Simeon’s Story by Simeon Wright

“Simeon’s Story” by Simeon Wright (with Herb Boyd)
c.2010, Lawrence Hill Books
$19.95 / $21.95 Canada
144 pages, includes index

Reviewed by Terri Schlichenmeyer

You’ve been doing it since you were a teenager, maybe before.

A certain look sideways, eyes lowered. Unconscious flex of muscles beneath a flashy t-shirt. A smile, a glance, a wiggle of hips or lips or brows.
Where would you be without a little flirting? Married? Hooked up? Maybe not. But attracting the opposite sex is how our species perpetuates.

Flirting is fun.

You would never in a million years think it could get you killed.

But in the new book, “Simeon’s Story” by Simeon Wright (with Herb Boyd), you’ll read about a wolf whistle heard ‘round the country.

Growing up in Mississippi in the Jim Crow era, Simeon Wright knew that there were certain things a black person never did; specifically, he was never remotely disrespectful to anyone who was white. Sassing “Mr. Charlie” was a good way to get in trouble.

Wright learned from his father that some white people could be trusted, though. Mose Wright was a sharecropper. He knew who was fair and who wasn’t, and he wouldn’t work with dishonest landowners.
Simeon Wright indicates that he had a good childhood, despite Jim Crow laws. His parents loved him and he had a big, extended family. In fact, when cousins were scheduled to visit Mississippi from Chicago, Wright “was so excited that I didn’t know what to do.”

One of those cousins was fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, a big-for-his-age boy, almost the size of a grown man. Everybody called him Bobo and he was fun-loving, but Wright remembers that “he just didn’t know the rules.”
On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 24, 1955, Bobo’s lack of knowledge sparked a movement.

After a long day of work, Wright, Bobo, and three other boys went to a nearby store for some refreshments. For about a minute, Bobo was alone in the building with a white woman and as she stormed out, he brashly whistled at her. Days later, as Wright slept next to his cousin, two white men entered the family’s house and snatched Emmett “Bobo” Till.
In his foreword, Wright’s co-author Herb Boyd explains that this story almost didn’t see publication. Simeon Wright was tired of people taking artistic license with the story of his cousin’s murder. There were things that Wright didn’t care to remember, but he eventually agreed to lay some nasty myths to rest.

And with crystal clarity and blistering prose, Wright does just that.
Recalling a somewhat carefree childhood, Wright tells of youth interrupted by something so horrific that it hurts to read about it. He speaks of his father’s dignity and bravery, and of deep disappointment that was eventually soothed.

About those myths perpetuated by journalists, Wright has a few choice words. With anger apparent, he advises that “anyone planning on working in the communications field… go to the primary sources. They know what really happened.”

Surprisingly, you’ll probably find this book in the YA section of your library
or bookstore, but don’t let that deter you from this powerful, important memoir. “Simeon’s Story” is a story you must read.

Searching for Whitopia by Rich Benjamin

Searching for Whitopia by Rich Benjamin
c.2009, Hyperion
$24.99 / $32.99 Canada 354 pages, includes notes

Reviewed by Terri Schlichenmeyer

The invitation contained everything you needed to know to have fun.
Well, almost everything…

You knew the date and time and where to be. You knew who was throwing this shindig. But the invite didn’t say a word about what to wear.

So, naturally, you showed up dressed to the nines, sporting shiny things on your fingers and ears. Unfortunately, everybody else was in shorts and T’s, and you stuck out like a sunflower in a parking lot.

Everybody likes to fit in, so imagine seeking out situations in which you’re a minority. Read the new book “Searching for Whitopia” by Rich Benjamin, and you might be surprised by an interesting picture.

When President Obama was elected last year, many Americans sighed with relief: maybe now we could put racial problems behind us. But Rich Benjamin says nothing could be farther from the truth. Things are about to change again, in a big way.

