Gumbo for the Soul III

Males of Color Share Their Stories, Meditations, Affirmations, and Inspirations

Edited by:
Brian L. Wright, The University of Memphis
Nathaniel Bryan, Miami University
Christopher Sewell Ed.D., Williams College
Lucian Yates III, Kentucky State University
Michael Robinson Ed.D., Forest of the Rain Productions
Kianga Thomas Ed.D., Norfolk State University

A volume in the series: Contemporary Perspectives on Multicultural Gifted Education. Editor(s): Donna Y. Ford, Ohio State University. Malik S. Henfield, Loyola University Chicago.

Published 2019

This book for, about, and by Males of Color, amplifies triumphs and successes while documenting trials and tribulations that are instructive, inspiring, and praiseworthy. This book will be a must-read for every Male of Color.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments. Introduction. SECTION I: FAMILIAL IMPACT ON EDUCATION. Pushing for a Better Life, Wil Greer. Choices, George Suttles. Black Boy Rising, Larry J. Walker. My Son Has a Purpose Too: A Father’s Story of Autism, George E. Stewart II. Where the Waters Met: A Story of Friendship, Brotherhood, and Service, Robert Mays. Freedom of Forgiveness, Zaccheus L. Moss. I Might Cry, But I’ll Get There, MarQo D. Patton. Personal Agency: An Under-Discussed Factor for Successful Life Outcomes of Black Males, Michael T. Owens. Still Standing: Bumps in the Road Along a Path to Greater Success, Jason Rivera. Poverty and Education, C. Sheldon Woods. The Destruction of Drugs, Joel Bratton Jr. SECTION II: INTERSECTIONS OF RACE, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY. From Unseen to Seen: The Power of Significant Others, Derrick Robinson. One Hundred Percent Intelligent Black Child: Black and Exceptional in Mathematics, Nickolaus A. Ortiz. Of Pain and Peach Fuzz: A Chief Equity Officer Rants, John D. Marshall. Thank You So Much for Asking, Darreon D. Greer Sr. Things Fall Apart to Fall in Place, Jajuan S. Johnson. The Menace of Immigrants: Reflections of Growing Up in Organisms Against My Development, Oscar Espinoza-Parra. Be Yourself and the World Will Adjust, Tyrone C. Hamler. Memoir of a Former Impostor, C. Emmanuel Little. SECTION III: RACIAL DISCRIMINATION. What Was Intended for My Harm, God Intended for My Good: A Black Male Overcoming the Odds, Lucian Yates III. Coming Home: The Social and Educational Consequences of Being a Formerly Incarcerated Chicano Convict Criminologist, Oscar Fabian Soto. When I Woke Up to Being Black, Christopher J. P. Sewell. The Power of Forgiveness, Joseph Matthews. Stony the Road We Trod: Black Males Share Lived Experiences With Police Brutality, Antonio Ellis and Eddie Vanderhorst. The Race, Dwight Gordon II. A Black Man’s Story of Empowerment: Why I Stopped Begging Whites to Accept My Blackness, Raymond Adams. The Emanuel Church Massacre and the School Across the Street: A Black Man’s Narrative of Two Racialized Conflicts, Nathaniel Bryan. From Hopelessness to the Hallways of Higher Education, Lawrence Scott. To Leave or Not to Leave: That Was My Contemplation, Jamel Miller. SECTION IV: OVERCOMING NARRATIVE OF FAILURE. Becoming the Victor, Victor L. Powell. Overcoming the Obstacles and Breaking the Barriers, Jeremiah N. Taylor. Man Enough to Ask for Help: Overcoming a Learning Disability and Family Issues, David C. Hughes. For Special Educators Who Have Considered Giving Up When the Rainbow Is Enough: A Retrospective and Prospective Essay on Being a Black Male in Specialized Education, Brandon C. S. Wallace. Special Education to Higher Education: Speech Impediment to a Degree in Speech Communications, Burgess Mitchell. From a Refugee Child to Success in America, Alex Sekwat. I Am Not Supposed to Be Here: Why Numbers Sometimes Lie, Stuart Rhoden. Social Capital and Its Impact on My Personal and Academic Success, Solomon Tention. Nobody Told Me the Road Would Be Easy, Dante Pelzer. I’m Not My Chair, Michael S. Washington. On Stuttering and Speech Impediments: Stepping Stones Not Speed Bumps, Charles A. Barrett. Keeping My Head Above Water in a River of Whiteness, LaMarcus J. Hall. Rising Above a Tracked System, Brian K. Williams. Even Today I Remember the Pain, Gregory Washington. The Test of a Man, Verontae Deams. Rising Through the Concrete Like a Rose, Nathan Stephens. Akoben: The Ancestors’ Call, Mwalimu Donkor Issa Minors. SECTION V: SEXUAL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE. Forged by My Foundation, Michael A. Robinson. Alone Was My Safe Place, Raphael Crawford. Won’t He Do It ... : From Challenges to Triumphs, Derek Irvin. From Victim to Victor: “I Don’t Want to Play!”, Robert A. Massey. Learning to Overcome Excessive Drinking, Charles Brown III. SECTION VI: EXPERIENCES IN HIGHER EDUCATION. How Spirit and Soul Led Me to a Life as a Psychological Scientist, Brandon E. Gamble. Do Not Apply to College, Eugene Pitchford III. Challenging Transitions: Reflecting Back, Projecting Forward, Brian A. Burt. Epilogue. About the Editors. About the Contributors.