October 28, 2001
Fiction
Million Family Reflections
I arrived at the Million Family March with pen, pad and camera in hand to interview participants for a magazine article or chapter in a future book, but found myself still too close to the story. There I was in the midst of hundreds of men and women dressed in the traditional Nation of Islam uniforms my family and I had long since discarded.
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October 21, 2001
Fiction
Fireworks
As the clock struck midnight, the thunderous sounds of thousands of fireworks exploding simultaneously and in succession jolted me upright in bed.
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October 18, 2001
Fiction
The Sisters Were Soldiers Too
MeKim Muhammad and Saundra Marshall were baby pioneers in the Nation of Islam. They were the little ones dressed in pantaloons and dress tops and trade-mark M.G.T. hats ready to recite Student Enrollment Rules of Islam Number Two, or Three or Seven, whatever their teacher or temple captain might demand.
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October 14, 2001
Fiction
Compassion
What does a lake, fried chicken, stray dogs and compassion have in common? More than you’d think.
Fiction
A Coming-Out Party
We came out swinging, yes we did. Raised as Muslim girls, wrapped in Muslim clothing from head to foot, there was only one way to come out, and that was swinging. We struck out in different ways, mind you, but my sisters and I all came out swinging.
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October 4, 2001
Fiction
Kissing
When I see Latin Americans kissing one another on the cheek when greeting “hello" and saying “goodbye" part of me is envious. I want my people to greet one another in that very same manner.
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