THE WEATHER WAS GETTING HOTTER and Ronald was down to a light T-shirt and shorts in the truck. He never wore what some people called a “wife-beater.” For one thing, it was a terrible name. And for another, he just felt as if there was something disrespectful to have that much skin showing as aContinue reading “The Long Way: a Short Story (conclusion)”
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The Long Way: a Short Story (part 3)
It was always green salsa for her. That was how Toni was raised. Her uncle would make both red and green for big parties and holidays, but for the most part on the dinner table each night was salsa verde. And the Valentina for heat. She kept a bottle of it in her desk now,Continue reading “The Long Way: a Short Story (part 3)”
The Long Way: a Short Story (part 2)
EDWARD MET RONALD IN A HOME DEPOT parking lot in Burbank, standing with a group of men waiting for day’s work. The two started talking about their home countries, about cooking, about soccer…and they hit it off. Edward was still doing construction a year later, after landing a union job that kept him busy buildingContinue reading “The Long Way: a Short Story (part 2)”
The Long Way: a Short Story (part 1)
EVERY DAY AT 8:30 AM RONALD PULLS HIS FOOD TRUCK UP to the sixth parking meter down from the corner of Verdad Street and Palm Boulevard in Los Angeles. Verdad is a wide street, its lanes feeding into all sorts of directions. Heading north, cars can veer off to the community college or the park;Continue reading “The Long Way: a Short Story (part 1)”
Ticket to Ride
RACIST TRANSPORTATION REGULATIONS of the early/mid-20th century South resulted in African-American travelers often being herded into cramped Jim Crow cars, mostly banned from moving about the train for the next few days. Standing-room-only was often the case, at least until the trains crossed into the North, where segregation was less prevalent, and some freedom ofContinue reading “Ticket to Ride”
No Free Rides
I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO…FIRST. Call and email my representatives demanding that they grow a spine and stand up to the madness in DC; prep for my African-American studies film class; cook dinner for one of my friends displaced by the fires; listen to the news; turn off the news; meditate; reach out toContinue reading “No Free Rides”
Not This Time
ALTADENA. A TOWN THAT HAS BURNED, BUT NOT DISAPPEARED. So many of us, in our own ways, plan to make sure in fact that Altadena does not disappear, does not go the way of Seneca Village in New York City, for example, or Morrisonville, Louisiana. There are still edifices standing here and there among Altadena’sContinue reading “Not This Time”
The Most Wonderful Time?
CHRISTMAS IN NEWARK’S GREAT MIGRATION ERA could, of course, be merry and bright just like anywhere else. Military Park, downtown, for years had a huge, decorated tree, replete with a life-size nativity scene. And the famous Public Service building was lit up dramatically each year. But Christmas also could have a more somber side. ForContinue reading “The Most Wonderful Time?”
The Labor of Working
“All other sources of labor having been exhausted, the migrants were the last resource.” This is how artist Jacob Lawrence captions his fourth panel in the Migration Series, a collection of 60 paintings telling the story of the Great Migration. He is referring to war-time work in this country, a time when factories were churningContinue reading “The Labor of Working”
Memory and Fire
FIRE GETS SEARED INTO PEOPLE’S MINDS. The vision of fire, the smell, the heat… And even just the stories that include fire can often make deep inroads into the imagination. So much so, in fact, that some people even remember fires where there were none. This is the case around the narratives of urban rebellionContinue reading “Memory and Fire”
Katie Singer 