That is the opening line of a piece from my one woman show that I performed at the January Story Jam series in Wimette, Illinois. Wilmette is a mostly affluent, predominantly White suburb of Chicago. I entitled the story "nigger," which tells the story of the first time I was called such by a White person. I have to admit that I had some reservations about presenting a story about being called a nigger to a mostly White audience - for about a minute. Hell, I told the world that I weigh 300 …
Legacies
I am the great grand daughter of a slave: Fannie Revere. One of her sons (David) was my maternal grand father. He fled the South and certain death at the hands of a lynch mob in the early decade of the Twentieth Century, because he stood up to a belligerent white male. He settled in Ohio and sent for his wife Mary and their young children. As a child back in the south he was recognized as being "blessed" or touched by a divine calling. According to family lore, as a small boy he was always …