AJ Sam

First, I would like to share information about a church I've been involved in for several years now. I moved to Daytona Beach several years ago to help my wife take care of her aged parents and began attending their home church. As I was writing the previous post, this church was on my mind as what churches could do and should be doing. And with enough prayers of the righteous going up – they will be doing. This church epitomizes what Black churches could be with the right leadership. Allen Chapel AME Church (Daytona Beach FL), under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Nathan Mugula, is one such church. They (he and his congregation) are intimately involved in their community with ministries focusing on justice, mental health, generational poverty, school reform, as well as bringing people into a right relationship with God. Allen Chapel’s congregation are active with ministries like mentoring students at Bethune-Cookman University, visiting and witnessing to families in need of a variety of healings, and sponsoring the Restoration House – aimed at providing for the homeless of the community. My home church, First MB Church of Highland Pines (Tampa FL), under the capable leadership of Pastor Cleveland Lane is making a difference as well. While we have 20% of the membership of Allen Chapel AME Church, our slogan – A Little Church with a Big Heart - rings true. Before COVID, we had a clothing ministry for the homeless of our community, served Saturday morning breakfast and spiritual nourishment, and sponsored an annual Back-to-School event with food, bounce houses, and backpacks filled with school supplies. Are we are endeavoring to bring all of that back, and more. These are two churches I’m familiar with, and I’m sure there are many more doing “good works”. I feel that we, as a society, tend to go for the “low hanging fruit”. We focus on the negative that is portrayed and sensationalized in traditional media, social media, entertainment, and the like. Good stories rarely make for “good copy” or headline news. Unless it’s the annual 45 days of positive news (mid-November until New Year’s Day). Actually, people around this United States of America do “good works” 365 ¼ days a year. But it’s usually done in anonymity. You posed the question, sir, “who with the power to effect change, leads the Black community in 2023?” We are. We have the power to effect change – both individually and collectively. The ones who labor tirelessly and in obscurity, day in and day out, without nary an acknowledgement, compliment or shout out. The ones who share their talents, time, and thoughts with our community. The ones who may not realize they’re doing God’s work, but they are anytime they use God’s gifts for good. The ones who are continuing the “good works” of Black leaders of the past. We are the leaders of the Black community. Can I get a whoop-whoop, a hallelujah, and a Amen somebody?

I believe black churches used to be the needle that "knitted the fabric of our communities together" which kept us grounded. We had no where else to go. No where else we could be heard, respected, and accepted. Now with the African American community being splintered along socioeconomic lines instead of racial ones, not only is our economic power but our spiritual power as well being diluted. Mr. Brown's take on church leadership is a good point - but it's the easily "visible" point. As an African American minister of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I've seen first hand over my 20+ years of ministry the apathetic nature of so many men of God. They seem satisfied holding a position of leadership within a congregation. They don't seem desirous to make a difference. They don't seem to care about their social obligations outside of the walls of their sanctuaries (feeding the homeless, justice, education, health, etc.). They like the acclaim of men, the respect of the members, and getting served first at church gatherings. This subtle scenario is, I believe, more devastating overall than the one described by Mr. Brown. These ineffective churches pepper our communities nationwide, leaving those inside wanting for more - and those outside not bothering to enter.

Well said. I would add that churches/religious organizations used to be an engine that drove change for African Americans. From Abolitionists in the 18th & 19th Centuries, to the churches that founded at least 10 HBCUs in the 19th Century, to various 20th Century organizations whose memberships could trace their roots to church/religious organizations (NAACP, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, et al), they were the spear - if not the club - that knocked down walls that hindered us.

I just completed chapter 13, and I absolutely love this tale. Dynamic characters maturing page-by-page. Timelines that cause me to focus on (and in some cases re-read) pages. Geographical details that cause me to "Google" maps of the time. But most of all, as a HistFic author, I love the subtly in which Ms. Williams weaves in historical events as she maintains the focus on the everyday, every-man/woman characters. What I thought was going to be tales told on train after train is actually a fictional narrative on the porters, and in a much larger sense, the Migration of African Americans from the South to the Northeast and Midwest United States during the first half of the 20th Century. Blues Highway is a nice surprise.

Just ordered Blues Highway. If I'm not mistaken, these men were all called "George" after the owner George Pullam and the societal legacy of naming slaves after their massahs. Looking forward to the read and how you weave these and more historical facts into your novel.

Intriguing and timely. If we are going to salvage this generation, it's imperatives stories like this not only be told, but be supported. I look forward to hearing/reading more.