Within the next 32 years, whites will no longer be the majority in America. With that in mind, Benjamin decided to study a phenomenon he calls Whitopia: a city or ‘burb with an overwhelmingly white population. Whitopia has “ineffable social charisma, a pleasant look and feel” (think Mayberry or Leave It to Beaver). According to statistics, many U.S. cities are already “whiter than white” and are becoming whiter.

Minorities, it seems, need not apply.

Benjamin decided to move into three Whitopia neighborhoods and live in each for awhile, in order to study things up-close.

In Utah, he found friendship, Poker Night, and an organized push to severely restrict immigration. Named one of the safest places in America, Benjamin says “the cozy warmth inside depends on keeping the enemies without.”

In Idaho, Benjamin entered a retreat for a white separatist religious sect, and discovered, to his surprise, an “unexpected blessing in… brewing crisis.”

And in Georgia, Benjamin found high-priced homes and panicked residents, afraid their land might revert to area blacks whose ancestors’ farms were seized by whites nearly 100 years ago.

I had a hard time with this book for many reasons.

First, the good news: author Rich Benjamin gives his readers much to ponder. “Searching for Whitopia” is thought-provoking and could start much-needed, important dialogue.

But…

Benjamin throws stats, facts, reasoning, cute stories and jaw-dropping tales at his readers at an alarming pace, and then later repeats them. More than once, I caught myself bored and skimming, or reading a sentence multiple times because of content overload. I also wondered often if there was a point to his points.

Perhaps most egregious is that Benjamin (who is black) claims “The ‘black-white race divide’ bores [him]” but he seems eager to emphasize it. Moreover, he understandably condemns racial comments and overgeneralities, but then makes them himself.

If you want to tackle this book, please do. The subject matter is important enough to take a serious look, but be sure to read it with time, many grains of salt, open eyes, and open mind. Otherwise, “Searching for Whitopia” is just an invitation to frustration.

Role of a Lifetime by James Brown

Role of a Lifetime by James Brown (with Nathan Whitaker)
Faith Words (2009)
$24.99 / $29.99 Canada 203 pages

Reviewed by Terri Schlichenmeyer

It’s Sunday afternoon, and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be than in front of your TV. You’ve got chips, liquid refreshment, the remote, and you’re wearing your lucky slippers. Gotta support the team, you know.

But as you reach for a snack, you miss the game for just a second and something happened. You didn’t catch it. Argh! You’re momentarily lost. Thank goodness for sportscasters, right?

But what do you know about the folks who bring you the nuances of the game? Learn about one of them by reading “Role of a Lifetime” by James Brown (with Nathan Whitaker).

From almost the moment he was born in February, 1951, James Brown says he was a “mama’s boy”. Mrs. Brown ruled the family with an iron glove covered in velvet; she demanded excellence from her five children; and she raised them with Bible verses on her lips. Mr. Brown worked hard for his family at various jobs, and likewise expected results. His parents’ high examples, moralities, and life-lessons are the ideals that James Brown still carries with him.

Despite that he’s most famous for his work with FOX and CBS during football games, Brown’s first love was basketball. He was fortunate, he says, to have had good and honest mentors during his teenhood, and he worked hard to make them proud. His athleticism garnered attention from several colleges, but, with the idea of a “fall-back career” in mind, he attended Harvard. Following a disappointing summer in Atlanta when Brown was turned down by basketball’s Atlanta Hawks, he took his degree and stepped into the corporate world.

And while he was there, he learned lessons that sustained him through his career, first on local TV stations in the Washington, D.C. area; later, with FOX; and now with CBS Sports.

There are seven “ingredients” that make success, says Brown: “Good Communication Skills, Appearance, Personal Relations, Punctuality, Thirst for Knowledge, Being a Team Player, and Overcoming Adversity.” Put them all together, and you’ve got a winning combination.

Wow.

I didn’t much like “Role of a Lifetime” at first. The first few pages made me think this was just going to be another look-at-me sports bio, and I’ve had enough of them.

But I kept reading. I’m glad I did.

