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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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Intimate Conversations with Author Marc Lacy

Meet Huntsville's own Marc Lacy, a graduate of Alabama A&M University. He is a nationally renown, award winning poet/author and spoken word artist.  He has performed all of over the country at many national literary events and spoken word venues.  Marc is a contributing writer to RADAR
and The Grove Magazines.  He is also a writer for Blogginginblack.com.

In The Summer of 2009, Marc met up with the co-founder of HBO's  Def Poetry Jam, Mr. Bruce George and Poet Rene Reyes in Los Angeles to serve on the panel at The Annual "So you Think you can  Spit?"poetic symposium for youth.  Lacy credits his faith in God and love of family for providing energy to succeed.


Ella:  Let the party begin!  Marc, what makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
Marc:  I would not necessarily deem myself as a powerful person; but I do think that there is power in the written word.  The more we learn about the craft and our abilities, the better off we will be in positioning ourselves to get the message out to the people. Thus creating a powerful force in the act alone.


Ella:  Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?
Marc:  I have several mentors (who actually do not know that they are my mentors)...too many to name.  But they are fiction, non-fiction writers as well as poets/spoken word artists. My hunger to become a better writer and a voice for the people, with faith in God, keeps my engine churning.


Ella:  Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
Marc:  A creative instinct which is the by-product of a hunger to always be the best that I can be...no matter what. Write better...and write the best. 


Ella: Before we go too deep, Marc, I would like to take a minute to shine the light on your fabulous co-author.
Assuanta Howard was born and raised in New York City. Howard is known for her dynamic and innovative persona. She began her career in higher education, serving over 17 years in various leadership roles. She managed grant funded programs with budgets over 3 million dollars. Howard is qualified to administer the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. Howard took her extensive literacy and ESOL experience, leadership and program development expertise and established several business entities within the literary industry.

She is the proud founder of Asta Publications, LLC, a mainstream and self-publishing company and Asta Public Relations Services, a public relations firm that focuses on brand management and marketing campaigns for literary professionals.


Ella:  Introduce us to Wretched Saints and the main characters.
Marc:  My book is a fiction short story collection which touches upon very sensitive matters...mainly "so-called" good people who call themselves walking the righteous path; but living an unrighteous lifestyle.

Wretched Saints provides a literary window through which we may possibly see traits of ourselves within one or more of the characters as they learn the hard way to listen when God is talking. Thus His signal, when digested properly allows suppression of sinful urges opening up the door, for spiritual growth.
Are you a Wretched Saint? Open the covers...and see.

Of course our desire is to walk within The Kingdom's Neighborhood, but it can be very difficult leaving the alluring amenities of home. We have the protocol down pat; especially when others can witness us witnessing.

However, when backs are turned and the sun has set, the righteous hotness of the self-proclaimed saint can suddenly turn lukewarm. Although the tongue can no longer house rationalizations, we still find a way to verbally cover spiritual deficits...thus casting us further into a pit of unrighteous debt surrounded by several unused shovels.


Ella:  What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
Marc:  Self-righteousness, reactionary, impulsive, arrogance, and hard-headedness just to name a few.


Ella: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
Marc:  I honestly feel that saints, sinners, churched, un-churched, educated/uneducated, young/elderly professionals, and people of all races can identify with this book.  However, if I had to choose a specific demographic, it would be those who want to "do right," but seriously struggle with it.


Ella: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
Marc:  I (Marc Lacy) have been nominated as AAMBC Poet of the Year for 2010.  Also, there are several spoken word products coming out during the summer and fall of 2010.  


Ella: How can our readers reach you online?
http://www.marclacy.com
http://www.avopublishing.com
http://www.facebook.com