An African American woman moved home to take care of her dying mother giving up the opportunity to experience a world beyond segregation. Zoraida Hughes Williams finds that some things have changed about her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas while some have stayed the same, like Hell’s Half Acre, an area where saloons, prostitution and gambling runs wild. Like most of the residents, she wants to keep her head down and stay away from trouble, but it comes in the unlikely form of an Anglo Baptist preacher. He messes up everything and almost gets them killed.
An African American woman moved home to take care of her dying mother giving up the opportunity to experience a world beyond segregation. Zoraida Hughes Williams finds that some things have changed about her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas while some have stayed the same, like Hell’s Half Acre, an area where saloons, prostitution and gambling runs wild. Like most of the residents, she wants to keep her head down and stay away from trouble, but it comes in the unlikely form of an Anglo Baptist preacher. He messes up everything and almost gets them killed.
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Excerpt:
She had just picked up her first newspaper when she heard.
“Miss Zoraida Williams, you are looking lovely today.”
She turned to see the man who had rescued her at the train station on the day she first arrived. She could not remember his name, but she remembered his smile and his playful big brown eyes. He was a big dark skinned man with a solid build. He had on a nice pair of pants and a suit jacket that didn’t quite match it, but looked good on his build. He looked like a business man, not a farmer.
“Mister?”
“Andrew Forrest. My friends call me Drew.”
“I just want to thank you for your help the other day.”
When Zo arrived in Fort Worth off the train, she was confronted by a big smoky black colored man who the locals called Big Bull. He was notorious for meeting colored women who were fresh from the country and putting them to work in his prostitution houses. It had become an acceptable practice among the white and colored whore house establishments. He saw Zo at the train station and tried to grab her. Andrew Forrest interrupted Big Bull’s plans.
“Now Miss Zo, it is not safe for you to be walking about by yourself. You need to let me know when you need a ride. “
“Andrew, I can take care of myself. I am not as helpless as I look.”
“Girl, I know you ain’t helpless. I know your daddy.”
There are lots of things I love about African Americans, but one of the dearests is that we grieve as a collective. 2020 has been a year of loss.
We have lost a way of life and doing things. We have lost lots of people, the last count was 183,045. We lost Kobe Bryant. We lost Chadwick Boseman. We lost heroes.
I love seeing what other people are thinking and feeling. I find comfort in their words. I love seeing other people’s stories that confirm what type of man we are mourning. That my love is not misplaced.
This morning Albert Tate, senior pastor at Made For Fellowship, said in the collective laughter and tears flow from the same place. This is a safe place for our tears. I don’t grieve this loss alone.
More so, it is the loss of another African American man. God must need them desperately. I can’t wait to hear the story of why.
I also hold onto the truth that God doesn’t take something away from you unless, he has something else for you. My people have experienced a lot, but I believe we will gain more than we have ever imagined.
The old folks used to say Are you yet holding on? (You need to ask someone black how to respond and do it;)
Dancing During The Storm is a collection of short stories that represent people dealing with the storms of life. There are times when we have to decide are we going to lay down or fight. All of these stories tell of people who are either coming out of, in the middle of or going into a storm. In this second volume, the stories deal with justice, women’s issues and deception.
Dancing During The Storm is a collection of short stories that represent people dealing with the storms of life. There are times when we have to decide are we going to lay down or fight. All of these stories tell of people who are either coming out of, in the middle of or going into a storm. In this second volume, the stories deal with justice, women’s issues and deception.
Philippians 4:7 says the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This week lets take on this attribute and watch it change the world.
UPP Creative Media 