in your own skin… you’re not
yourself… your bodies gone through changes and
your mind sometimes follows. On the good days,
it’s the other way around and you’re as free as a
naked toddler squishing her toes in the mud.
36 The Village Griot

An excerpt from my blog says… “I have
carried the idea of writing a novel around in my
head for years. In fact, about six years ago I
developed an outline for the story, characters and
location. During a workshop with the Black
Writers’ Guild of Maryland, I was honored to
read a preview of the work and reviewed the
beginnings with a professor of writing from the
University of Maryland. The professor’s advice
was to keep thinking and writing along the path I
was taking, and I would have a brilliant book. She
suggested a series of books on novel writing and
reminded me to stay true to the characters and
settings.”
Well, that’s exactly what I’ve done, stayed
true to my characters and the settings
throughout the story. The title I originally
wanted to use was unacceptable to me
because there were already two books in print
with the same title. That doesn’t mean I could
not have used that particular title, I just decided I tremendous amount of research involved in staying
needed my title to stand out; to pique the true to the characters and settings is offered at the
prospective reader’s interest. Halfway through the end of the book as Historical Research Notes;
writing process I found my title. It was there all something novelists rarely offer.
along and the title helped me to move the story Another interesting, though not necessarily
along. unique, process used in writing this book is the use
Let me tell you a little something about the of biblical scripture or a specific piece of history to
story which centers around four sisters. There is a open and help shape the chapters. The story itself
story within a story covering a period of a little over does lead the reader to look for certain faith-based
one year from the spring of 1960 to near the end of values taught to many believers. Although I do not
summer 1961. The intrigue deepens when the offer this book as a Christian fiction, I do want the
reader travels into the world of the back story; 1893 reader to understand that the writer is a Christian.
New Orleans and 1894-1915 Virginia. If my house could talk, it would tell you that I’ve
Writing this portion of the book gave me the neglected everything except the basics (bathing,
opportunity to not only use my imagination, but to eating and sleeping) my day job and my
teach the reader a little something –perhaps even commitment to The Village Griot eZine. 
unknown, about African-American history. The

Here is a brief peak into one of the chapters… Growing up in Silla’s house is certainly different.
Throughout her adult life, Silla never holds down a
“Priscilla’s life changed dramatically once she had steady job. Her flamboyant lifestyle, being involved in
her own place. Men were falling over their own feet to the illegal street lottery and conducting the business
get to her, and she was quite pleased to oblige. This is affairs of her house, labeled just short of the Madame of a
when she realized the opportunity to make even more brothel, lasted for years. The children learned early on
money and decided to allow her male friends to use her how to provide customer service for the men and women,
apartment for their own pleasures, for a fee. After about coming and going, which of course, provided them with
a year, she’d made enough money to put the down extra money from the tips. Sometimes they were asked to
payment on a house, thus beginning many years of do special favors like delivering messages to clients when
running a hide-away…a discreet place for people to Silla had to unexpectedly change the schedule.
exercise their sexual fantasies. There were a few prominent people –black and white,
It didn’t take long before word of mouth had people who visited Silla’s house. When they called, she made it
coming from all over the city and county. Priscilla her business to accommodate them as quickly as possible.
gained a reputation for keeping secrets and not asking a She made sure to use the good muslin sheets, which she
lot of questions –as long as you showed her respect and washed and ironed herself for their comfort. There was
paid up front, and she kept the rooms very clean. She always a pitcher of cool lemonade in the rooms during hot
washed the linens in a combination of lye soap (which her summer months, and upon request in the winter, she’d
sister Estelle made using the old Virginia recipe) and brew a pot of coffee.
regular detergent, with a touch of bluing added to the The children had problems in school brought on by
water of her Maytag washing machine before carefully the teasing and bullying in the neighborhood. The root of
running everything through the wringers. The the teasing always stemmed from the knowledge of what
clothesline in her backyard never seemed to be empty of took place in their house. Fights broke out often,
sheets, towels and cleaning rags. particularly from the kids on Mosher Street, where the
On her birthday and holidays, the regular customers elementary school was located. Mike, her eldest, hated
treated her like royalty, lavishing her with gifts, fine going to school because he had to defend his sisters. His
clothes, and vinyl records. Part of the atmosphere in the brothers could take care of themselves and they did, but
house was the phonograph playing some of the hippest Silla insisted that Mike watch out for the girls.
Doo-Wop and jazz of the day; purposed to get people in With so many people coming through the house
the mood so they could get in and out for the next round Hazel, her youngest girl, took every opportunity –when
of customers. She seems to always have a man or two of Silla didn’t shoo her away, to talk to them and listen to
her own waiting his turn with her, which causes her to their stories. She dreamed of becoming a nurse, mainly
eventually give birth to four more children. Raising three because of her aunt Margaret and one of the women who
boys and two girls in the atmosphere of the hide-away frequently came to the house dressed in the cute hats and
caused them to grow up with serious inhibitions and uniforms they wore. In fact, some of the doctors and
behavior issues of their own. nurses from Provident were regular customers. Hazel

