"I'm Writing for People, Baby!"
"But I know the difference between being Black and white at this time. It means that I cannot fool myself about some things that I could fool myself about if I were white." - James Baldwin
Greetings Family,
September already!
How are you? I hope you are doing well.
Me? I had some lingering issues after my bout with COVID (headache and intense insomnia), but I seem to be coming out of it. Thank goodness!
I’m happy to report that I’m devoting most of my time and energy to novel number two! I had started writing it in 2016 after I finished an early draft of The Prophets, but then I put it aside to start getting The Prophets into publishing shape. I have over 100 pages of assorted notes, scenes, dialogue, characters sketches, an outline of plot and structure that currently seem to work, a synopsis, and my narrator is speaking to me loud and clear. All that’s left is to continue the research required to fill in the gaps, bridge the divides, and buttress the foundation. I am hoping that now that I’m a full-time author, it won’t take me 14 years for me to complete this one. Keep me and my speed in your highest thoughts! :)
Speaking of writing, in these times of warring empires (has there ever been a time in recorded history when human beings were not at war?), I often turn to the Ancestors and Elders for their wisdom. It’s not unusual for me to spend an entire day watching YouTube videos of Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Octavia Butler, and others in interviews, giving speeches, and reading from their works. Listening to them is uplifting and brings me a great deal of comfort. I feel less alone knowing that they were here and that their essences perhaps direct and watch over us as wonderful counselors.
I recently saw, for the first time, the documentary Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Baldwin’s last nerve tried as hard as it was by the filmmakers of this short.
So many of his responses were awe-inspiring, though. Of them, these in particular really snatched my soul:
What’s gonna happen, sooner or later, all the wretched of the Earth, in one way or another, next Tuesday or next Wednesday, will destroy the cobblestones on which London and Rome and Paris are built. The world will change because it has to change. And the Pope will die because the church is a criminal church. The party is over. That is what is going to happen.
Has everyone been in love? Not on the basis of the evidence. If they have, they’ve forgotten it. You can’t proof it by me that everyone’s been in love. If everyone had been in love, they’d treat their children differently. They’d treat each other differently.
I'm writing for people, baby! I don't believe in white people. I don't believe in Black people either, for that matter. But I know the difference between being Black and white at this time. It means that I cannot fool myself about some things that I could fool myself about if I were white.
Love has never been a popular movement and no one’s ever wanted really to be free. The world is held together, really it is, held together, by the love and the passion of a very few people.
Baldwin’s vast intellect— and his ability to see whiteness down to its subatomic particles and reveal it for what it is—was so inspiring. But some found it frightening. I wonder if it was ever the FBI’s intention to assassinate Baldwin, or if their campaign was mainly to discredit and slander him.
It’s wild to think how most of us view Baldwin as an important figure, but not as a human being. We allow him his art, but rarely, if ever, his flaws and frailties, his insecurities, his self-loathing. We openly discuss his friendships, but hide the fact that he was deeply despised by some of his own people. We count him among the Ancestors who “survived,” but I must interrogate what survival means in the face of Baldwin’s three documented suicide attempts, as well as the chain-smoking that led to his painful and untimely death. What does survival even mean when your oppressors are sometimes just destroying you more slowly than they did the generation before you?
What does it mean to be used up by the world in life and in death? Now, more than ever, I wish I could supplicate myself at Baldwin’s feet and ask him.
Appearances
Family, I’ll be appearing at the events below. Come through! Let’s converse. “I’ll give you a topic: Rhode Island is neither a road nor an island. Discuss!” - Linda Richman, SNL :)
Afropunk Fest Brooklyn: Saturday, September 10, 2022, 3:30-4:30 p.m. ET. I’ll be signing and giving away free copies of The Prophets to the first 50 people who stop by the Penguin Random House booth.
Lincoln Center: Saturday, September 24, 2022, 8-10 p.m. ET. Mahogany L. Browne’s Seen, Sound, Scribe series. The program includes a showing of the documentary film Incarceration Nations and a post-screening talkback with the director, Dr. Baz Dreisinger. The film will be followed by me reading an excerpt from The Prophets and answering questions. Tickets are free.
