The Black Girl Next Door Website
After weeks of diligent work, the book site is live and launched! I welcome all thoughts and comments.
http://www.theblackgirlnextdoor.com
Twitter / bgnd- bgnd: The Black Girl Next Door is heading to Birmingham, Alabama to join the mighty women of the Go On Girl Book Club's annual celebration! June 10, 2010bgnd: The Black Girl Next Door is heading to Birmingham, Alabama to join the mighty women of the Go On Girl Book Club's annual celebration!
- bgnd: It's a good and early morning. Quiet and cool. June 4, 2010bgnd: It's a good and early morning. Quiet and cool.
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- bgnd: The Black Girl Next Door is heading to Birmingham, Alabama to join the mighty women of the Go On Girl Book Club's annual celebration! June 10, 2010
STUNNINGLY FABULOUS!
WOO-WHOOT!
December 5th, 2008 at 2:53 pmNice. Very very nice. I’m thrilled! If not sooner, will probably catch you @ the New Haven Lib event. This is too exciting. Go on.
December 9th, 2008 at 5:14 amThe Baszile sisters were dear friends of ours growing up. Multiple anecdotes to share.
First: “Jennifoo from Inglewoo’ “. Did they ever catch wind of that behind-the-scenes soul-70’s nickname that bandied about among their friends on the block? (Inglewood being a poor black part of Los Angeles). I’ll be curious to read.
“Blurple”? In our teens, they introduced me to that word and doubled over laughing in their ever-generous hilarity. When they came to, they kindly explained that meant folks “so black they were purple.” Then they rocked in laughter again.
It’s true they could both run fast, though I don’t recall our focusing on the black part of that. Trouble was, when we played hide and seek at night, which was often, we couldn’t see them against the dark ivy of neighbor’s yards — even at close range. We laughed plenty about that.
Though together or in private? I suspect the latter.
I suspect the most telling event was the night the bunch of us first came up with a clever prank. All us kids went out to hide in the dark. Then, as pre-connived, we all ditched down the street in stealth to watch TV in somebody’s warm house, but stranded one poor unwitting soul — the seeker — out there in the dark by himself. How we laughed. This kid was out there alone in the cold peering into the darkness for near 45 minutes before he caught on.
Among kids, a social meritocracy was at play. You can be sure neither of the Baszile girls was the child left behind that first time, when the trick really worked.
A decade later, after a summer in which I’d dated Jennifer’s sister, I the grapevine brought me word of their Dad’s stated view that they should marry black. Whoo-eee, that one sent a ball of unease my white way.
A bit ashamed, I sensed I’d crossed a line I shouldn’t have. Then on thinking a bit, I could see his logic.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a better guy than Jennifer’s Dad. Or a better family than hers.
When my first kid was born, I asked her parents, and one other couple from our town whose kids I admire, for advice on raising kids. I didn’t feel the want to ask anyone else. Given the steady compliments I get regarding my kids, I’d say that approach has served me well.
Apologies for the lengthy post.
December 17th, 2008 at 1:24 pmDwight,
December 18th, 2008 at 3:43 pmI’m thrilled that you stopped by the blog and took the time to write the post. Don’t apologize for the length of the post. The unease that you felt at my Dad’s comment is part of the reason I wrote the book–we were neighbors but so much of the racial fault line that existed remained hidden all these years. We’re all grown up and have all made our choices, but the era of our childhoods marked a transformation in this nation that has remained hidden. Again, it’s great to hear from you.