knew she couldn’t always talk to them at the house, so she
made sure to learn their names to later look them up at
the hospital. She found out though that was not a good JuWasha’s Shroud is slated
idea. for release on October 8th. Look
From as far back as she could remember Priscilla for upcoming pre-sale notices on
looked to Estelle for spiritual advice. Whenever there was Facebook
trouble, she could be found hold up in her sister’s house. Amani na Mapenzi Blog
If folks came looking for Silla, Estelle wasn’t afraid to
stand up to whatever threats they might put forth.
or
“Yeah, she’s here” she would say, “and if you want
any money she owes you I suggest you get away from my
Receive the pre-release sales
notice in you email inbox via
door, cause if you don’t I will send her home to her maker
The Village Griot eZine
and that will be the end of that.”
subscription email.
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© 2010 Sharon Moore Stenhouse
or visit
www.thevillagegriot.com
www.akihoro.com
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I B A S E B A L L
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P I C N I C A
5
E D B
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C L M E H
8 9 10
W R E U N I O N V A N I L L A U
11
A E U N C A M P
12 13 14 15
A S T R A W B E R R Y F G T H I
16
J U L Y E M I I H O D
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G R O D R T N I
18 19
U A M I N D E P E N D E N C E T
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S U M M E R E W R Y
T U L O
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S N O W B A L L R
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E N G K
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M C R A B S
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R E A D I N G I
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S N L Summer’s Favorite Things
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V A C A T I O N L
Solution
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The Vi llage Griot eZi ne About the Publication:
Publisher: a’Kihoro SPIRITUAL CREATIONS The Village Griot is an electronic magazine, published
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
quarterly, giving new and seasoned authors (published and
unpublished) poets, essayists, bloggers, storytellers, artists
and entertainers a platform to test their writing, share ideas,
www.akihoro.com skills, techniques and technologies while enhancing both
www.thevillagegriot.com talent and work. Spiritually, we seek to uplift and edify
through love, peace and respect for the community.
Guidelines for contributing writers and submission
deadlines are provided online via the web site or via email
Sharing in the Spirit of the African Storyteller

The Village Griot Ezine: Summer 2010

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Volume 1: Issue 2 Summer 2010

“Just wanted to stop by to say that this

Editor, Designer, Publisher

Cover Theme: The sunflower was a common crop among

Sunflower was used in many ways throughout the various Indian

This work (The Village Griot eZine) is pro-

2 | The Village Griot

 Quotes for Meditation --- 5

11 The New Mark Cottman Gallery 26 Poet’s Corner

16 Roots of Steel: Boom and Bust in 30 I Remember (Inspired by

32 Ode to Urban Summers

Waalombwelwa noyi niiso paantu.

Background, Explanation and Everyday Use:

Contemporary Use and Religious Application:

4 | The Village Griot

“Imagination is more important than

“Write to be understood, speak to be heard,

In lieu of compensation, contributing writers

The Village Griot | 5

August 1— First African American to September 3—Jonathan A. Rodgers

August 4—President Barack Obama September 4—Author Richard

July 15—The United States Patent and

6 | The Village Griot

Chef George Crum After a

Patent #: 5,255,452 Method

The Village Griot | 7

“keep your head to the sky”

To see my work, and keep up to date on what I am up to, visit

To check out a recent project where I challenged myself to paint

You can reach me at artbyliz@gmail.com. I am a real person, and I

8 | The Village Griot

The Village Griot | 9

10 | The Village Griot

Located in Baltimore’s His-

The Village Griot | 11

12 | The Village Griot

The Village Griot | 13

14 | The Village Griot

And there you are. The tempo has been set,

our characters have been introduced and our

story slowly starts to come into focus. How

will this end and how does a young princess

end such turmoil? Pick up a copy and let us

find out together.

The Gold Coin is available at… Tate Publishing

Also available on Amazon.com and Borders.

The Village Griot | 15

16 | The Village Griot

The Village Griot | 17

18 | The Village Griot

The Village Griot | 19

About the Author

Visit the Author’s Website

Roots of Steel is available at… Amazon.com,

20 | The Village Griot

The Village Griot | 21

22 | The Village Griot

Companies adopt mission statements

Core values vary across belief systems

The Village Griot | 23

24 | The Village Griot

who love the ones

a poem for those