When I was growing up, my parents’ spoke highly of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor. They were both born into wealthy and prominent families. Despite Mrs. Roosevelt’s wealth, she had a difficult childhood and was insecure because of her plain looks. I bought Eleanor Roosevelt’s book “You Learn By Living-Eleven Keys For …
I believe poverty is man-made. When I published my memoirs, “The Tangled Web: A Little Girl’s Struggle to Understand Racism and Poverty,” and “The Footlocker: A Family’s Journey out Of Poverty,” I made mention of this. Some reader’s asked me what I meant by this. My family and I lived in poverty as a direct …
Live your best life wherever you are! During my life, I had many struggles. As a Christian I know I am to trust, believe, and wait for God’s blessings. Every Christian should have a testimony and willingness to speak the truth to help others. This is my truth. You can choose to succeed in whatever …
I write and speak about my life growing up in abject poverty in the legally segregated South. I grew up with two parents and four older siblings. Our parents were Christians. They demonstrated their faith consistently and guided us with love and wisdom. Our father (Dad) served our country during WWII in the legally segregated …
For the first 18 years of my life, I lived in abject poverty. I grew up in a two parent household with four older siblings. We only traveled outside our state of Tennessee, to see our mother’s family in Mississippi. After I graduated from high school, Dad, my sister, and her husband went to Chicago …
Copyrighted 2026. Francine grew up in the segregated South and lived with her four siblings and parents in a Christian household. Things were difficult for Black families. Her father served in the Army during WWII and was injured while training to serve in France. After his discharge, he was denied G.I. benefits, and a meaningful …
In 1994, an Artic front moved in the Mid-South as moist air from the Gulf was passing through.Freezing rain poured for hours, creating layers of ice on the roadways. The weight of the ice was no match tree limbs and power lines. In Memphis, power lines sagged then collapsed. Tree limbs snapped, crackled, and then …
My period of awakening happened while living impoverished. As I learned more about the history of the flag, national anthem, and the United States Constitution during elementary school, my why start turning into what. I was tired of asking why we were in poverty. Now it was time to ask what we could do to …
Prior to moving from the shack off highway 61, the highway stretching from Tennessee to Mississippi, one of MaDear’s brothers came by in his loud rusty old pickup truck. Since they had a strong family resemblance, Uncle Clarence looked like a female version of her. He heard about a big new department store where Black …
My family and I lived in abject poverty in the segregated South. There was never money for Christmas gifts. We were happy if we were lucky enough to get an apple, an orange, and some nuts. One particular Christmas, we had to share an orange. We were thankful for the orange. As always, MaDear and …