Got my hand on the freedom plow, Wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now.
The one thing we did wrong, stayed in the wilderness far too long.
The only thing we did was right Was the day we begun to fight
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on
Lyrics from “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize” a Civil Rights Movement Song
Thanks for coming aboard for a writing project that was seeded and planted from above over twenty years ago. God gradually put a series of experiences in my path to get me to the point of penning it. In 1990, I was led to pursue a master’s degree to strengthen my credentials for the business I’d been dreaming about. My degree program project thesis, which focused on leadership and black women, was finished in December of 1992— with the research renewing my goal of writing a book. In April of 1993, my grandmother passed; my grandfather had gone home before her in October of 1983. I missed my grandparents and looked for a way to revive their spirits. The twenty-fifth anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination revived my historical wanderlust as the words of his “Mountaintop Speech” reverberated in news broadcasts. I also joined a new church led by a powerful preacher, one that offered positive religious education programs that increased my faith and foundation.
As William Jefferson Clinton became President in 1993, his administration showcased a new wave of African American political leaders, and I was excited about where the country was at that point. In August of that same year, I attended the thirtieth anniversary of the March on Washington and found myself in close proximity to icons of the Movement. I was led to tweak the title and focus from my thesis to writing this book and metaphorically include my grandparents’ garden and the Promised Land, in addition to this momentous national history.
The rest of the story is included in these pages.
Scenes from our Waverly Virginia beginnings, the town, a road that ran past our house, the church most of the family belonged to, Liberty Baptist
Please feel free to contact me with your feedback as well as opportunities to speak/exhibit this book.
Available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Tools-Cultivate-Promised-Land-Grandparents/dp/1489597581
Stay grounded,
Deborah
Deborah L. Parker, Chief Inspirer, Speaker & Author
dlparker6@verizon.net
This
Tools to Cultivate the Promised Land 