Gertrude

Mary Turner – Black, Innocent, Pregnant, Burned, and Shot

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Mary Turner

Lynching rampage. It was May, 1918. The lynching rampage in Brooks County, Georgia, started after a white plantation owner was shot and killed by a black worker. Hampton Smith, known for abusing and beating his workers, had a history of violence with his workers and used the debt peonage system [outlawed by Congress in 1867]. He bailed people out of jail to work for him until their “debt” was paid. Only thing was, sometimes he … Read more

Parenting: When saying “Okay?” to Your Child Isn’t Really Okay.

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say okay

Guilty as Charged I’m sure if we replayed the days of our lives when we were raising our kids, you’d be able to hear me say things like, “You need to pick up your toys, okay?” or “Let’s get showers now, okay?” It didn’t happen all the time, but I know there are times that word slipped through the crack. I know I’d be blushing when you heard me saying “okay?” – exactly what I’m … Read more

Sweet Southern Tea

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From north to sweet southern tea. Confessions first. I was bred and born in the north, very near the Mason-Dixon line.  We grew up drinking water and Kool-Aid in the summer and hot chocolate in the winter.  This past year marked thirty-five years of marriage, which means I’ve now lived more years in the south than in the north.  I do make Sweet Tea, even though it’s taken me a long time to overlook the … Read more

What Happened to Emmett Till

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Emmett Till

From Chicago to Mississippi Born in 1941, Emmett was fourteen years old when he visited family in Money, Mississippi, staying with a great-uncle, Moses Wright. Emmett planned to spend the summer and help with share-cropping cotton. This was 1955, and segregation was part of its culture and mindset. Emmett was from Chicago and no doubt did not understand the racially-charged Mississippi culture, even though his mother, reportedly, tried to warn him before he headed south. … Read more

The Flavor from Heat – and the Virus

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heat

The truth about heat. Heat brings out flavor and character. While it’s true that fire refines (purifies) us, heat brings out what is inside. Almost weekly, I mix up  concentrate for Iced Tea, 5 gallons, most times. That’s because there are folks in my house who just have to have their sweet southern tea. Plus, when folks stop in at my house, they expect to be offered Tea, ’cause this is the south! I start with … Read more