In the previous issue of Lonely Victories, I wrote about overcoming fear in the writing process.
There’s one type of writing that requires us to overcome our fears by writing urgently. And that is the writing of protest.
One of the most courageous writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and reading is Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. The longtime civil rights activist is the author of the book It Was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke, his personal account of Ax Handle Saturday.
Ax Handle Saturday is a notorious day in my hometown of Jacksonville, FL. On August 27, 1960—sixty years ago—a mob of 200 white people attacked members of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP during a peaceful protest at a whites-only lunch counter. The members of the mob wielded ax handles (many of which had Confederate flags taped to them) and baseball bats, bludgeoning black protesters and other black bystanders.
Rodney was the president of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP at the time. Of that day, he writes:
“In a surreal scene, they swung those ax handles and baseball bats at every Black they saw… we had tried to prepare for most scenarios during sit-in demonstrations, but nothing prepared us for an attack as vicious as this.”
These horrific events were not reported on by local news media at the time. Since there was little other coverage of the event available, it was even more critical that Rodney commit his personal account of Ax Handle Saturday to paper.
That’s me on the left with Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. and my former podcast co-host, Jenna Hassell.
When I had the opportunity to interview Rodney last year, he told me, “I wrote the book because I was angry.” Anger can be one of the most productive emotions for a writer. When we’re angry, our words feel more urgent, and urgency is a key ingredient for writing about protest and social justice.
Rodney has demonstrated that we must use this kind of urgency to speak out. “One of the things I feel is absolutely necessary,” he said when I spoke with him, “is that we talk about these issues, no matter how uncomfortable they are.”
Throughout his book, Rodney slows down his descriptions of the day to make the reader feel like they are present for the moment, as he does in this powerful passage:
“Most people have held or felt a baseball bat, but not an ax handle. Ax handles usually are as heavy as a baseball bat and can inflict as much damage. They are made of solid wood sturdy enough to hold an ax, and you never forget its look in the hands of someone trying to maim you.”
When we’re angry, we have a tendency to let important details fall through the cracks in the interest of getting our emotions out. But these kinds of details, such as the way it feels to hold an ax handle (paired with the way it feels to have one swung at you), give passages like Rodney’s even more power.
Take this page out of Rodney’s book—when you use your anger to write urgently, take your time with the details. Details, more than anything else, have the power to propel change.
Commemorative mural on A. Philip Randolph Blvd.
I hope you’ll consider attending the virtual 60th commemoration ceremony of Ax Handle Saturday on Thursday, August 27 at noon, where Rodney will be speaking.
Whether or not you can make it to the commemoration, order your copy of Rodney’s remarkable book, It Was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke. Seriously, it’s required reading.
In the next issue of Lonely Victories, I’ll share tips for writers who juggle multiple artistic disciplines. Are you a wearer of many hats? These pointers are for you. If you haven’t already, subscribe so you don’t miss out.
When the writing gets scary, how do you overcome fear?
“When language fails, I illustrate my writing. Doing so helps me check the accuracy of my written details. It also helps me adjust my writing attitude. Illustrating is such a playful and relaxing medium to me. I try to transfer those feelings into my writing.” —Shan
“I try to remember specific compliments that other writers I respect have given me. If the voice in my head is saying ‘you're not good enough,’ I feel like I can disprove that to myself by recalling a time someone smart and unbiased told me I was. Basically, if I can't believe in myself, I try to push through by remembering someone else who does. (Ew? Am I OK?)” —Alison
How do you overcome fear in the writing process? Share your tips with me in the comments of this issue!
Really Digging This
Here’s what I’ve been reading and loving lately.
I just finished Brit Bennett’s novel The Vanishing Half, and it’s one of my favorite new books of 2020. It’s about two twin sisters growing up in a small Southern town in the 1940s who eventually drift apart, one sister going on to live within her “passing” privilege. I fell hard for the characters and loved this writer’s propensity to educate her reader as she entertains them.
Priestdaddy has been in my TBR pile for years now, and thank goodness I finally got around to reading it. Patricia Lockwood’s hilarious and clever memoir chronicles moving back in with her father (a Catholic priest) and mother as an adult, and every single page made me laugh.
After reading and loving Daisy Jones and the Six (which I gushed about in the last issue of LV), I was eager to read more of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novels. Somehow, I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo even more than I loved Daisy Jones. If you’re into a salacious Hollywood tale with a healthy side portion of badass business negotiation, you will devour this book.
Tell me about your lonely victories.
“I recently tricked myself into building a habit of writing every day! I started using a spreadsheet to track my daily writing sessions and I'm surprisingly motivated by the desire to see all the data complete without gaps for skipped days. If I get to the end of the day and I'm exhausted but haven't written yet, I'll set aside even just five minutes of focused writing before I go to bed.” —Lara
Y’all better believe I love a spreadsheet.
What’s a lonely victory you’ve had in your writing process recently? Tell me all about it in the comments of this issue!
Fall Writing Workshops
Now enrolling for three workshop sessions this fall.
Work on your fiction and nonfiction writing with me this fall! You can learn all about my upcoming online + socially-distanced workshop sessions and sign up here.
I’m accepting students on a rolling basis, so sign up soon to reserve a spot in your preferred session!
Want to be included in a future issue of Lonely Victories? Answer some questions on upcoming topics and I may include your response!
The books featured in this issue of Lonely Victories are linked via Bookshop.org to Loyalty Bookstores, a group of black-owned independent bookstores in Washington, DC and Silver Spring, MD.
Special thanks to Aysha Miskin for designing the banner image for this newsletter and Becca Wucker for editing this issue.
“Writing alone can give you a very deep sense of satisfaction and lonely victory.” —Greta Gerwig