This is a special night for me. 50 years ago today, thousands of people from around the nation, from all walks of life, arrived in Washington, D.C. to participate the following day in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Celebrities such as Lena Horne, Josephine Baker, Charlston Heston, and the March's organizer, A. Philip Randolph, strapped on their walking shoes to participate in the festivities, headlined by Dr. Martin Luther King, encouraged by Mahalia Jackson to "Tell them about the dream, Martin."However, one young man missed this event. In La Rose, Book I Le Baton Chronicles, Julian Charles Chamberie sits at the bar of New Orleans' Hotel Monteleone, pissed off. His 116 year old Great-Grandmother, Lela Chevalier Roberts, has summoned him home to order her affairs, forcing him to miss the greatest humanitarian event of all times. Julian hadn't seen Lela since 10 years before when he was 14 years old, but what did he care. He had no desire to return to the home where his mother had fallen to her death.
Despite his pain and despair, Julian returns to the Chevalier Mansion to realize his emancipation and freedom in ways undreamed of through Lela's recount of their family history, beginning with the story of her father and slave owner, Augustus Chevalier, in 19th century St. Helena Parish, Louisiana. With Lela's story, Julian begins to uncover his true purpose and calling in life, as unbelievable as may be. I encourage all of you to read this story of the supernatural spiritual exploration and liberation of Julian Charles Chamberie, defying the truths which the color of his skin and radical beliefs may have attempted to convince him of in August, 1963.
Happy March. I hope to see you for a few moments tomorrow on the internet. Keep the dream alive.
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