Sherri Winston's Blog, page 3

HAIR LIT

Untangle Your Summer Reading Choices

Back in the day, if you didn’t know how to braid, the neighborhood girls who did were Queens!

When you’re in sixth grade, it’s hard convincing parents to pay $100, $200 even $300 for a new ‘do. Professional braids could cost a small fortune.

However, paying $50 to a classmate with magic fingers? That was doable.

I spent many a afternoon sitting out in front of my friend Pam’s house as her younger brothers went skrt-skrt in between the feet and bodies of the tittering girls congregated on their front stoop. 

Those were good times.

The Braid Girls, available in hard cover and paperback, is my homage to those long-gone days. It features three girls—Maggie, her recently discovered half-sister, Callie, and best friend, Daija. After the death of Callie’s mom brings her from the Bahamas to live with father and half-sibs she never knew about, i.e. Maggie and her family in Fort Lauderdale, Maggie’s best friend, Daija, is determined not to get pushed aside. 

Despite a rocky introduction, the trio discovers a shared love of braiding. They combine forces to create a neighborhood braiding enterprise guaranteed to have them swimming in summer cash.

Of course, it isn’t long before the green-eyed monster of jealousy outweighs the girls’ money-making venture and the shenanigans ensue.

Now I have two hair books out—Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution, and The Braid Girls. If I decide to go for the trifecta of hair lit, maybe I could do something on my fascination with pixie cuts. Or my childhood love of curls!

Hmm …God bless the tresses!

ADOPTION IS A GOOD THING

National Adoption Day always makes me smile. Today is that day. 

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I adopted my first daughter in 2000.

My second was in 2002.

In South Florida where my children were adopted, both adoptions were finalized on National Adoption Day in separate courthouses. We sat in a judge’s chambers around a large table along with over a dozen other families. The feeling was indescribable.

I adopted my children as a single woman. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but the desire to be a mama was too strong to ignore.

I’ve gone through dance recitals, softball games, years and years of chorus programs. I’ve played taxi not only to my girls and their friends. I know way too much about Taylor Swift and One Direction. It’s been beyond anything I could have ever dreamed.

National Adoption Day reminds me to remind others that when building your family, public adoptions are a great option. In 2020, 117,470 children were available for adoption in the U.S. About 19,000 children are in foster care in Florida. At least 500 are available for permanent placements.

When I was a reporter, I wrote about horrible abuses to children. Cases of neglect and abandonment arose too often. I’d been one of those people who declared—loudly—that I didn’t want children. Nope, not for me. Two things happened to change my heart.

First, after seeing so much need for black children in need of permanent homes, I decided I didn’t have to save the world, but I could save one child. (Which would later turn into two children.)

Secondly, both my mother and father died leaving me feeling alone and abandoned, which was crazy because I was grown and long out of the house. Still, I knew I needed another way to define family.

So, one cold day in Michigan when I was driving to Toronto, I made a decision—I was going to adopt as a single woman. Why not admit it? I wanted a baby.

The prospect was terrifying. I thought, “Who in their right mind is going to give me a kid.” 

Becoming a mom helped me to grow up and I love who how I transformed as a person when I became a mother. If you’re on the fence about adopting, the same terrifying joy, magical mystery cI experienced could be waiting for you.

Parenting is no joke. Even so, I dug in and worked hard to figure things out. The rewards have far outweighed the negatives.

My girls are grown now. The youngest is a senior at Florida State University.. Sadly, my oldest died a year ago. The result of a hit and run. I ache from missing her, but I would eagerly do it all over again to share her life for as long as I could.

Please, I urge you to consider public adoptions. The children need you, and you need them more than you know. Adoption is a good thing. Do a good thing.

This is my Exodus

National Book Award long list nominee

I’ve had a fantastic few weeks!

Thanks to my publisher, Bloomsbury, I had a multi-city book tour that gave me lots of exposure and allowed me to visit kids’ schools in three states. Amazing! Also, there was the little matter of being recognized along with nine other nationally recognized authors. 

