At the end of 2019, I set upon an ambitious course, and boldly announced I would win a book award for my memoir “Freaknik Lawyer: A Memoir on the Craft of Resistance.” I had a full schedule of speaking engagements and book signings that would take me into early summer.

On February 20, 2020, I was invited to speak on an author’s program hosted by the Washington Memorial Library in my hometown, the same library that had refused to issue a library card to me at age ten when I went in to check out a book on Willie Mays. It was a wet, blustery evening, but a sizable crowd turned out to see their native son. read more