All posts tagged: civil rights movement

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Natalie Jeffers

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I recently spent time in Memphis, which was deep, dirty and delicious. There are many stories I could share but the most life-affirming/transformative event happened on my flight back to Brooklyn, when I took a seat next to this man. Robert Hawkins. I almost didn’t sit next to Robert, as he had a cane and a support brace around his waist so I didn’t want to make him get up and move just so I could get my window seat! But Robert insisted I sit, and we all got settled in. I was so blessed that I ended up in that seat, at that very moment in time…Robert told me that he had been released from prison that very day and that this flight was his first taste of freedom, and our conversation his first with a person who wasn’t his family, lawyer or prison mate in 26 years…intense, right? As Robert shared his story, I gave him my respect and compassion for the tough life he had been forced to live behind bars. Not …

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Mom

Published by Confessions of a Jetsetter

“I remember the first time I arrived in New York City. It was in my sophomore year of college as part of The Tougaloo Concert Choir to perform with the great Duke Ellington at Carnegie Hall. We had traveled all around the East Coast of the United States singing at various historical sites while raising funds for our school. However, New York City was a completely different experience especially for a Southern girl, seeing such cultural diversity during the Civil Rights Movement. It was so strange seeing people bustling about so rapidly with the energy and possibility of hope that filled each of their steps. It was the most phenomenal thing I had experienced up until that point. Excited and just about the hour when the choir was about to go on stage and perform a round of spirituals with Ellington’s band, we were informed that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been shot in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a moment I shall never forget. April 4th, 1968.”   – Mom   034/100 of #100DaysofConfessions …