In March 2017, Bob Lee&;freelance writer, community organizer, social worker, social justice warrior, child of Houston&;s Fifth Ward and its advocate, former Chicago Black Panther&;died at the age of 74. Alongside his larger legacy, he left behind this collection of fourteen stories published in the Houston Chronicle&;s Sunday Texas Magazine between 1989 and 2000.
Framed by journalist and scholar Michael Berryhill, these youthful recollections and tales of his East Texas relatives reveal Lee&;s shock at learning that his elderly aunt and uncle, who lived in Jasper, Texas, were lifelong Republicans; recount his discovery at the age of 19 that white people, too, could be poor; recall integrating a small-town restaurant with the help of the white rancher who hired him; explore the world of Black longshoremen and offer meditations on the mysteries of death.
As he lay suffering from cancer, Lee told Berryhill that he wasn&;t thinking about dying, but focusing on love. Berryhill, who was Lee&;s first editor at the Houston Chronicle, has lovingly collected and edited Lee&;s stories, which are complemented by an introduction and biographical essay. Treasured storyteller Bob Lee&;s essays offer to readers the experience of Black history in both urban and rural settings by invoking the simple details and events of everyday life.