The National Book Award Long List for children’s literature was released. It comprises 10 books:

Kelly Barnhill, The Ogress and the Orphans
Algonquin Young Readers / Workman Publishing

Isaac Blum, The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen
Philomel Books / Penguin Random House

Traci Chee, A Thousand Steps into Night
Clarion Books / HarperCollins Publishers

Johnnie Christmas, Swim Team
HarperAlley / HarperCollins Publishers

Anna-Marie McLemore, Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix
Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan Publishers

Sonora Reyes, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School
Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins Publishers

Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes, and Dawud Anyabwile, Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist For Justice
Norton Young Readers / W. W. Norton & Company

Sabaa Tahir, All My Rage
Razorbill / Penguin Random House

Sherri Winston, Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution
Bloomsbury Children’s Books / Bloomsbury Publishing

Lisa Yee, Maizy Chen’s Last Chance
Random House Books for Young Readers / Penguin Random House

I cannot believe my little book, Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution, made the list. It’s unbelievable. I want to thank the National Book Award judges for seeing something good and worthwhile in my work. And I want to congratulate my fellow nominees. The short list will be announced Oct. 4, culminating in an awards dinner and top selection in November.

It’s been a tumultuous 10 months for me. The death of my daughter in November really rocked our family and was a boulder on my soul. Add financial setbacks, chronic health concerns and a week-long hospital stay right before my wonderous book tour, it’s been rocky.

But you know what? The struggles make pausing to smile in the light all the sweeter. Through it all, many times I’ve wanted to quit. Hide. Recede into the background. Instead, I’ve held onto my faith and my belief that life is for the living. Just keep going. 

Gospel singer LeAndria Johnson and the Donald Lawrence Choir’s performance of “Deliver Me” is like a soothing testimony for my soul. Thank you, LeAndria and the Donald Lawrence Choir, for your amazing gifts and for being with me when I needed uplifting.

I don’t expect to make it to the finals, but then again, I never ever saw myself on the long list this year. As Leandra sings, “This is my Exodus!” And you can’t have an Exodus without movement. So, no matter what, I’ll keep on moving, dreaming, writing, loving, living.

Thank you, NBA, for giving me this wonderful moment in the sun. Authors, it is my honor to join you all on the long list.

What do you think about that?

ART/SHERRI WINSTONBlack Millionaires from America’s History

Black Americans were able to succeed despite harsh realities–before, during and after the Civil War. These pioneers should be remembered, not for their fortunes but their tenacity and drive. They remind us all to never give up. Keep trying, keep fighting, just keep going, and maybe someday you will go down in history, too!

Children’s Author, Sherri Winston

ROBERT REED CHURCH—biracial landowner who went from enslavement to luxury.

Hey, have you ever heard of Robert Reed Church? He was was born in 1839 in Holly Springs, Miss. His mother, Emmeline, who was an enslaved person, died when Robert was 12. Although landowner and steamship proprietor, Captain Charles A. Church, never formally acknowledged Robert as his son, he did take the boy aboard his ships to work. Robert knew how to work a broom, but his real talent was “working” the richy-rich friends of his father. He asked lots of questions and probably did a little eavesdropping, too. Still, in 1862, Union Troops took control of the city of Memphis and Captain Church’s steamboat was seized. Perhaps a lucky break for Robert, who escaped from the ship and hid out in Memphis, taking odd jobs , doing whatever he could until he had enough to buy his first business–a saloon. Robert also understood the value of landownership. He gradually used earnings from his saloon and other businesses to buy land and property. And in 1873, during a wave of Yellow Fever, Robert took advantage of lowered prices, buying even more land. Robert knew how to hustle, how to listen and how to make sound business decisions. Even so, he avoided the limelight and any attempts to draw him into politics. By the time of his death in 1906 after a brief illness, Church owned a considerable chunk of the prosperous Beale Street area of Memphis. 

ANNIE TURNBO MALONE—born to former enslaved parents and became a trailblazing entrepreneur.

