Blog

Life and Art

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Nilwona Nowlin

When trying to think of a title for this post, I was hoping for something clever about life imitating art. But then I wasn’t sure if that was the correct way to describe what I’m going to talk about. Is it life imitating art or more like art predicting life – or something totally different? Then, instead of stressing out over a title, I decided to just write. The 1993 movie “Amos and Andrew” stars Samuel L. Jackson and Nicolas Cage and is a satirical retelling of the 1950s sitcom, “The Amos ‘n Andy Show.” I’ve seen this film multiple Read More

Beale Street Blues

Posted on April 4, 2016January 10, 2018 by Nilwona Nowlin

Today is the 48th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Just two days ago, I stood at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, where he spent his last hours. During my time there, I was able to spend time at the National Civil Rights Museum, reflecting on the sacrifices of Dr. King and so many foot soldiers whose names we may never know. While it seems natural that these would be the thoughts that I reflected on today, I am still feeling the weight of a different Memphis memory that I carried home with me. On Saturday Read More

21-Wales Window at 16th Str Baptist Church

Reconciliation Ain’t No Joke

Posted on April 1, 2016January 10, 2018 by Nilwona Nowlin

Today is April Fool’s Day, but there’s nothing funny about this post. I usually schedule my posts to publish at 8 a.m. (central time); so as you are reading this, I am probably passing through the Alabama Welcome Center off of I-65 that features a rocket. I and about 45 others are on a coach bus, in the early part of what is called the Sankofa Journey. The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) describes Sankofa as “an intentional, cross-racial prayer journey that seeks to assist disciples of Christ on their move toward a righteous response to the social ills related to racism. Read More

The Power of Paella

Posted on March 30, 2016January 10, 2018 by Nilwona Nowlin

My first few years of elementary education took place at the neighborhood school down the street. The adults (i.e., my teachers and parents) quickly discovered that I was smart; after a few weeks in first grade, I was promoted to second grade. I eventually ended up testing into a local classical school (a selective enrollment in Chicago with an advanced liberal arts curriculum that includes languages, the arts and science). There were two major differences between my old school and my new school: At my old school, the majority of the student body was black, and most of us were from low income households. Read More

Introducing Natasha Sistrunk Robinson

Posted on March 28, 2016January 22, 2018 by Nilwona Nowlin

Earlier this year, I joined the Redbud Writers Guild, “a diverse group of female authors, writers and speakers who communicate in order to empower women to use their voices to be world-changers.” One of the perks of being a part of this community is that I’ve been introduced to some books I may not have otherwise known about. One of those books, “Mentor for Life: Finding Purpose through Intentional Discipleship,” was just released on March 1st. I recently received a copy and about a third of the way through. By the first few pages of chapter one, I’d started dog-earing pages Read More

7 Last Words

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Nilwona Nowlin

Today’s post is simply a list of 7 Last Words services scheduled for Good Friday 2016. I put out a call on Twitter and Facebook for people to submit links for me to pass along. My one condition was that the line-up must include women and people of color. Far too often, I’ve seen conference/special church service line-ups that are diverse in speaker ethnicity – but it’s all men. But I’m not gonna get on my soap box . . . today. Here’s what I collected. Enjoy! Chicago, Illinois – 12-3 p.m. Will be live-streamed: http://www.sbcoc.org/salem/about/events/women-at-the-cross/ Berkley, California – 6:30 Read More

#IAmJudas

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Nilwona Nowlin

As I was reading up on Holy Week, I discovered that there’s such a thing as Holy Wednesday. This is the day that Judas approached the Sanhedrin with an offer to betray Jesus. It’s safe to say that not many believers are on #TeamJudas, but I am in the group that believes that Judas got a bad rap. I can’t help but to wonder a lot of “what if” scenarios. What if his guilt hadn’t overtaken him so much that he didn’t think forgiveness was possible? What if one of the other disciples had reached out to him and said, “Look man, Read More

Waiting for the Messiah

Posted on March 21, 2016January 10, 2018 by Nilwona Nowlin

Advent is the time during the Christian church year that believers commemorate the first coming (birth) of Christ while also anticipating his second coming. Why am I writing about Advent during Holy Week?

CHRIST - View from the Church of Dominus Flavit - spot where Jesus wept over the city

The Lord Wept

Posted on March 20, 2016January 10, 2018 by Nilwona Nowlin

Today, Christians around the world are celebrating Palm Sunday.

#WackyWednesday – “Marlitane”

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Nilwona Nowlin

I’m still fresh off of a retreat for writers of color. Though I was the only writer there who writes both nonfiction and fiction, the conversations and activities still got my creative juices flowing. It also caused me to go back and revisit a lot of my old writing, and I stumbled across a final portfolio that I submitted for a poetry class in undergrad (a looooong time ago). There’s one poem that still makes me smile; it was intentionally written to be silly. When I decided last night to share this as today’s post, I also decided to declare Read More