Chicken Soup for the African American Soul Read online

  What People Are Saying About

  Chicken Soup for the African American Soul . . .

  “Warning! This book will definitely make you feel better!”

  Suzanne de Passe

  television producer

  “Sharing and celebrating the inner and outer victories of a courageous, creative and heart-centered people, this collection of human experience won’t leave a dry eye in the house! It represents a milestone in storytelling that will endure, just as its people have.”

  Michael Beckwith

  author, founder and spiritual director,

  Agape International Spiritual Center

  “Foundation in life is critical both spiritually and naturally; undoubtedly Chicken Soup for the African American Soul will help the seeker of foundation bridge the gap between the two worlds. It is a must-read for all.”

  Bishop Gilbert Coleman Jr.

  Bishop Of Freedom World Wide Covenant Ministries

  “Heartwarming and uplifting, powerful and real—Chicken Soup for the African American Soul will stir your emotions and soothe them at the same time.”

  Dr. Jeff Gardere

  author, Smart Parenting for African Americans

  and Love Prescription, Healing Our Hearts Through Love

  “Soul travel needs traffic signals, stop signs, cautionary crossings, testimonies, the spoken and written word to guide us along the way. This book provides that and more. From soup to nuts, Chicken Soup is now African American inspired, taste-tested and it’s so-o-o good!”

  Dr. Gwendolyn Goldsby Grant

  advice columnist, Essence Magazine

  and author, The Best Kind of Loving

  “While the cover image itself is worth a thousand words, the words inside the book speak volumes of passion, persistence and pride.”

  Elvin “The Big E” Hayes

  NBA Hall of Famer and

  one of the 50 All-Time Greatest NBA Players

  “Chicken Soup for the African American Soul is a touchdown deserving of the End Zone Dance!”

  Elmo Wright

  former NFL player, Kansas City Chiefs

  and inventor of “The End Zone Dance”

  “I know that we are built from strong roots, but this book was an amazing reminder of both how strong and determined we are!”

  Sheila Jackson Lee

  U.S. Congresswoman (Texas)

  “You deserve to give your heart something extra to smile about. This is it. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will remind you how great our people are. Read it, love it, embrace it now and thank me later. This is a ‘must-read’ for every person of color.”

  Michael Colyar

  comedian and humanitarian

  “Reading this book is almost as good as a meal. My stomach is still smiling.”

  Ossie Davis

  Actor/Stage & Screen

  CHICKEN SOUP

  FOR THE

  AFRICAN

  AMERICAN SOUL

  Celebrating and Sharing Our

  Culture One Story at a Time

  Jack Canfield

  Mark Victor Hansen

  Lisa Nichols

  Tom Joyner

  Backlist, LLC, a unit of

  Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC

  Cos Cob, CT

  www.chickensoup.com

  Contents

  Foreword

  Introduction

  1. FROM STRONG ROOTS

  A Journey on Cane River Lalita Tademy

  Ain’t I a Woman? Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)

  Five Garbage Bags and a Dream Darrell Andrews

  Something Unbelievable Mary Spio

  Miz Moore Edwina Joyce Moore

  Living History Gary K. Farlow

  White Water Jayme Washington Smalley

  Funtown Yolanda King with Elodia Tate

  The Day I Walked and Walked Ahmon’dra (Brenda) McClendon

  Ripples in the Pond Tyrone Dawkins

  Black Children DO Read! Wade Hudson

  The Bionic Woman Is Black Lisa Nichols

  The Lady at the Bus Stop Evelyn Palfrey

  Over the Wall Linda Coleman-Willis

  On Becoming a Farmer Jenée Walker

  Buffalo Soldiers Colin L. Powell

  What Black History Means to Me John Horton

  2. CELEBRATING FAMILY

  Remembering Eric Tracy Clausell-Alexander

  My Father’s Son Mel Donalson

  Denied the Prize Herchel E. Newman

  In Sickness and in Health Dorothy C. Randle

  The Letter Julane DeBoer as told to Bill Holton

  We of One Blood Tracy Price-Thompson

  Where’s Your Notebook? John W. Stewart Jr.

