1967 Detroit Riot

I lived it with an army-issued weapon that fired bullets pressed against my skull. Should I forget it? No way. Should you? Definitely not!

As long as I live I will never, ever forget what it felt like to be assumed to be dangerous to society. As long as I live I will never forget what it felt like at the age of 14 to wonder if it was my last day on earth. As long as I live “no way Hosea” will I ever forget shedding tears in fear. I sure don’t want you or any current or following generations to forget it either.

This year is not just an anniversary. It is a time to reflect on the past to avoid repeating it. We here in Detroit should not allow past poor discretions define the decisions we make today. Forty years is too long to finally address an issue. We should not be asking ourselves 40 years later what should we do? At this time we should have already done it.

If we don’t begin accepting that too much of the past is still with us, it might just come back and haunt us. Why do I say this? Because after 9/11, the problems of 1967 are still with us but shifted in a new direction. Instead of racial discord between Blacks and Whites, it is now between Arabics and everybody else. Look familiar to you? Separatism is still practiced here in the Detroit Metro area. Southern whites live in their suburbs. Practicing Muslims live in their neighborhoods. Blacks are still the majority of the City of Detroit. Affluent whites own the conclaves of the Bloomfields, Birmingham, Franklin, etc. Isn’t that type of separatism is what started the 60's mess in the first place?

Why are we questioning at this juncture if we should include it in history books? Why are we asking if we should even give it a grain of thought? Why are we asking if we should talk about it? Are we afraid to face the demons inside us? As far as I’m concerned, 40 years is much too long to wait to begin discussions on the subject but, “better late than never” as the old saying goes. So now is your chance to take part in the redesigning of a section of the United States, making it so desirable that many would want to flock here to be a part of a new birth. All you have to do is get the details by talking with those, like myself, who lived it. I would love to tell you my side.

You will have a chance to hear stories of those who experienced the riot of 1967 in Detroit by joining the book signing of the anthology Eyes on Fire: Witnesses to the Detroit Riot of 1967 on July 26, 2007 at the Wayne State University Adamany Undergraduate Library between 6-8 P.M.

Off to Work We Go. Just a Pasing Thought

Here is my question. Who in their right mind really wants to work? No one on this earth, male or female, wants to go to work. What they really want to do is live doing what they love to do and get paid for it.

This past week, TV news programs talked about women facing the issue of being working parents. It’s the old “mommy track” being discussed all over again. Women are not the only parents that have to work. There are single fathers and divorced parents. Do you think they want to leave their children each day as they head off to work? I doubt it.

Let me go back to what I said at the beginning of this dialogue. No one wants to work to survive. Everyone wants to love doing what would be called work. If each individual could choose what they did for pay, the amount of time consumed, the location, everyone would get up in the morning charging forward. No complaints, no delays, no abstinence.

I know if it was guaranteed that as a writer I could sit home each day expressing my thoughts to be printed and get paid, do you think I wouldn’t go to work each day? Not only would I get up running to my computer, I most likely would write more positive and motivational pieces. Why? Because I would be one happy individual, going to work doing what I love to do.

Now ask yourself this question. Would you love going to work if you could do what you love doing? I bet the answer is yes. Would you regret going to work? I bet the answer to this one is no. I also bet if you asked a few mothers and fathers. Their answers would be the same. It’s that simple.

Blogs, Blogs, And More Blogs

Have you noticed that now there are blogs everywhere you look? Individuals, newspapers and magazine writers, TV and radio personalities, associations and organizations, you name it and they have a blog. Is that good or bad?

I was just invited to do a profile blog on Amazon.com’s web site. Should I or should I not? I am debating that issue in my head. Yes, I am a writer who would enjoy lots of exposure but I have my own blog right here. I have my own web site with a profile of me on it. Would it not be redundant to blog all over the place?

My other question is, when do people have time to blog repeatedly on the Internet? Me, I have other things to do with myself. There are my church activities, networking face to face, reading (including my Bible), cleaning house, entertainment activities, teaching, and querying for more writing work. I really don’t have time for living on the Internet all day. Besides, I want people to go to my own locations on the web. That is why I started them in the first place.

Anyway, I am siting here right now doing this blog and wondering if I should take a little more time to do a profile on Amazon. Yea, I know the Amazon web site is one that the world looks at more than any other. Not just for books but just about anything you can think of. Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. It is still up in the air. If I do, I have to come up with some catchy way to get others to want to read and share my profile. That is more work which I don’t have a desire to do.

If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment on this but in the mean time visit my own web site at www.scribalpress.com.

Chow

I’m Back Again

Yes you haven’t seen me for quite some time now. To make a long story short, I had more problems then there is room to talk about here. It involved my car’s engine blowing out, trying to find a cheap replacement since I didn’t plan on buying a new car. Then there was getting my house ready for sale. While at the same time my desktop computer cease to function on the Internet. Sure it was old but I am the “starving artist” remember. I don’t make a ton of money to cover unexpected large expenses. Afterwards my desk top would no longer work and I switched everything to my laptop. Well, within about two-three weeks, it too went out. So there I was with no computer(s) and no car.

I still had to function as if my life was running smoothly. So I borrowed cars from family when I had to work. I went to libraries, friends, and family to use computers when I could. All to keep some kind of sanity. Anyway, it is all over now. I found a cheap replacement vehicle and my son bought me a new computer for my birthday. But again problems came with the computer came and the new Windows program Vista. I am still working out the bugs on that. For example, I called Dell (the manufactures) and spent two hours and forty-five minutes on the phone with technical support because again, I could not get on the Internet. After going through one process after another, my computer had to be restored to its original build and we had to start from scratch installing my ISP, printer, other software programs. I still have to go to the web and find drivers to make hardware and software compatible with Vista. This means I still will be a while before I am running again at top speed. Many downloads to do.

Anyway, I hope to be able to speak with you weekly again and give my opinions on subjects that come up.

Now I can let the world know about three anthologies that I have been a contributing writer to. They are Chicken Soup for the Soul in Menopause, Gumbo for the Soul: The Recipe for Literacy in the Black Community, and Eyes on the Fire: Witnesses to the Detroit Riot of 1967. For more information on ordering one or more of the books go to www.scribalpress.com/Books.htm

One more thing. I am being spotlighted in the Detroit Free Press July 15th issue. It will be in the Detroit section of the newspaper. Those who live in Detroit I hope you will show your support and let me know what you think. Those outside of Detroit, you too can read the writeup on the Internet.

That's it for now. Got a lot of catching up to do.