Ravi Howard

Alabama Aloud with Don Noble The work of Alabama authors deserves to be read out loud - and now it is! Join host Don Noble as he reads the diverse and extensive work of Alabama’s finest authors. (All works appear with permission ...

Thanks to host Don Noble, NPR podcasts, and the Alabama Aloud team at Troy Public Radio. My story, Eventide, is available online to listen and download.

The story debuted in Silent Beaches, Untold Stories: New York City’s Forgotten Waterfront in 2016.

www.npr.org/podcasts/125...

Alabama Aloud with Don Noble The work of Alabama authors deserves to be read out loud - and now it is! Join host Don Noble as he reads the diverse and extensive work of Alabama’s finest authors. (All works appear with permission ...

Thanks to host Don Noble, NPR podcasts, and the Alabama Aloud team at Troy Public Radio. My story, Eventide, is available online to listen and download.
The story debuted in Silent Beaches, Untold Stories: New York City’s Forgotten Waterfront in 2016.

www.npr.org/podcasts/125...

Thrill your darlings.

Some people get into journalism because they’re skeptical of power, and others do so because they’re impressed by it. Moments like this are clarifying with respect to who’s who.

On May 20, 1865, the Emancipation Proclamation was read aloud by a Union Army general on the steps of the Knott House in downtown Tallahassee. The day would become Emancipation Day.

Here’s the 9th grade teacher who changed my life. “You can write,” Ms. Spicer said, explaining that she wanted to move me into the honors English class. But because of scheduling conflicts, transferring wasn’t an option. So instead, Ms. Spicer told me… 1/6
#teacherappreciationweek #teacher

“[T]here is still a sweetness in revisiting the stories and pictures of a time and place that has come and gone.”—@ravihoward.bsky.social explores Mobile’s forgotten Banana Docks, which once brought the Caribbean fruit to the nation.

https://shorturl.at/xH8LX

📷 Rothstein, LOC.

is there such a crying need for reams and reams and reams of additional writing in the world that we need to ask computers to pitch in

Just because something calls itself a library doesn’t mean it is. Libraries BUY books for readers to borrow. They don’t steal them. And authors get paid a tiny amount of money on every borrow. That’s how actual libraries work. Those trying to defend that pirating site…

Mobile’s Forgotten Banana Docks Among the Mobile, Alabama, stories my father still tells, the one about the Banana Docks keeps …

New work in Oxford American @oxfordamerican.bsky.social
oxfordamerican.org/magazine/iss...

Just a loving reminder to authors: please be excited to promote your books. Even at this time. We need author joy, and we need books!

For the Oxford American Food Issue, I wrote about my grandfather's time working on the Banana Docks in Mobile, Alabama. It features Arthur Rothstein's FSA photographs from his Alabama journey in 1937.
www.oxfordamericangoods.org/products/iss...

A good government agency is nearly invisible. You have safe food, clean water, stable power etc and you never have to think about it. The best societies have boring bureaucracy notices in the paper and not much else.

Sorry about the sad state of things. I remember being told, during college in DC, that many of the local artists, writers, and musicians were also government workers. An important part of the local creative culture gets lost.

I can’t change the minds of adults. But for a decade now, Chris and I have been arming the next generation of kids with determination, kindness, and compassion. It’s a battle I’ll take any day. Buy I AM SALLY RIDE here: bit.ly/IamSallyRide.

#books #space #inspiration

"We are the ship; all else the sea." -Rube Foster

James Baldwin stands in front of an ice cream shop in Durham, North Carolina in 1963. The words Colored Entrance Only are above the doorway. A white employee peeks through the blinds at Baldwin and the photographer.

James Baldwin in Durham, North Carolina in 1963. Credit @Africanarchives

Seriously, creative folks: Don't be afraid to let people know your stuff is out there for them, or worry that "now is not the time for that." People are stressed and freaked out and looking for the things that will give them a moment of rest and joy. It is EXACTLY the time for what we do. Tell them.

If your argument is "sure, a terrible modern event has a parallel in the 1920s and 30s but don't worry we turned out just fine", might I suggest reading about the 1940s.

Reminder to comment on that art post or fanfic, and drop a review of that book. Telling creatives what you think, even if it’s just a one line sentence, truly does make a difference! And I don’t just mean ‘engagement’. I mean it will make their day. Tell someone when you love their work 🤍

Black History Month Writing Prompt & Book - Week 2

"Some believed_______."

Today's book is #LikeTreesWalking by @ravihoward.bsky.social. A look at the 1981 lynching of Michael Donald, the readers experience with the Deacon brothers the complexities of the American South and the ugly reality that violent racism is not a thing of the past.

#BlackHistoryMonth #booksky

Thank you, Abby. I appreciate you taking the time with the work.

Today in US History: On Feb. 3, 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, granted black men the right to vote. It was passed by Congress on February 26, 1869. Black Americans were set free by the 13th amendment. The 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship.

#BlackHistoryMonth

Pay attention to history.
Teach your kids.
Now more than ever.

#blackhistorymonth #blackhistorymonth2025

Art by @penguinkids.bsky.social @chriseliopoulos.bsky.social

Sir, you have now been President of the United States for six months and what is the result? It is no exaggeration to say that every enemy of the Negro race is greatly encouraged; that every man who dreams of making the Negro race a group of menials and pariahs is alert and hopeful. DuBois to Wilson

From Daryl Michael Scott fod zinnproject.ord:

"On Feb. 7, 1926, Carter G. Woodson, initiated the first celebration of Negro History Week which led to Black History Month, to extend and deepen the study and scholarship on African American history, all year long."

Happy Black History month!

We come from brilliant survivors. Their methods of embracing and preserving humanity, community, love, and peace live within us. Nobody should have to fight this damn long, but I'm glad we have the wisdom of memory. 🖤