  It Runs in the Family Jarralynne Agee

  Fried Chicken and Collard Greens Thyonne Gordon

  Rusty Feet Landis Mayers Lain

  Walking to Wisdom Miiky Cola

  Not Gone Yet Michelle Gipson

  3. TRIUMPH AND RESILIENCE

  Winners Never Quit Lisa Nichols

  Hand-Me-Down Love Greg Franklin

  The Fragile Eight Isabel Bearman Bucher

  A Hardworking Man’s Hand Farrah Gray

  Consider This

  Light at the End of the Tunnel Leslie Banks

  And He Looks Just Like Me Ahmon’dra (Brenda) McClendon

  At the End of My Block Lisa Nichols

  Excuse Me, Who’s Just Another Statistic? Minister Mary Edwards

  My Mother’s Gift Les Brown

  4. ACCEPTING ME, LOVING YOU

  Who’s That Calling My Name? Vici Howard-Prayitno

  Mother-and-Son Moment Tinisha Nicole Johnson

  Black ’n’ White Snapshots Judy Belk

  I’m Coming Out Nicole Hodges Persley

  The Skin We’re In Dominique Morisseau

  Lord, When Will This Journey End? Myrtle Peterson

  Lord, Why Did You Make Me Black? RuNett Nia Ebo

  Majority of One Lisa R. Helem

  Disappearing Strands Valerie M. McNeal

  You Go, Salt-and-Pepper! Carol Ross-Burnett

  I Owe You an Apology Lisa Nichols

  Sister, I’m Sorry Gregory Huskisson

  I Am Anthony M. Moore

  More Alike Than Different Mary Cornelia Van Sant

  The Nod Kim Louise

  Soothing the Soul of Racism Ta’Shia Asanti

  Cold Hands, Warm Heart Karen Waldman

  5. PRAISE, WORSHIP AND PRAYER

  I Heard the Voice of Jesus

  Saying Still to Fight On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

  Bedtime Blessing Catina Slade

  Walking by Faith Deborah Bellis

  God Listens to Even the Smallest Prayers Ray Driver

  A Miracle for My Heart Karlene McCowan

  A Lesson Learned in an Answered Prayer Norka Blackman-Richards

  Let the Church Say Amen! Melanie M. Watkins

  Life After Death Yvonne Pointer

  6. LESSONS LEARNED

  Confessions of an Ex-Con Dennis Mitchell

  Making Mistakes Is Natural Wally Amos and Stu Glauberman

  The Race We Run Is Not About the Finish Line Fran Harris

  Bondage of Fear Howard E. Lipscomb Sr

  From the Mouths of Babes Dale G. Caldwell

  Her Little Light Shined Arthur Bowler

  7. MAKING A DIFFERENCE

  A Magical Moment with Ali Woody Woodburn

  Big Men, Big Hearts Phyllis W. Zeno

  Guess Who We’re Playing Tony Ramos

  My Momma Will Give Me More Gloria J. Quinney

  I Am My Sister’s Keeper Nikki D. Shearer-Tilford

  Meeting
Maya minerva aka Gail Hawkins

  Food from the ’Hood Jaynell Grayson

  One Miracle at a Time Mike Jones

  Freedom Nelson Mandela

  And the Walls Came Tumbling Down Cheryl Dash

  A Story of the South Bronx Zev Roth

  A Few Kind Words Nancy Gilliam

  Angels All Around Patricia Lorenz

  Otis Salome Thomas-El

  Senior Editor’s Message: And the Winner Is . . . Eve Eschner Hogan

  Who Is Jack Canfield?

  Who Is Mark Victor Hansen?

  Who Is Lisa Nichols?

  Who Is Tom Joyner?

  Who Is Eve Hogan?

