Michele Norris
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Grace Notes Blog- Talking about Race is like Cooking with Onions

Even though I called my book The Grace of Silence, I always hoped that it would be the starting point for conversations. I just wasn’t sure HOW that would happen, especially as I hopscotched across the country on a 35 city book tour. So, I came up with an idea that might serve as an icebreaker. Everywhere I went I passed out little black post cards with the following …

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Neli Moody- Two Rivers

My story is the story of America. My maternal ancestor fought in the Revolutionary War. I have seen the papers from this time. My father’s people were slaves and I have seen the census of 1870 when they had the name of their slaveowner, a name that had changed ten years later. I was born in a city above the Ohio River, a city known for its underground railroad to

…
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Arlene- Birthday present: You are black, sorta?

Birthday present: You are black, sorta?

My mother raised me to be white and I am, at least by self-identification I guess. She died a couple of days before I turned 50 this past fall. On the eve of my birthday I was going through some of her papers and found her birth certificate. My mother immigrated to this country from Peru in 1958. In her papers were her original

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Grace Notes Blog- STAY IN THE BOAT

I’ve got this little box in my office filled with all the little gifts I’ve received while traveling the country on my thirty-plus city book tour. It’s quite a collection. There are picture books, poetry volumes, picture books and cooking guides. I received two blankets from folks who worried that I might catch a cold with all that constant travel and I felt a warm glow of appreciation on a …

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Guest Blog-GOOD FOOD RELAXES TALK STORIES FOLLOW by Madhulika Sikka

GOOD FOOD RELAXES TALK STORIES FOLLOW

A Grace Notes Blog, Guest Blog

by: Madhulika Sikka
Executive Producer
Morning Edition

 

Ok, that’s my play on Michele’s 6 word challenge. She’s looking for stories about race in 6 words and you can see some of the submissions on this website.

But what she really wants folks to do is to sit down and tell stories to each other, the stories that …

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Pathways- Crossing the Racial Divide in Marietta, Georgia

One Church was founded by slave owners, the other by former slaves. On a recent cold, wet winter night their spiritual descendants crossed the divide that separated their ancestors and came together to share a meal, to talk, and to listen to a national journalist tell the story on conversations about race in her own family. The sharing of untold stories can open doors to healing. Story by Patricia Templeton. …

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C-SPAN/Book TV- Does Race Still Matter?

Does Race Still Matter?

Apr 9, 2011

Annapolis Book Festival:
My best pal is Gwen Ifill is a fellow journalist and a fellow author. Her book, The Breakthrough, Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, is a rich examination of the shifting nature of identity politics and the future of black political leadership in America.f you have not already read it (what are you waiting for?) you really need …

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Claude H. Oliver II- The Magic City of Bombingham

Dear Ms. Norris:
I just finished reading your book and it brought a flood of memories from my stay in Birmingham from 1959
to 1965. My father was born in Birmingham. He was one of nine children. During my stay in Birmingham,
I went to Center Street Elementary school, which was in walking distance from my grandmother’s home. I
also attended Brunetta C. Hill school where my aunt was the

…
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Rodney Knolton- Innocence Lost is Tragic

Mrs. Norris, My name is Rodney Knolton and I’m 61 years old. I recently checked out your book, The Grace of Silence, from my local library and when I read chapter three about Aunt Jemima, I knew I had a story to share with you. When I was a young child, my mom and dad moved to Chicago from Memphis to find work. I was in the second grade

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Carol Ann Lindsay- Your Father, My Father

Dear Michele,

THE GRACE OF SILENCE was a most touching , interesting, thought-provoking, well-written story.   I even shed a few tears on a page or two as I learned truths which should have been part of my American History classes in grade school, high school and college.  One of the subjects that shocked me and tore at my soul was the viewpoint  of Aunt Jemima.  As a young child in

…
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