Three Summer Reads

With spring bursting out all over, now is the prefect time to start selecting books for summer reading. Three books that I’ve recently completed are as disparate as literarily possible, which makes them all the more interesting.

The first is The Prince, the Fool, the King & a Strange Woman, by my good friend Michael R. Lisman. Over a decade ago I was writing an article concerning adoption, and Michael, whom I’d just met at a civic event, informed me that he was adopted, and, in turn, he and his wife were adoptive parents. Adding his voice to the article made it stronger, and we’ve remained fast friends ever since. In fact, we now are neighbors; he and his wonderful wife live a couple of houses down the street.

His work is subtitled, An Allegory about Leadership & Achievement and he draws heavily from a collection of biblical proverbs, “a retelling and exposition of universal truths derived from the writings and collections of King Solomon. The proverb, the song and the wisdom of the ecclesia are given to instruct the young man or woman to know discretion between two opposing ways; to receive knowledge of things great and small; to perceive understanding in its heights and depths; and to give a gift of service that will deliver a vision and a legacy to their generation.”

The book is packed with powerful aphorisms, such as on page three where Michael writes “An anticipated inheritance can be as debilitating as poverty.” He then, by example, makes his case. Drawing on his varied and deep background as an ordained minister, licensed social worker, senior manager at one of Ohio’s largest banks (ret.) and small business owner, Michael has crafted a work that all young people starting out in life should read.

The second book, also by a local writer, couldn’t be more different from the first one. First-time author Holliday Vann is a graduate of Ohio State and Miami U, and admits to a lifelong love affair with words, “high-heel strappy sandals, peaches, [and] wine.” Sex (or at least writing about it) has to be high on her list also. Vann’s début novel, When Sexy Came Black to Cleveland, is written in diary form and follows the adventures of her protagonist, 23-year-old Odessah Johnson, as she crisscrosses the sometimes mean streets of Cleveland on her journey of self-discovery, self-empowerment, and escapism.

Vann’s work falls into a growing category of books that are based on the urban experience of young Black women... or lack thereof. Some critics go so far as to say that books of this genre serve as handbooks for inexperienced inner-city youths, but others claim that the books only do what literature is supposed to do: Offer a glimpse of world outside of the readers’ experiences.

This gritty, urban literature is attracting ever-widening audiences for good reason: It offers a way out... if only for a little while. Vann gives voice to a population that is largely ignored and voiceless: Young Black woman seeking to escape their hardscrabble and humdrum existence. This is about women who are willing to use what they have to get what they want ... a story as old as time itself. It also can serve as a cautionary tale for young women who want to grow up too fast, eschew education, and thereby limit their own futures. It can be a mean world out there, and those who survive and prosper in it know how to get up for the down stroke. This is the other side of life in Cleveland, and Vann’s book speaks loudly to the human condition... which is what literature is supposed to do, isn’t it?

The third book is a scholarly tome about a subject that most politicians and health care professionals would rather not discuss: Medical racism ... the unequal delivery of health care to minorities in America. Dying While Black is a brilliant “in-depth look at a crisis in the American healthcare system” by an experienced set of eyes. For decades Professor Vernellia Randall J.D. taught at the University of Dayton Law School while writing and speaking internationally about race, women, and healthcare.

Her first field was nursing, and Randall worked as a nurse practitioner in Seattle, was an itinerant public health nurse in Alaska and served as the maternal-child nurse administrator for that state; she knows the American medical care delivery system from a hands-on, ground-up perspective, and it’s not a pretty picture.

Study after study has found rampant disparities in our nation’s healthcare delivery systems, but Professor Randall’s book explains where they originated, why they exist, and what we can do about them — if we but find the political will.

Professor Randall lays her foundation in Chapter 1 with a theoretical foundation for understanding the key concepts of race, racism and health; she then, in Chapter 2, traces the health deficit of Blacks from Slavery through Jim Crow, to the 21st century; Chapter 3 discusses the shortage of trained minorities in the healthcare field, how racism keeps their numbers low, and what can be done about it; she then shows how corporate America targets Black communities with a preponderance of ads for health-impairing products such as tobacco and alcohol; she explains the impact of managed healthcare on Blacks; makes the case that the disparity of healthcare between Blacks and Whites is a violation of international human rights; and finishes up with a call to fix the system under the rubric of reparations.

In other words, don’t give Black folks a check in repayment for slavery, just fix the healthcare delivery system... something that would ultimately benefit all Americans.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com
Comments? Letters@CoolCleveland.com

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