Annie’s dad went to fight with the Union Army. The Union Army was fighting with several southern states to end slavery. He and Annie’s mom escaped from Kentucky with their children to a small town in Illinois. Sadly, Annie was orphaned at an early age. Annie was placed in an orphanage where she remained until she went to live with her sister in Peoria, Ill., to finish high school. Now, Annie loved herself some chemistry. But multiple absences from school due to illness when she was younger kept her from pursuing her passions. Sort of. In 1900, Annie moved with her older siblings to Lovejoy (Brooklyn Illinois), and it was there that Annie combined her newfound haircare fascination with her old love, chemistry. She created revolutionary hair care products and went on to employ door-to-door salespeople. Business grew like well-cared for hair! She was on a roll. One of her students, Mary Breedlove Davis, later went on to start her own haircare empire under the name Madame C. J. Walker. By 1918, Annie established the Poro School, which taught haircare in St. Louis. She would later move to Chicago and continue her entrepreneurial ways. She was also a tremendous philanthropist, and never forgot her time in the orphanage. Annie became a benefactor—that means she gave a lot of money—to the St. Louis Colored Orphans Home, where she remained President of the board from 1919 to 1943. Much later, the Road where the former orphanage turned community outreach center changed its name from to Annie Malone Drive. Annie had no children and was twice divorced. She died of a stroke in 1957, leaving her fortune to nieces and nephews.

What do you think about that?

ART/Sherri WinstonMillionaires of the Past

MARY ELLEN PLEASANT—solemn housemaid to self-made millionaire.

She worked as a housemaid and cookInvestments were her passionshe eavesdropped on high-flying white businessmen who never suspected a black woman could understand their important talks about money, property, valuation and stockMary Ellen and a partner bought laundries, dairies and even owned stock in Wells Fargo Bank in 1852

WHAT HAPPENED TO HER FORTUNE?

*She befriended a bank clerk named Thomas Bell, and the two formed a partnership. No doubt Mary Ellen found Thomas useful because having their accounts in the name of a white man made life simpler. That is, until Bell died in 1892 and his greedy, thieving wife sued Mary Ellen for her part of the multi-million-dollar fortune. The former Mrs. Bell used the courts to take everything Mary Ellen had earned, and Mary Ellen died penniless in 1904, having lost everything, including the home she’d come to love.

About Lauren

Celebrate life

Grief feels so lonely. However, thanks to all the beautiful understanding since the Nov. 6 death of my daughter, I can truly say I do not feel alone.

In November of 2000, I sat in a large, crowded judge’s conference room and felt my insides quiver as I heard the banging of her gavel. It was National Adoption month, and I was part of group ceremony to finalize the adoption of our newest family member.

Lauren was 2, shy, but curious. When we met that fateful June day in the dusty offices of Miami Our Kids offices, she was carried on the hip of her social worker. Having been previously told that she liked corn chips, I brought along a bag. She happily took them. She wouldn’t share.

We’ve had 22 beautiful years together. I would not change a thing. That awful night, the last night I saw her, she was dressed in her sexy going out clothes. She gave me her quick smile and I said, “You look beautiful, baby. Be careful.”

To which she smiled and said, “Oh, mother!” A favorite refrain. But I told her I loved her and she said it back. I’ll have that forever. For now, I have all of you. And I am grateful. 

Later this evening, I will post specific details for her Orlando memorial. I can tell you that we will hold a gathering of friends and loved one’s to say goodbye on Sunday, Nov. 21, from 5 to 7 pm. It will not be a religious service, which is something I’m doing with family on a more private basis. 

With friends, especially her friends, we are going to gather, share stories, listen to some of her favorite music and rejoice in our shared experience of knowing and loving such a special young woman.

More to come no later than tomorrow morning. Kindness is everywhere. If you have it, share it; if you need it, fill your cup. 

