He was my brother

Here we are, sixteen days of blogging.

Today’s inspiration from my musical muse, Paul Simon, is a heart-wrenching song of hatred and murder - but Paul focuses the story on ensuring that we, the listener, will feel empathetic as if it were one of our family members that have been killed. Can you guess the timeframe when this was written? Would it surprise you to know it was way back in1965?!

The term “freedom rider" harkens back to those the song is dedicated to Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner, who were murdered while working to help register black voters in Mississippi in 1964. The goal of the Freedom Summer Project was to help register African American voters in Mississippi, where discrimination and intimidation were commonplace.

The song reached out to me today in a very personal and emotional way. Our memoir is slated to release soon, and my family’s reaction has been highly negative.

We did not intend to upset anyone. I have always had nothing but love for every member of my family. I have gone out of my way to support my brothers and sisters throughout the years. Unfortunately, at least two of my six brothers (and all of my sisters) are no longer speaking with me.

I’m more grateful than ever for my amazing and supportive friends.