Author James Brown has written a book that goes beyond sports (although there’s plenty of that for any fan). This book is part motivational for any young person who wants to be a success. It’s part business, for anyone who needs a cautionary tale or two for advice. It’s part testimony to faith, which makes it an easy gift for anybody. “Role of a Lifetime” offers relationship advice as Brown talks about his parents’ marriage as well as his own. And it’s, of course, a biography about the friendly face you see each week on the TV but might not know a thing about.

But now here’s your chance. Pick up a copy of “Role of a Lifetime” and enjoy. If you’re a business-minded sports fan, this is an unbeatable book.

Barack and Michelle: Portrait of An American Marriage by Christopher Anderson

Barack and Michelle: Portrait of An American Marriage by Christopher Anderson
c.2009, Wm. Morrow
$25.99 / $33.99 Canada 326 pages, includes notes

Reviewed by Terri Schlichenmeyer

You were definitely ill-prepared.

There you were, ready to “take the plunge” and get married, when you suddenly realized you didn’t know a thing about where you were diving.
You were in deep already, that’s for sure. Deep pockets (weddings can get out of hand), deep confusion (who are all these people, anyhow?), and deep dismay (do you really know your fiancé?). But then it was over and you started life together, sink or swim. You’ve been floating along side-by-side ever since.

Now imagine living your married lives with an interested audience of several billion people. Read more in “Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage” by Christopher Anderson.

The childhood and early years of Barack and Michelle Obama has been visited and re-visited by many biographers and journalists: she was working for a law firm, he was a law student. She was assigned to be his in-office mentor, he insistently wooed her. That, of course, is how a strong-willed leader-type born in Hawaii ended up married to a strong-willed leader-type born on Chicago’s South Side.

But what most people don’t know are the behind-the-scenes scenes in the marriage of our current President and his wife.
From the time he started college at Columbia University in New York, Barack (Anderson refers to both Obamas by first name) was an easy-going idealist who, perhaps due to his grandparents’ blue-collar background, wanted to “give back” and “change the world”. Michelle shared his views, but was easily irritated by what she saw as irresponsibility. Because Barack eschewed the private sector and doggedly pursued lower-paying employment with higher social returns, the couple struggled with money problems. His absences while pursuing public office made her feel like a single mother. She hated his smoking habit and his messiness. He hated being apart from his family.

They fought.

Though infidelity wasn’t an issue, she was angered when his star started rising and women aggressively flirted with him. He, too, was taken aback by it, but he was focused: he thought he had a shot at the Presidency. She told him that if he didn’t win in 2008, there wouldn’t be a second go at the job…

Being familiar with author Christopher Anderson’s past works, I was surprised that I really didn’t like this book at first. Much of what’s in the first hundred pages of “Barack and Michelle” is a re-hashing of what we already know, including info from Barack Obama’s own books. I didn’t need to read that old news again.

Despite that, though, I began to enjoy Anderson’s take on the lives of the Obamas, as well as their children and surrounding family. In the end, yes, this book reiterates what we already know, but, perhaps because of some teasing “Wow!” tidbits and a few little-known stories, Anderson seems to make it all fresh.

Supporter or detractor, if you long to make sense of the man (and wife) behind the office, pick up this biography. “Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage” is a book you’ll enjoy diving into.

That Bird Has My Wings by Jarvis Masters

That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row by Jarvis Jay Masters
HarperOne 2009
$24.99 / $32.99 Canada 281 pages

Reviewed by Terri Schlichenmeyer

By no stretch of the imagination would anyone say that the man in the orange jumpsuit could be called “nice”.

The metal around his waist and wrists attest to his badness, and the look on his face further cements it: this is a man that few people would mess with. But once upon a time, he wasn’t bad at all. Awhile back, that man in the orange jumpsuit was a little boy in blue overalls. He’s a menace now, but he was someone’s baby then.

