Hi Eric,
I can relate to your story "The Lost Scream of Chilling Abandon," It reminds me of a child of the fifties in that part of the American south that was always seen as culturally backward, I was raised in a world where racial uplift was the norm. Like my nineteenth-centuruy ancestors, my... more

Hi Eric,
I can relate to your story "The Lost Scream of Chilling Abandon," It reminds me of a child of the fifties in that part of the American south that was always seen as culturally backward, I was raised in a world where racial uplift was the norm. Like my nineteenth-centuruy ancestors, my working-class adopted parents believed that if they wanted freedom they had to be worthy of it, that they had to educate themselves, work hard, be people of integrity. Racial uplift through self-help meant not just that they should confront racism, they should become fully cultured holistic individuals. Even though my ancestral family did not have mch money, they were encouraged to work odd jobs so that they could pay for piano lessons and learn to play musical instruments. Reading was encouraged. Education was the way to freedom. Educated, they would not necessarily change how the white world saw them, but they would change how they saw themselves. Even so, my ancestral parents and the other people of color in their community never behaved as though education alone was the key to a successful life. They had to nourish their souls through spiritual life, through service to others. they had to create glory in their lives and let their light shine brightly for all the world to see.