To One and All:
Valentine’s Day marks the official release of my latest novella, Sammy’s Carol. If you have read the bio on this fascinating piece or seen my numerous Facebook and Twitter posts, you are already aware that its inspiration comes from Charles Dickens’ timeless classic A Christmas Carol. The reason for that is simple: this is not a re-telling of the original, but an attempt to breathe new life into a concept that is as fresh and vibrant today as it was when it was first published in 1843.
As our world has evolved, each passing generation has shed itself of its past and embraced a new reality. Society has changed. Families have changed. Ways of communicating have changed. What we once knew as our “present” has slowly faded into the past, while the future takes its place and provides us with a new set of challenges, some that we are prepared to face and others that come unexpectedly. However, something that never changes is human nature, which has needs that are rooted squarely in our everyday existence (modes of transportation, having a job, a place to live, food to eat) as well as needs that are related to our inner selves (the need for love, for companionship, reinforcement of our self-image). The latter is something all of us require in order to be fully human, and without it we walk through the world uneven, disjointed, until something helps us to gain proper footing or we die with our conflicts unresolved. The reason A Christmas Carol has become a literary masterpiece is because it successfully delved into the abyss of a human heart and examined how the selfish actions of a curmudgeonly man have affected those around him. And most importantly, in the end, it revealed to the reader that the one hurt the most by his actions was Scrooge himself.
Whether in urban cities or rural towns across America, our children are more technologically savvy and aware of their surroundings than ever before. To find a six-year-old child who doesn’t know how to text or program a remote control without being taught is becoming rarer by the day. But that’s not what disturbs me. What does disturb me is the almost brazen lack of self-respect and understanding of history that exists with kids today. We don’t teach our children about the perils of forgetting history and how, if we’re not careful, it could possibly repeat itself. Not a single day goes by where I don’t hear kids – black, white, Latino or Asian – address one another using the word n----r. The word has ceased to be a term used to demean or humiliate, and has turned into a term of endearment completely devoid of rancor. While some might say they have taken “ownership” of the word, they fail to understand one critical point: you cannot own something that was never meant to be for your individual or collective “well-being”. N-----r was never supposed to bring people together. It was meant to divide. To put in one’s place. To say that it’s a good thing to say to someone is like saying “because I own crack, instead of some drug pusher on the street, it is now healthy for me.” Hardly! If anyone tells you such foolishness, they are merely rationalizing their own ignorance. There is never any reason to address anybody as n----r, or my n---a, or any other derivation of the word, but because many people are saying it freely, the knee-jerk reaction means nothing to young people and causes those of us on the receiving end to cringe.
Sammy’s Carol, released during Black History Month on the official “Day of Love,” seeks to inject a sense of responsibility into the mind of Samuel M. Wade, Jr. as he tried to make sense of where he fits within this cycle of self-loathing that has taken hold of our young black men. It also seeks to provide intelligent discussion amongst those of us who perpetuate the lie that n-----s actually exist as well as provide some healthy food for thought. I hope you enjoy it!
All my love!
David T. Boyd
