Final Passage: An African American Exodus

by Joyce Veranda Gray

The next step in history ...A few years ago, an African man was reaching for his wallet and was shot 42 times by the local authorities. The preconceived notion that if an African man reaches for something, it must be a gun, is heartbreaking. I asked myself a question, “If I had somewhere else to go, would I go?” I could not answer the question. The angry part of me said yes, but the complacent part said no. I was ashamed of my indecisiveness. I wondered if other African Americans would struggle with the answer. The answer to the question would determine the next step in the African American saga as an enslaved, oppressed, and now disadvantaged people. What happens next? We cannot continue to ask the same question that’s been asked for the past 100 years. It’s time for different questions and different answers. If an opportunity to leave the United States, to become a self-governed nation, became a reality, would you go or stay? What choice would you make?

308 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2003