JADA SLY, ARTIST and SPY, BOOK GIVEAWAY

Exhaust is thundering from the engines. Plumes of fire are eating away the sides of the plane. Would I be able to save everyone? Or were we doomed?           

from–Jada Sly, Artist and Spy, by Sherri Winston

GOODREADS GOOD BOOK GIVEAWAY

Ever wondered what motivates a 10-year-old spy? Sure you have! Wonder no more. Visit @bowlofsherrisart or @iamsherriwinston for a change to get inside the mind of a young spy on the ultimate mission–to prove that her recently deceased mother is NOT deceased but instead living in New York City.

Search the hashtag #JadaSly and hit “follow.” That’s it. That’s all you have to do to be entered into a weekly drawing for a free book. Go ahead. Anyone can do it.

And if you’re a good readers from Goodreads.com, follow the journey. From now until the end of November, I will be giving away copies of Jada Sly, Artist and Spy. All you need to enter is to become a new follower on Instagram. Honest! Cross my heart. That’s all there is to it!

Go on, then. Click, click, click! And keep your eyes peeled–it’s part of your spy training. I think you’ll make a wonderful spy. And more clues will lead to more prizes to come. Shh! More on that later.

The competition starts today and ends on Thanksgiving Day.

Click “follow” @bowlofsherrisart or @iamsherriwinston, #JadaSly, and just like that–presto! Blamo! You’re enrolled in the weekly drawing. Ahhh ….that feels good!

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Let us all embrace the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We need unity. Not a fake koombaya type of feel-good stuff. We have to find a way to come together and if needs must, agree to disagree. Love yourselves, obey your faith and make this year about coming together.

UNITY.

JADA SLY, ARTIST AND SPY

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THANK YOU, INDIANA, FOR RECOGNIZING ONE COOL SPY

Jada Sly, Artist and Spy has been flying below the radar, but she is ready for her closeup. This little secret agent doesn’t work for some secretive government program for kids. She’s the 10-year-old daughter of an American working for the state department in France, and a father who descends from art dealers and an ancestral museum in New York City. When her mom’s plane disappears over the Atlantic after leaving New York City, Jada and her father are devastated. However, right away, Jada picks up on clues that convince her there is more to the story. Did her mother really die? Is she really dead? And when dad decides to move back to New York to be closer to his mother, Jada seizes the chance to do what she has wanted for months–to search for clues and find out what really happened to her mom.

Jada sees the world through her art and instead of a traditional journal, she chronicles her experiences in sketches. Follow the clues in Jada’s sketchbook and join along with the secret P.I.E. Society at her new school. P.I.E. might not mean what you think. Be prepared for a slice of mystery with a heaping scoop and intrigue.

Okay, as the author, I know I’m biased. However, all those fine folks in Indiana are on my side. They think Jada is awesome and deserves recognition. And so do I.

This holiday season, you don’t have to go undercover to discover a great read for your eight and older readers. Simply go to a bookstore–in person or online. It has appeal for boys and girls and burgeoning spies of all ages. Well, mostly all ages.

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From the sketchbook of Jada Sly!

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TRIBUTE

[image error]KOBE BRYANT/NIKE IMAGES



HAPPY BIRTHDAY …42 WOULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT YEAR FOR YOU. DAMN, WE MISS KOBE!

Nike has released a new ad featuring Kendrick Lamar celebrating the life and legend of Kobe Bryant. The former L.A. Laker star died along with his daughter, Gianna, as well as John, Keri and Alyssa AltobelLi, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, and Ara Zobayan.

In the newly released tribute to the life and spirit of Bryant, Lamar urges all of us to follow the NBA icon’s lead and strive to be better each day.

“Better leader, better generation, better nation,” Lamar continues. “Just be better. Can you do that? … Better me, better you, better us.”

Lamar’s quote was taken from an article written by FNR Tigg for Complex, published online.

The simplicity of the message is as beautiful as Bryant’s effervescent smile. Be better. Not better than this person or that person–just be better at being you, today, than you were yesterday. Give just a little bit more each day.

Be better.

https://www.complex.com/sports/2020/08/kendrick-lamar-narrates-nike-ad-celebrating-kobe-bryant-birthday?utm_campaign=social_widget_share&utm_medium=social&utm_source=link