In the writing class I teach, a young South African manof Afrikaans, not British, descentread his personal essay aloud to us. He wrote of being born into apartheid, and never realizing that something in his world was gravely amiss until he was 8 years old. One morning, having collected his mother’s kiss and “I love […]
Charisse Coleman
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Tree’s a crowd
I have been sick with anger and sorrow all week. For days, I have listened to the rip of chain saws and the snagging clatter of a large piece of heavy machinery with “Whisper Chipper” emblazoned on its side. The workmen’s sharp whistles and barking shouts have punched their way through the din, warning of […]
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A long road … increments
When I got the invitation from Journey of Hope … from violence to healing to join their 17-day, 15 plus-city tour of North Carolina, an invitation to travel with other family members of murder victims and tell the story of my brother’s murder and my ongoing opposition to the death penalty, I balked. I’m not […]
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Streetwise
The entire state of North Carolina has only a few million more inhabitants than the city of New York. You don’t run into as many of them in the course of a day. They not only tend to say “hello,” they sound pleased to greet you, even if they’ve never seen you before, which for […]
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Life or Death
At 1 a.m. on Aug. 12, 1995, three men walked into the Thrifty Liquor Store in Shreveport, La., where my older brother Russell worked as a stock clerk. One of the men asked about the price of beer. One bought a bag of chips. The third looked too young even to be in a liquor […]