Welcome to Day 4 of Shirley Harris-Slaughter’s “MOTHER’S DAY AND OTHER FAVORITE THINGS” Blog Tour! @sharrislaughter @4WillsPub @4WP11 @RRBC_Org #RRBC #4WillsPub.

OTHER GIVEAWAYS:

(2) $5 Amazon Gift Cards

(5) Tickets into RRBC’s WC&BE Raffle for (7) $100 Amazon Gift Card Gift Baskets 
Please leave the author a comment below for your chance to win one of these awesome prizes!

DAY 4 MOTHER’S DAY AND OTHER FAVORITE THINGS BLOG TOUR @sharrislaughter @4WillsPub @4WP11 @RRBC_Org #4WillsPub

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2023

BLOG POST:

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Too Far From the Tree

HELLO MY FRIENDS

By now many of you know me pretty well but for those who don’t my name is Shirley Harris-Slaughter and my twitter handle is @sharrislaughter.  I was born in the great state of Michigan and raised in the Charter Township of Royal Oak. I spent most of my time dreaming of the day when I could get out and start my life elsewhere. Then I discovered we were a historical community founded by a runaway slave on the “underground railroad.” I began to appreciate my roots. I discovered all this history way before ever thinking about writing.

My mother was a gifted poet and writer of children’s stories. She also was a great speaker. So, what in the world could I contribute to this family? My parents were activists in the community, and I watched them not realizing they were shaping me. I became a community activist and developed an appreciation for historical places and buildings which led me to try and save our local train station. I researched and wrote The Implementation of the Most Comprehensive Approach to Restoring the Michigan Central Depot. This brought lots of attention and publicity to this neglected historical site. I don’t know why it’s taking me so long to get a copyright but it’s on my to-do list.

All of this led me to try and capture the history of our Catholic Community. So, I wrote about my experience growing up in this environment. I titled the book, Our Lady of Victory, the Saga of an African-American Catholic Community. The title stuck although my intention was to change it. This book had been gathering steam in my head for a long time before I actually set down to write. Our history was gone because the church had merged, and the school was razed after sitting empty for years and becoming an eyesore.

I was invited to speak about this to the Fred Hart Williams Geneological Society affiliated with the Detroit Public Library’s Burton Historical Collections. Mark Bowden tagged the genre a Narrative History. You see, geneology is normally written in a timeline order. I was surprised that they found me and asked me to speak before their group. They never had history told in narrative format before and certainly not this topic. I presented a powerpoint presentation. I was paid a speaker’s fee and was able to autograph and sell books after the presentation. It was a humbling experience. The attention and respect they lavished on me … just like a celebrity!

And now the church that I had known most of my life is closing its physical doors and moving over to a little chapel inside our sister parish, St. Scholastica. We get to keep the deacon and our weekly priest. We get to retain our name.  I guess that’s supposed to make us happy. This was a wealthy parish mind you. Over the years enrollment started dwindling with the closing of the school and people passing away. Despite that we still managed to reach our fundraising goal of approximately $150,000.00, in 2013 but it wasn’t enough. The Archdiocese of Detroit has a lousy policy that’s not conducive to nurturing and growing our little community. With a different set of rules, we could have stayed open and thrived. You must own something in order to do that. Catholics don’t own their churches. And so, in my opinion, this will continue to happen.

The merged Presentation-Our Lady of Victory is closing its physical doors on February 22, 2014. It is another experiment I’m afraid. The first experiment came when they merged Our Lady of Victory with Presentation Church. It didn’t go very smoothly. It was a sad turn of events. 

The saga will go on and on. I appreciate being able to share this story with you.  I hope you get as much out of this book as I got out of researching and writing it. It has been quite a journey and the knowledge acquired while doing this very worthwhile project is priceless. You can get the complete story from the book. The history is who I am.

I am my mother’s daughter!

Please leave a comment below and don’t forget to visit the other blog tours. Thank you so much for stopping by today.

BOOK BLURB:

Mama could tell a joke. Next thing you know, you are rolling on the floor from one of them. She loved to play the lottery and religiously purchased tickets every chance she got. If you fail to buy her tickets when she asks you, she will tell you that was the winning number … “If you had done what I asked, I would have won.” It was classic!

She was just as passionate about her faith and could quote passages from the bible all day long, which she did. She was a good mother and made huge sacrifices for her children.

She was the woman who wanted to be an actress but never got the chance. She was the woman who worked at a naval air base in Alameda County, California, screwing rivets in wings of airplanes. They were called “Rosie the Riveter” during World War II.

She was the constant in our lives.

This is how I remember my mama!

AUTHOR BIO:

Shirley Harris-Slaughter is the author of Our Lady of Victory, the Saga of an African-American Catholic Community which was written to address a need to preserve Catholic history in her local community. She mentored four freshman girls at the local middle school in the Winning Futures Mentor Program. She is active in her church and Rave Reviews Book Club a virtual book club community where she has added another biography and fiction to her repertoire. She is married to Langston and is a Michigan Native.

And now, Slaughter has written a memoir about her mother, Joyce Winifred Harris-Burkes: How I Remember My Mama. It talks about memories regarding her life, and her works. The theme is about how the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Slaughter is an activist just like her mother.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Twitter:  @sharrislaughter

Facebook:  Shirley Slaughter

Amazon Author Central Page

Websites:

Shirley Harris-Slaughter

Remember Our Lady of Victory

AMAZON BOOK PURCHASE LINKS:

Joyce Winifred Harris-Burkes: HOW I REMEMBER MY MAMA

Our Lady of Victory, the Saga of an African-American Catholic Community 

Ronald L. Powell: Missing in Action

Crazy! Hot! And Living On The Edge!! 

Newspaper Chronicles

A CITIZEN’S GROUP IN ACTION: Saving a Train Station

To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to schedule your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. Thanks for supporting this author and her work!