One Pocket

In the summer of 1956, as a ten-year-old black kid living in Michigan, my family placed me on a train bound for Mississippi to visit relatives. My time there allowed me to visit my birthplace, reconnect with grandparents and it introduced me to a phenomenon that I never knew existed. On a hot July afternoon in downtown Natchez, Mississippi, I stopped to take a drink from a water fountain and looked up to read the words "For Whites Only."

Many authors have explored the detrimental psychological effects of racism. Recent memoirs include those by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Wes Moore, Kiese Laymon, and Jesmyn Ward, among others. But it's a novel published more than eighty years ago-Richard Wright's masterpiece, Native Son-that offers a particularly searing example of how it can affect the recipient in a rather unlikely way. Wright's main character, Bigger, allowed the racism of his white countrymen lead him to accept, unknowingly, his supposed inferiority. Bigger then proceeds down a path of anger and resentment where ultimately, he becomes what he despises most: a racist.

In my memoir, I explore an alternative course. Because of a mother's love and with the guidance of a no-nonsense, pull-your-own-weight grandfather. I was shown another way to face life's injustices and challenges and then use them as motivation to not only survive but also to prosper. Unlike many authors who have been exposed to the ugly underbelly of racism, I'm in the rather awkward position of saying that if it wasn't for this ugly stain on humanity, I may well not have become a physician. The encounter helped me realize that racism like any other obstacle, if approached differently can actually become an opportunity to strengthen one's resolve as opposed to becoming an excuse for failure. This book is the story of a life that hopefully will help others meet their life challenges.