"What's the matter, Honey?" Dushan asked Chioma. "Remember how I told you that I really wanted that assignment on the latest Taliban restrictions on Afghan women?" "Yes." "Well, Lydia decided to send Josh, one of our male reporters instead." "Did she tell you why she decided to send him instead of you?" "She said that …
From Slave to Bishop
Who was Richard Allen? He was America’s first black bishop. He was born to parents who were slaves. Soon after the family was sold to a Delaware farmer. Richard faced racism, cruelty and inequality. He wasn’t educated and anything he wanted to undertake he needed his master’s permission. His master, in order to pay his …
From Slave to Chef
Born a slave in Murray County, Tennessee in 1857, I was a hard-working boy during the Civil War. At 16, I worked at a Nashville restaurant. Years later, I became a chef and published my recipes. 36 Words Rufus Estes was a former slave who worked as a chef aboard luxury railway cars operated …
She Broke the Mold
Did I flummox everyone when I, an African-American woman spurned the usual courses tailored for women at Oberlin and took a program of Greek, Latin and higher Mathematics designed for gentlemen? Why shouldn’t I, a child of God, aspire to higher goals? 42 Words Mary Jane Patterson, born into slavery, became the first African American …
Depend On God
Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,So our eyes look to the Lord our God, Until He has mercy on us. - Psalm 123:1-4, NKJV Image by Unsplash Just as a …
Family Night
Matt found himself driving over Joel's and Kira's building. When he rang the bell, Kira answered the door. "Hello, Matt," she said, very pleased to see him. They hugged. "I'm sorry to be dropping by like this," he apologized as he went inside the unit. "Matt, you're always welcome to drop by whenever you want. …
Solange’s Story
My name is Solange. I'm a slave living and working on a sugar plantation in Jamaica owned by an unmarried Englishman who moved to the island a year ago with his widowed sister. I was dark so I worked in the field. Only the fair-skinned slaves worked in the great house. I remember the first …
By the River
They knew each other since they were children. Her mother, a pregnant, escaped slave somehow found her way to his people. His parents took care of her and when she died, they raised her daughter. He was four when she was born. He loved her from the moment he saw her. He was very protective …
Zala
It was here in the thicket of trees shaded from the bright light which resembled a stage with a spotlight that he found me. The next thing I knew I was staring up at a ceiling. I realized that I was in a strange bed in a strange room. I tried to sit up but …
Scarred
I was scarred for life. I got it from my ex-boyfriend, Keon when he was beating me. He had a knife in his hand and he wielded it at me, it caught me at the side of my eye. He punched me and I felt to the floor, stunned and bleeding when the police burst …
Notes to Women 