NL: Can you share a bio with us?
BW: I am the product of a mother who was an educator and a father who was an entrepreneur deep in the Jim Crow southern state of Alabama. I developed a strong sense of self empowerment of communities of color at a very early age. As an Employment Counselor for 20 years, I have worked with those who have been incarcerated, mandated to transition from Welfare to work, displaced by divorce or domestic difficulties or left behind because they lack the skills to participate in today’s workforce and those exploring entrepreneurship. The journey continues, as in 2009 I Co-Founded” 2 Think for Life” where I currently provide in person and virtual life, career and budget counseling and mentorship.
NL: What are you currently reading? Do you like it?
BW: Exceptional edited by Thomas Trzyna. I am proud to have know Fletcher Johnson, this is a must read autobiography of Dr. Fletcher Johnson.
NL: If you could have any author speak at Nyack Library, who would it be and why?
BW: Elias Rodriques who is a Nyack resident. He has a BA from Stanford University and a MA and PhD from University of Pennsylvania. Rodriques has a special interest in African-American literature, critical prison studies, Black feminism, and Black Marxist thought. He has had essays published or anthologized in Best American Essays, The Guardian, The Nation, Bookforum, n+1, and other venues. His first novel is All the Water I’ve Seen Is Running. His current academic book project considers representations of police violence in the African-American novel after 1945.
NL: Which character in a book do you most identify with?
BW: The underdog.
NL: What books are on your night stand?
BW: Baptized in PCBs by Ellen Griffith Spears, My City Was Gone by Dennis Love (on-order), A Terrible Thing To Waste by Harriet A. Washington
NL: Are there any books that you feel are overrated?
BW: None, all books I have read, have left me with the gift of expanding my mind and it is hard for me to rate them.
NL: Do you have a literary “guilty pleasure”?
BW: A Life With Ghosts
NL: Would you ever organize your books by color? Yea or Nay?
BW: Nay
NL: What do you plan to read next?
BW: The Source of Self Regard by Toni Morrison
NL: What’s the first book that you remember reading?
BW: The Soul of Black Folks by W.E.B. DuBois
NL: What’s your least favorite book?
BW: Beliefs