We are in the business of writing and publishing
Editor’s Note: John Oliver Killens, would have turned 100 years old this year. I could not let the year get away without a tribute to his legacy as a leading African American writer in the 20th century. What follows is my interview of Killens which was published in The Macon Courier in 1979. He transitioned 8 years later.
The making of “Easier to Obtain than to Maintain” began in the spring of 2016. I received a call from a friend who asked if I would be interested in writing and publishing a book on the life of Cathelean Steele, the first lady of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
I was intrigued about getting to know the woman behind Dr. Charles Steele, Jr., the Chief Executive Officer and President of SCLC. After all Dr. Steele, had on two occasions in the 21st century resurrected SCLC from the brink of extinction. The woman supporting such a man had to be a fascinating person, worthy of the public’s attention.
HBCUs are in trouble. On the last day of the recently concluded campaign to select the nation’s 45th President, Barack Obama, President No. 44, took to the airwaves to exhort African Americans to get out and vote for Hillary Clinton.
He appeared on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Joyner, a graduate of Tuskegee University, hosts annual scholarship drives. He donates the proceeds to HBCUs. The President jokingly told Black voters that if Donald Trump was elected President he was “coming after Michelle’s garden.” He followed this joke with what seemed like another joke. He said that Trump needed to be defeated because the Historically Black Colleges and Universities would be in trouble if Trump was elected.