Last week I completed the second major draft of Half-Truths and sent it off to my writing coach, Rebecca Petruck. Ta dah! I didn't quite realize the significance of this accomplishment (that has taken almost two years) until my writing friends congratulated me and I read several posts on the YA Muse blog about how momentous it… Continue reading So, What's Next?
In the last blog of this series, Essie Mae Washington reveals what happened when she finally divulged her secrets. In the late 60's Thurmond surprised Essie Mae by calling to say he was coming to Los Angeles and wanted to see her children. She was thrilled, but first had to break the news that their… Continue reading Multi-Racial Read #17: Dear Senator- Part VIII
In 1953 Essie Mae Washington-Williams moved to California to start a new life with her husband and son. She flew home regularly to receive cash gifts from her father that were delivered by a relative; she also kept close tabs on her father's political activity. In 1956 nineteen southern senators declared war on the Brown vs.… Continue reading Multi-Racial Read #16: Dear Senator Part VII
In this sixth part of this series of excerpts from Essie Mae Washington Williams' autobiography, Dear Senator: A Memoir of the Daughter of Strom Thurmond, I bring you some of her segregated world. During their first meeting after the birth of Essie Mae's son she recollected, "...he kept it cool and formal. The most he… Continue reading Multi-Racial Read #15: Dear Senator Part VI
This is the fifth in a series of excerpts from Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond. Strom Thurmond secretly visited his daughter throughout her college years. Soon after Thurmond lost his bid for the presidency in 1948 and Essie Mae's mother died, Essie Mae confronted him on some of his pervasive… Continue reading Multi-Racial Read #14: Dear Senator Part V
When Strom Thurmond assumed the gubernatorial office in January 1947, Essie Mae was one of a select group of students from South Carolina State University who attended. As she looked at the family who surround him she thought, I wanted to be up there on the podium with them. This was my family, but I… Continue reading Multi-Racial Read #13: Dear Senator- Part IV
In the previous posts in this series, I shared excerpts from Dear Senator: A Memoir of the Daughter of Strom Thurmond that covered Essie Mae's early years. This post includes some of her struggles with her racial identity. During her nursing training at Harlem Hospital Essie Mae attended Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.'s church, the Abyssinian… Continue reading Multi-Racial Read #12: Dear Senator- Part III