About Me

Here’s who I am

I’m a black woman (yes, I still like the old designation) with a sharp mind and a lot of questions. I was born in October, 1954 - just four months after the Brown versus Topeka decision that came to shape my life.

Around 1962, I became part of an educational experiment known as the “special class” in Nashville City Schools. Eighteen students were chosen, based on their IQ test scores. (No, I don’t know what I scored, but my mother does.) Thus, I became the only Negro girl among a group of elite students, at a time when the city was embroiled in civil rights protests and controversies.

Those circumstances put in places I’d probably never have been otherwise. And they taught me to question assumptions and suppositions about all sorts of things - but especially about race, identity and accomplishment.