So where did things go wrong for him? Read the new book “That Bird Has My Wings” by Jarvis Jay Masters and you’ll see…

Until he was seven or eight years old, Jarvis Masters lived in a drug house with his sisters. The children knew they were loved because their mother, a heroin addict, came home now and then. But there was rarely anything to eat, cockroaches were playthings, and strangers constantly wandered in to shoot up in the bathroom.

Then someone called Social Services.

The children were split up and Jarvis was placed with an older couple who longed for a child of their own. Mamie and Dennis treated Jarvis like a son, buying him toys, giving him guidance and nurturing his dreams.
When Mamie fell sick, Jarvis was placed in another foster home where he was physically and emotionally abused. He ran away and was eventually sent to CYA (California Youth Authority), an environment in which he wanted to stay. But case workers needed to find him a permanent home, so they sent him to a military discipline camp for boys. Nobody realized that Jarvis had already become accustomed to institutionalization.

For most of his teens, Jarvis bounced from relatives’ homes to state facilities and back, becoming enmeshed in drugs and crime along the way. He tried to get an education and a career, but family “business” was too strong a pull. Once involved with guns and robbery, he knew it was only a matter of time before he’d be caught.

When I got this book, I was expecting a 281-page howl of innocence, but author Jarvis Jay Masters only briefly touches on that argument in this powerful autobiography. Yes, he decries his harshest sentence but he doesn’t dwell on it. It’s almost as if the charge of conspiracy to commit murder (the reason he’s on death row) is a minor point in this book. It barely takes up a page-and-a-half.

The bigger story – the one that comes blasting through “That Bird Has My Wings” – is one of an eager, smart little boy who was hungry for guidance and structure but gets shuttled aside instead. It’s a tale of regret, remorse, quiet acceptance, gratitude, and strength that lays the blame squarely and surprisingly on its writer as well as on the adults who hurt him.

If you’re in search of something that doesn’t glorify crime or make it seem like anything less than wrong, you can’t do wrong by getting this book.

“That Bird Has My Wings” absolutely soars.

A Drug Dealer’s Dream by Tremayne “GS” Johnson

4 of 5 Stars

Reviewed by Q.B. Wells

Debut author Tremayne Johnson scribes “A Drug Dealer’s Dream”, a cautionary tale about a drug dealer lost in the allure of the drug game. Titled after a Nas verse in the Mobb Deep song ‘An Eye for an Eye”, “A Drug Dealer’s Dream” examines the lifestyle of the drug dealer and the affect on his family.

The protagonist Ahmed Yung is fresh off a bid for a drug trafficking case that ended with the death of one of his friends. While Ahmed was away, his child’s mother, Christal took care of the business, educated herself in real estate and brought a house in the NY suburbs to raise their son Malique. She is waiting at the gate when he is released.

However, the moment Ahmed touches down on the homeland, he’s greeted by his right hand man, Fame. While Ahmed served his time, Fame built a sprawling drug operation, complete with a tight connect and a young goon squad, ready to take on whoever, whenever. Fame hands Ahmed a duffle bag full of cash and in an instant, Ahmed is on his way to what he dreamed: money, cars and hoes.

Christal watches. She wants Ahmed to do the right things and attempts to encourage him to dream different, invest in a business and do the things the “right way”.

Ahmed is torn between his love for the streets and the love of his family. He shuns his Christal and grinds harder. He comes across the number of an old connect and negotiates a better price to profit more than ever. When they finish the transactions, Ahmed is no longer on his way to the dream, he is the drug dealer’s dream.

The drug dealers, women and the goons admire Amhed Yung.

But can he bare the weight of his actions? Is he willing to lose everything else that is important to him?
“A Drug Dealer’s Dream” has an aggressive narrative plot, memorable characters and at its heart is a moral tale that questions the lifestyle that is adored the streets. Tremayne Johnson’s novel separates itself in that the protagonist does have to deal with his actions.

I recommend this book to street fiction readers and individuals that love fast paced, drama-filled, fiction.