Tag: Iowa

Ruth Williams (May 31, 1927 – February 3, 2020): My grandma was awesome

Published February 10, 2020

Brian A. Wilkins
February 10, 2020

Me, Ruth and my little sister Tonya at my high school graduation.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 (NIV)

I was angry and sad for about an hour. Then the photos came out of the box. And I couldn’t help but smile.

Ruth was always smiling and laughing. That’s not embellishment. I was 10 when she and I watched Beverly Hills Cop on HBO together. The scene when Rosewood tried boosting Taggart over the wall made Ruth cry-laugh for like 2-3 minutes.

She cracked up for several minutes at me slipping and falling on ice while wearing those stupid cowboy boots my mom bought me when I was six. But that’s ok. I got back by saying the okra she ate looked gross. read more

Personal Response: 7 Biggest Risks of Raising Black Children in a White Environment

Published January 27, 2015

My homies and I. Circa 1979. — My homies Joe, David, Patrick, Greg, Geoff, Grant, and I. Circa 1979.

This interesting article “7 Biggest Risks of Raising Black Children in a White Environment” was published on Atlanta Black Star January 19. My hometown, Marshalltown, Iowa (population about 24,000 back then), was 95-plus percent white when I was born and raised (1970s, 1980s, early 1990s). The Des Moines schools I went to after my parents were divorced around 1987 were at least 60/40 white/black, give or take. I was shuffled back-and-forth between the two towns after 7th grade, thus I have a really unique perspective. read more

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