  Contributors

  Permissions

  Foreword

  When I was asked to co-author Chicken Soup for the African American Soul, I had to say yes, if nothing else just to shock my old schoolteachers. I mean, it isn’t every day that a C-student (at best) like me gets this kind of opportunity.

  But it’s amazing what we can do if given the chance. The odds get even better if that chance is backed up with encouragement, support, guidance and high expectations for success.

  I got all those things in my little town of Tuskegee, Alabama. I grew up in a community full of black folks with something to prove. The people in my community were always busy upgrading everything from their cars to their add-on dens; in fact, whoever sold wood paneling to Tuskegeeans should have been filthy rich! In spite of the segregation and racism that loomed over the South at that time, they set high standards for themselves and their families. They weren’t settling for “as good as;” they wanted to do better! And more importantly, they believed they could.

  I’ve done a lot of thinking over the years about my hometown and its “can-do” spirit, and I’ve wondered what made it so unique. For one thing, much of its population was made up of men and women, like my parents, who moved there to participate in the Tuskegee Airman program, which was really an experiment that set out to prove that black men could fly planes! They were young, college-educated, success-oriented people who were willing to take a chance. Everybody, of course, didn’t make it as an airman. My daddy washed out of the program, but worked until he retired at the V.A. hospital. My mother was hired as a secretary for the program, but what she really did was use her writing skills to make her bosses look a lot smarter than they were!

  But much of the can-do spirit possessed by the people that lived there can be credited to my alma mater, Tuskegee Institute, a black college founded by Booker T. Washington. It was the heart and soul of the town.

  As I began reading what the writers contributed to Chicken Soup for the African American Soul, I was reminded of how our lives can be shaped and inspired by the wisdom, success, pain and sorrow of others.

  Growing up I’d spent countless hours watching and listening to men and women who shared their stories. Like the writers of this book, those who contributed to my life ran the gamut from people of prominence to guys running their mouths at the barbershop. If I’d had the forethought I would have carried around a notebook and jotted down some of what I heard and saw and put it in a book. It would have included Tuskegee Airman Chappie James, George Washington Carver, Mrs. Ritchie (Lionel’s mom), Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks and many more. I didn’t realize it then but Tuskegee really was a happening place. Everybody that was anybody in black America, or Negro America as it was considered back then, made a stop in Tuskegee to speak or perform, and my family made sure we were right there to see people such as Malcolm X, Leontyne Price and James Brown—not all on the same bill, of course!

  The Tom Joyner Foundation, which raises money to help students who have run out of money at Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), is an outgrowth of what I gained from a town that gave me the confidence and desire to believe that I could be anything I wanted to be. My wish is for every black child to get the chance to go college. That’s a tall order. A more realistic one is making sure that those who have chosen to attend HBCUs get what’s needed to keep them there—support, encouragement and expectation of success. Like chicken soup, the meal and the book, a variety of ingredients ensure a winning outcome.

  My role as host of the Tom Joyner Morning Show allows me to reach millions of African American radio listeners daily. We have fun together, but we also try to make a difference by encouraging our audience to take a more proactive role in their health, education and the political process. That’s what a community is all about, and whether our community consists of 15 hundred or 15 million, our responsibility to our neighbors doesn’t change.

  I see this book as an extension of our efforts to reach the souls of black folks all around the country, and I’m very proud to be a part of this project.

  Chicken Soup for the African American Soul includes stories of inspiration, humor and wisdom that we all can relate to. There are perspectives from everyone from Colin Powell to Yolanda King. From Sojourner Truth to Snoop Dogg. . . . Okay, Snoop Dogg is not included, but you get the picture. There are also great quotations from Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, Reggie Jackson, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the list goes on and on. The pot is full and seasoned just right! You can take a big helping all at once or dip a little at a time.

  Enjoy the book! I hope it warms your soul as much as it warmed mine.

  Tom Joyner

  Introduction

  I pray each day, that I not stand in my way, so that I can do what I have been created to do . . . I keep remembering it isn’t just about me, it’s about who I touch.

