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Happy Juneteenth from Chanticleer!
This is only the third year that we have celebrated June 19th as a federal holiday. We commemorate the June 19, 1865 proclamation that freed enslaved peoples in Texas. Texas then, in 1979, became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday. Way to go Texas! You can learn more about Juneteenth here.
Let us celebrate all that Juneteenth teaches us about our country’s greatness in our use of the heart to hear and to learn and to work together for all that is good and just. John Albuquerque
Even better, there’s a book called Juneteenth written by Ralph Ellison and published posthumously. While the book takes place in the 1950s and not 1865, it still seems like a worthwhile read.
“A stunning achievement . . . Juneteenth is a tour de force of untutored eloquence. Ellison sought no less than to create a Book of Blackness, a literary composition of the tradition at its most sublime and fundamental.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Time
2023 Thus Far Before Juneteenth
Thinking back through the past years so far, one of the most resonant things that’s happened is the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Justice Jackson’s record is a superb example of excellence. The decision was not without some controversy, as often can happen with the charged political climate in the United States. Thankfully, we have the wise words of Dr. Janice Ellis to help contextualize more of the thought process behind Justice Jackson. You can read our article on Dr. Ellis’s publication here, and the publication itself here.
As we continue to work to be the best society we can be today, we may often wonder what does the future hold?
Stacey Abrams made a surprise appearance in Star Trek: Discovery as President of Earth
We may not have the answers, but we do have some excellent books that we think are worth giving a read in the spirit of Juneteenth!
SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION: How Real Advocacy Journalism™ Should be Practiced
By Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D.
Nellie Bly Grand Prize
Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D., introduces the journalistic theories of Walter Lippmann in her new non-fiction work, Shaping Public Opinion: How Real Advocacy Journalism™ Should be Practiced.
Walter Lippmann, considered one of the foremost journalists in the field over the last 100 years, was a mentor in absentia of Dr. Ellis in the art of advocacy journalism. During Lippmann’s 40+ year career, his columns were syndicated in over 250 newspapers nationwide and over 25 other international news and information outlets. Lippman focused on the ethical dissemination of information, especially about communities, society, and the world. A theory, which Dr. Ellis calls Real Advocacy Journalism™.
Real Advocacy Journalism™ theory pertains to foundational behavior and ethical standing for those who report on, translate, and share information with the masses. This theory identifies the tension between individualism and collectivism, the private sector and public sector, the ruling elite, and the dormant masses.
Here is a link to an article by Janice Ellis that published in the renown Missouri Independent, June 6, 2022: “What is the state of the Black family unit in America today?”
https://missouriindependent.com/2023/06/19/what-is-the-state-of-the-black-family-unit-in-america-today/
TROUBLE the WATER
By Rebecca Dwight Bruff
Overall Chanticleer Grand Prize
Robert Smalls’ life should have been one for the history books.
Smalls was born a slave in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1839. When the first shots of the Civil War were fired upon Fort Sumter, Smalls was an experienced helmsman aboard a small cargo ship plying the coastal waters of South Carolina and the neighboring states. Once the war broke out, he found himself working to support a cause that kept him, his wife, and their children locked in chattel slavery.
But in a daring escapade that fell somewhere between a raid and a rescue, Smalls planned, with the help of his fellow crew members (also slaves) aboard the CSS Planter, to abscond with the ship, its cargo of munitions taken from Fort Sumter, and bring their families. The plan was to sail the ship as though its white officers were still on board, pretending to be carrying out their orders—at least until the ship was out of the reach of Fort Sumter’s guns.
PRISON From The INSIDE OUT: One Man’s Journey from a Life Sentence to Freedom
By William “Mecca” Elmore & Susan Simone
Nellie Bly Grand Prize Winner
Prison from Inside Out: One Man’s Journey from a Life Sentence to Freedom is an illuminating chronicle that tells the story of a man who not only survived the stoniest soil but used his experiences to thrive as a human being.
This arresting memoir is essentially a road trip of William ‘Mecca’ Elmore, a man with a tumultuous childhood, growing up in a neighborhood chock full of social problems. It is in this environment that Elmore is involved in a crime that consequently leads to his arrest and trial. The story builds upon his incarceration in various correctional facilities, his experiences, his release through a Mutual Agreement Parole Program, and his eventual redemption.
MYSTERY in HARARE: Priscilla’s Journey into Southern Africa
By M.J. Simms-Maddox
M&M First Place Winner
In M.J. Simms-Maddox’s atmospheric thriller, Mystery in Harare: Priscilla’s Journey into Southern Africa, a former legislative aide’s wedding day turns deadly.
As the second installment of The Priscilla Trilogy opens, Priscilla J. readies to walk down the aisle in an American church to marry Jonathan. Not the man of her dreams, but the man she believes may be right for her. Love isn’t exactly on the table, but Priscilla hopes it will be in the future.
Before she can even take her vows, her soon-to-be husband is murdered in cold blood in front of her and those in attendance. Priscilla catches a glimpse of the murderer before succumbing to unconsciousness. She’s been drugged, and the kidnappers will confound and surprise readers.
UP NORTH
By Abena Sankofa
One young Black woman turns detective when she realizes her family is in jeopardy in Abena Sankofa’s debut novel, Up North.
Teenage songbird Phyllis Joiner dreamed of one day seeing the glamorous North. But when her Uncle has been apprehended for an alleged crime, her wish may be about to be granted in the most distressing manner, beginning in 1933.
Phyllis Joiner always managed to get in trouble in one form or other. But she has no idea what ‘trouble’ will look like. Nineteen-year-old Phyllis is well-known for her spirited singing and piano playing in her Pa’s joint – “Daddy Joiner’s” local Music Club in Colchester County, Louisiana. But the Joiners live in a county where black schools do not go beyond the middle grade, and white supremacy rules the land.
JUS BREATHE
By B. Lynn Carter
A young woman strives to survive without a home, even as she must fight herself and her instincts, in Jus Breathe by B. Lynn Carter.
“It’s more like I walked away,” I said, fractured memories of the day I left surging into my mind. “My mother married herself a husband. It’s like the tale of the evil stepfather, I guess.” The words were spilling out. “On the first day that we moved in with him, he almost broke my jaw. So I left. She had to let me; you know – the survival thing. She knew. We both knew.”
In New York City during the tempestuous 1960s, Dawn flees an abusive family situation after her father leaves the family and her mother remarries. Determined to stay in education, she couch-surfs with friends and explores her contacts through school. Dawn manages to live and even graduate. With the help of sympathetic teachers and a social worker who believes in her, she goes to college. Dawn finds friends and boyfriends and makes her own way toward adulthood.
HOMEGOING
By Toni Ann Johnson
Shorts Grand Prize Winner
Homegoing by Toni Ann Johnson is an intimate portrait of a middle-aged African-American woman dragging herself hand over hand out of grief and despair.
This story begins with her aching, echoing pain after the one-two punch of a miscarriage and the dissolution of her marriage. Her journey takes her back to the upper-middle-class white suburb where she grew up, through childhood memories that refuse to be denied and to, of all times and places, a funeral.
Something and someone is supposed to be buried. Certainly the deceased. But quite possibly the woman who has held on to her losses and her grudges long enough to poison her own future.
Thank you for joining us for this Chanticleer Article Celebrating Juneteenth!
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