Hog jowl is not exotic. It is not trendy. It is not something you share a photo of, or a hashtag for clout. It is jaw meat — salted, smoked and stubborn. And it is one of the main ingredients of Hoppin' John, a New Year's Day dish eaten by African Americans for generations to call in luck, survival and continuity.

I came upon her quietly

Peniel Joseph signing a copy of Freedom Season. I went to the Kennedy Library expecting to hear history. I left thinking about words. At a talk with historian Peniel Joseph and Harvard professor Brandon Terry, the year 1963 came alive — the March on Washington, the murder of Medgar Evers, the bombing in Birmingham, Kennedy’s speech on civil rights. But what stayed with me was the idea of a “moral vocabulary.” It means having the words to tell the truth about what is wrong, to

When I walked into the Saint Helena Library, my whole body let go. The quiet met me at the door, wrapped around me, and reminded me who I am when the noise of the world is stripped away. That’s always been the gift of libraries for me. They steady me. They’re sacred spaces of the mind where the chaos outside has no power.

I sat in my car beside the Beaufort River, windows down, evening’s hush settling soft on the tide. Words sp

Yesterday, something happened that left me both stunned and sad. A conversation with someone I care about spiraled quickly into...

When Old Massa was alive, I was young and strong as Alfred the ox. I was on the front line in our big fight with the Heywards. Scipio—he was a Heyward—and I got into a fight over a woman who used to live here. She’s dead now, but she was beautiful and she was my girl for a while.

Recently, I found myself in the South, visiting my sister and squeezing in some shopping for an upcoming cruise.

Some time ago, I had the pleasure of attending Dave Chappelle's stand-up comedy show in Boston, and it was an evening filled with humor, une