  Lisa Nichols

  When I was first asked to submit a proposal to coauthor Chicken Soup for the African American Soul, I had two challenges that needed to be resolved before I could move forward with this awesome project and opportunity. First, I had a challenge with considering myself a writer. I believed my college English professor when she failed me in her class, saying, “Lisa, you are the weakest writer I have ever met in my entire life.” I promptly began a career in speaking and successfully avoided any profound writing. Therefore, the thought of being a coauthor for Chicken Soup for the African American Soul—to be read by the millions of people who love and respect the series—did not ring possible in my mind. During six months of procrastinating, a close friend repeatedly said, “Lisa, if you can speak powerfully, then you can write powerfully.” I finally chose to break through my self-doubt and self-dialogue and pursue the opportunity. I started by writing my own stories and, much to my relief, I discovered that my English teacher had inaccurately assessed me.

  I now know who I am to be responsible for this project:

  Education, preparation, motivation,

  With a dedication to my community.

  Public speaking is my occupation,

  School of hard knocks is my certification.

  People of color are my orientation,

  Yes, folks, you can speak to me later for clarification.

  I speak bold, I speak strong, I am three wrapped in one

  Malcolm X’s desire for cultural cultivation,

  Martin Luther King’s yearning for total liberation,

  And I do it all with a smile, with God’s motivation.

  There is a great mother figure wrapped around my tongue,

  She helps clarify the three-n-one,

  She leads me, she guides me,

  She lets me know which way to go

  Beside my three-n-one sits Mrs. Maya Angelou.

  I’m Lisa Nichols and I am on my way.

  Listen closely, you will hear me another day,

  For I represent the strong people of color that are here to stay.

  My second challenge was that I needed to know this wasn’t just “another book” for Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen and that these men (both white guys) had an authentic emotional or heart connection to what this book offered to African Americans. I needed to know that the production of this book offered something significant in terms of celebration, healing and the opportunity t
o share our culture, and that it would contribute to our children, literacy, economics and other areas of systemic change and advancement. My life has been about personal and cultural empowerment, so before I could enter into a contractual agreement to dedicate every free moment and several years of my life to this project, I had to look Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen in the eyes and personally understand their intentions.

  After meeting several times with Jack, his conviction and personal passion for this project were clear to me. His amazing fight to teach African American children their history and worth started over twenty years ago when he was a teacher in an all-black school in Chicago. His eyes clearly said that though his commitment to stand for change had returned to him some great personal pains and hurt, he would do it all again to make a difference—as would we. Then I met Mark and saw firsthand, that through his life of celebrating, learning and spiritual growth, he understands our cultural differences but chooses to focus on our human similarities. I could comfortably say I saw character, integrity, authentic compassion and respect in both of my soon-to-be colleagues. Knowing a percentage of the proceeds from book sales would be given to the Tom Joyner Foundation to financially assist African American college students, I had what I needed to move forward. The result is this phenomenal collection of stories—in our words—celebrating and sharing our culture.

  Chicken Soup for the African American Soul is a tribute to a culture that prides itself on survival, resiliency, healing, prayer and perseverance. These stories offer an opportunity for African Americans and our friends of other cultures to understand who we are. This book is not only a tribute to what has been in our history, but also to what still can be in our future. This volume of Chicken Soup is filled with stories of transitioning from the test to the testimony and from the battles to the victories.

  Lisa Nichols

  1

  FROM

  STRONG

  ROOTS

  The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

  A Journey on Cane River

  Success always leaves footprints.

  Booker T. Washington

  Growing up, I knew for an absolute fact that no one on the planet was stronger than my mother. So when she told me stories of who she admired growing up, I paid attention. She was clearly in awe of her grandmother Emily. She described her grandmother as iron-willed and devilish, physically beautiful and demanding of beauty from others, determined to make her farmhouse in central Louisiana a fun place to be on Sundays when family gathered, and fanatical and unforgiving about the responsibilities generated from family ties.