BOOK DESCRIPTION Imagine living in a world where every facet of your existence is beyond your control. Imagine living in a world where your God-given physical traits are resented and reviled. Imagine living in a world where your humanity is subject to judicial and legal debate. Imagine living in a world where the government of the people, by the people, and for the people is explicit and implicit in denying you the most basic of human rights – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For James Scott, this isn’t imagination, but a horrifically callous reality. Despite the odds stacked against him, despite the laws that hindered his future, despite the obstacles that challenged his resolve, this African American not only survived, but thrived during his journey through 19th century America. A Journey Far: Ibere (Beginnings) starts with James being sold into bondage before his 6th birthday in the 1840s antebellum South and ends in 1860s New York City as the Confederate attack on Ft. Sumter, South Carolina precipitates the U. S. Civil War. In this work of Historical Fiction – an epic along the lines of Alex Haley’s, Roots – James reacts to and interacts with historical people and events, a dramatic analogy to the movie, Forest Gump. James’ journey takes him far from his brutal beginnings, through a life of malicious prejudice, and toward a future rife with hopes of freedom, promises of equality, and revelations of self. A Journey Far: Ibere (Beginnings) is a story of humiliation, hurt, and heartache. But more than that - it's also a story of relationships. It’s a story of discovery and victory. It’s a story of faith, of hope, of love. It’s a story of America. A Journey Far: Ibere (Beginnings) SYNOPSIS The first novel in a tetralogy, A Journey Far: Ibere (Beginnings) spans the 13 years before the US Civil War (1848-1861) and follows the protagonist, James from an isolated and confused 6-year-old slave in antebellum South to a 21-year-old soul searching man in 1860s New York City. A Journey Far: Ibere (Beginnings) is broken into four divisions (Who Am I?, The Uglies, Running to the Future, & Transitions) which correlate to James’ stages of human development. In Who Am I?, James (6 years old) lives in the Big House (Johnson Hall) as a “playmate” of the master’s son, Carlton. Ruth, Carlton’s nanny and the only other slave in Johnson Hall, nurtures James with maternal love and helps guide him on his initial journey of self-discovery. Being left alone most days, James eventually spends hours and months in the “forbidden room”, Master Johnson’s study, and self-educates himself with the volumes of 16th to 19th Century literature and a trusted tutor, a Webster dictionary. In The Uglies, James (now 10), is banished from Johnson Hall and to the slave quarters. There, James experiences the full vulgarity of pre-Civil War slavery. Despite this, he establishes a friendship with one slave, Isaac, and falls in love with another, Chloe. He also learns about the difference in the levels of barbarity exacted by the non-slave men there. In Running to the Future, James (now 14), is developing into a young buck. His patience is worn, his rage rises, and his desire to escape reaches its tipping point. His first attempt fails, and he’s savagely beaten by the sadistic overseer, Rogers. However, that places him in the care of Netty, the nurse for the slaves, who heals his battered body and comforts his shattered soul. Along with Mr. Boo, the patriarch of the slaves, they devise a plan to help James’s escape. He arrives in southern Pennsylvania and is met with a cruel reality that his freedom is criminally limited. Finally in Transitions, James (now 18), makes it to New York City and under the care of Mrs. Howard, an abolitionist and owner of the apartment building James lives in. She gets him a job and realizing the depth of his intelligence and self-education, she helps him enroll into New York University. With the travesty of the Fugitive Slave Law always at the forefront of his thoughts, James traverses through the city from home to job to school to home – and back again. James meets Bobby (a character introduced and revealed in snippets throughout A Journey Far: Ibere (Beginnings), at school as they both seek Civil Engineering degrees. Transitions ends with the Confederate attack on Ft. Sumter, SC, which begins the US Civil War. Bio of AJ Sam author of A Journey Far: Ibere AJ Sam, born and raised in St. Petersburg, FL, is a recently retired schoolteacher in the state of Florida. A 4-year U.S. Air Force veteran (1975-1980), he graduated from St. Petersburg Jr. College and worked in the Engineering and Computer fields through the ‘80s into the 90s. In 1997, he accepted a calling from God, returned to college, and earned an Education degree (Special Education) from University of South Florida. This began his 20+ year career in Education in Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Volusia County (FL) school system. In 2003, he again accepted God’s call – this time to the ministry - and was ordained in 2007. A sports fan – Tampa Bay Bucs, Rays & Lightning - he enjoys watching and attending games. He’s married and lives in Riverview FL. He has a daughter, son-in-law, and a granddaughter. An avid history buff, his writing attests to this fact with his attention to the details of the historical events, facts, and characters he weaves throughout his fiction. As an author of historical fiction, AJ Sam believes in the necessity of studying the past - but not repeating the past - instead learning from the past to ensure a brighter future for humanity. Available at: MahagonyBooks.com https://www.mahoganybooks.com/9798986946702 Walmart.com https://www.walmart.com/search?q=A%20Journey%20Far%3A%20Ibere am*zon.com https://www.am*zon.com/Journey-Far-Ibere-Beginnings/dp/B0BXX2ZZRW/ Barnes&Noble.com https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-journey-far-aj-sam/1143188268?ean=9798986946702 Books-A-Million.com https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Journey-Far/Aj-Sam/9798986946702?id=8874359642928# REVIEWS “A Journey Far is a towering work of historical fiction . . . AJ Sam centers – not on political history and intrigue or military battles – but on everyday life in the United States of the time, and how ordinary people reacted to and interacted with those times. . . . His writing “voice” is especially appealing — it is open, inviting, and honest, displaying a vocabulary and a vernacular that is easily comprehended by the average American reader. Frank K., Founder of Proof Positive and Editor of A Journey Far: Ibere (Beginnings) Each chapter builds on itself and exposes you to Afro American and American history in its rawest form. Angela Y. R., am*zon reviewer I really like the way the author takes us into the thoughts of "James" even as we witness his outward experiences. Intriguing, thought provoking, uncomfortable at times. Leontyne M., ASALH (Tampa Bay, FL Branch) This book has so. many highs and lows….one minute you’re eagerly reading and laughing . . . the next minute you’re sad and angry because of what James and the others had to endure. Arnita R., am*zon reviewer