Read 718 Reads!: Thursday, September 29, 2022, 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET. I’ll be having a conversation about The Prophets with readers in an intimate, private setting. Proceeds from the event will support READ 718’s mission to “close the literacy gap in Brooklyn and to help ensure educational access and equity for all Brooklyn children.” Space is limited; reserve early.
Writing Black with Maiysha Kai: I recently sat down with the amazing Maiysha Kai to explain how I came up with the concept of a novel about Black queer love during slavery, how my identities influences my writing, the writers that influence me, and the other authors that I think everyone should read.
Extra-Extra
Mitchell S. Jackson, one of the world’s greatest living writers, broke down so succinctly that it shall forever be broke the quintessential threat the self-hating Black person presents to Black people—and the longstanding efforts that go into creating an anti-Black Black person—by examining one of the most dangerous anti-Black Black people alive: Clarence Thomas.
“Looking for Clarence Thomas” is easily one of the best essays I have ever read in my entire life. I put it up there next to my favorite essay of all time: “Here Be Dragons” by James Baldwin.
In related news: It be your own people. “[New York City Mayor Eric Adams] has chosen sides in at least 10 primaries this year, as he looks to enact criminal justice changes and defeat left-leaning candidates.”
Furthermore, it be your own family. “‘[Sparkle] said I should ask him to be my godfather... that I should rub his head and ask him to take that role in my life.’ Jane [Doe] said. [R. Kelly] ‘chuckled and said yes,’ she said, adding that her parents also approved. Jane said her sexual relationship with Kelly began when she was 14, after he became her godfather.” In an Instagram video, singer Sparkle says that Jane Doe is lying.
Over two years after they murdered her in cold blood and lied about the details (and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said shooting in the empty room next door was the real crime), the cops who killed Breonna Taylor have been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice. Let’s see what happens.
A grand jury declined to indict Carolyn Bryant, the white woman whose lies led to the extraordinarily brutal lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till. They said there wasn’t enough evidence, despite the discovery of an unserved warrant and an admission of guilt in Bryant’s unpublished memoir.
What did these police officers do to Brianna Grier, and when will we have answers and justice?
Dear Denise Dowse, Kamoya Kimeu, LaTisha Chong, and Teddy Ray: May the Ancestors greet you warmly and with great love and fanfare.
Though I didn’t know him personally, I felt a special connection to Michael K. Williams and his death broke my heart in a thousand ways. His last film, Breaking, the thriller starring John Boyega and Nicole Behari is out, as is his memoir, Scenes From My Life. He’s an example of someone who was really trying his best to be better. Why is it that it’s always the good who die young?
Remember when I said: “The Food Network be like:
Ted Allen: Unfortunately, Sheronda, you’ve been chopped. Judges?
Judge: Sharon Rhonda, you displayed a very creative use of the basket ingredients. Your plating was impeccable and you used great complimentary elements to round out your dishes. However, you actually cooked and seasoned your food and for Europeans, that’s too much. Also, you’re neither white nor a man. So, for those reasons, we had to chop you.”
Well, they’re continuing their anti-Blackness, this time coming for the impeccable Tabitha Brown.
Support trans writers of color in telling their own stories.
Dear Champion Serena Williams: Job well done!
And finally, if you haven’t already, please consider subscribing to the amazing:
Books Are Pop Culture: Featuring extraordinary and in-depth literary discussions and interviews conducted by award-winning Bookstagrammers Reggie Bailey (@ReggieReads) and Jerid P. Woods (Akili Nazuri/@ABlackManReading).
URSA: Award-winning authors Deesha Philyaw and Dawnie Walton celebrate all things short fiction—from author interviews, to book club discussions, as well as publishing immersive audio short stories.
Woke AF: Hosted by one of the few people out here telling the whole truth about our sociopolitical circumstances and the pure evil we’re up against—activist, political correspondent, strategist, thinker, and overall amazing person, Danielle Moodie.
Flicks
I’ve been rather disappointed in much of the media I’ve viewed of late as it seems Hollywood’s overt and covert bigotry propaganda has been restored full force, post-Trump.
For example, I watched the first episode of She-Hulk, which was a ton of fun overall. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that the first and perhaps only Black man we see in the episode is a member of a cat-calling pack of attempted sexual assaulters who She-Hulk has to beat up.
Ms. Marvel is actually a wonderful series, but the colorism is so blatant (lighter skinned characters = good, darker skinned characters = bad) that it kept pulling me out of what was otherwise an engaging, heartwarming story.
I tried to watch the new Sandman Netflix series as I was a big fan of Neil Gaiman’s comic series of the same name and his literary work overall. However, I got to episode three and was stopped dead in my tracks by what struck me as a blatant display of anti-Blackness involving a Black man (trying to marry a white princess) possessed by a demon; a demon that was a horrific stereotype of Black Caribbean men, particularly Black Caribbean men with dreadlocks. It’s a bait-and-switch where you think the princess is possessed (why else would she want to marry a Black man?), but then it’s actually him using his demonic powers to coerce her into it. There’s levels to this anti-Blackness. Whew!
In other areas of media, it seems like Black representation has returned to the 80s/90s glorification of the drug trade, with an emphasis on capitalistic materialism and no critical or thoughtful commentary to be found, except, maybe, in Snowfall.
So, I guess it’s just going to be the hilarious and nuanced Abbott Elementary and thoughtful Queen Sugar (in its final season) for me. I’m good with that. :)
Lit
The Prophets is now available in Russia. It’s a strange feeling to have your work released in a nation at war, a nation where Sister Brittney Griner is being held captive. Then again, the United States has been at war, in ways obvious and surreptitious, for goodness knows how long now. And there are millions of people being held captive here. So perhaps it’s not as strange as I imagined. In any event, I feel a mixture of gratitude that the pro-Black/pro-LGBTQIA+ messages in the book will reach a wider global audience and sadness that the world remains such a hostile place, and many of us human beings haven’t yet earned the right to call ourselves such.
Published by Eskmo/Inspiria, The Prophets is described as: “Reality on the verge of magic—visions, voices of ancestors, their faces reflected in the water, mysterious darkness and stars. Plunging into the story, you will see many Christian images, broken destinies, feel their fear and anger that will break out, and the darkness will respond and scream in response. ‘I really want us to see each other's complexity, idiosyncrasies and humanity so that we stop hurting each other and give each other the grace we deserve just because we exist.’ — Robert Jones Jr.”
To purchase the Russian version of The Prophets, please visit my website.
This year, The Prophets is scheduled for release in Brazil, Israel, and Romania. In Turkey, there has been a sociopolitical shift toward anti-LGBTQIA+ policies making it dangerous to publish books by LGBTQIA+ authors there. Whether The Prophets will be released in Turkey as planned is unknown. I’ll keep you updated.
The Prophets is currently available in Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United States, and other territories.
Riddim
In my opinion, Amber Riley is the greatest singer of her generation. It’s not just that her voice has power or that she can belt, run, riff, squall, and shout with the best of them. It’s not just that her tone, clarity, timbre, pitch, and control are impeccable. It’s also because she possesses one gift that many of her vocal contemporaries do not: restraint. Riley doesn’t sing to show off (though she easily could). She doesn’t open her mouth to out-sing other vocalists (though you better make sure you bring your A game if you step on a stage with her). She doesn’t turn every note into a run such that the signature of that technique no longer holds any special meaning. She doesn’t begin her efforts on 10 so that, by the end of a song, she has nowhere left to go and therefore nothing novel, surprising, or thrilling to share. She knows that volume =/= good singing. She—like the greats Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Mahalia Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston who came before her—knows to allow a song, and thus her voice, to build; displays divine patience; a step-by-step, drama-for-your-coffee, on-the-edge-of-your-seat-waiting-for-the-crescendo approach designed to draw an audience in, enthrall their hearts, open their noses, shock their minds, and leave them rapt, spellbound, breathless, and changed by the time she’s finished. Amber Riley is the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So help me Ancestors.
Also, if you’re into poetry set to beats, please check out my brother Joèl Leon’s spoken word album, The Kids Are Listening.
That’s it for this edition of Witness. Thank you so much to everyone who continues to subscribe and find value in it.
May the Ancestors guide and protect you.
Peace and light,
Robert