Saturday, August 25, 2007

Yolanda Young muses upon Hollywood South, once her home, in the Aug 26 Washington Post


Yolanda Young book
Originally uploaded by trudeau
USA Today columnist Yolanda Young has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, NPR and Black Entertainment Television (BET), says her web site. Her memoir, On Our Way to Beautiful (Random House), was lauded in The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Essence Magazine and was her ticket to a life in the media.

Young, based in Washington, DC, is one of Shreveport's most celebrated scribes. This weekend in the Washington Post she uses that advantage to profile Hollywood South - It's Shreveport's Season - for the puzzled masses.

Young once told stories to an audience at Caddo Magnet High about growing up in the Stoner Hill neighborhood. She entered high school at the time of The Crossover. Stoner Hill kids had been given a chance to go to a neighborhood school or Capt Shreve. She chose Shreve and paid a price in the adjustment. But her most uncomfortable stories were about classmates who defaulted to the less-challenging neighborhood schools.

In her lecture she was plainly jubilant that through her successful memoir she was escaping another ghetto: that of being a Washington lawyer.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Great article (hers in the Post and yours covering hers)! Thank you for the heads up.

Ferrarifoxx said...

This is a great article! I'm a Yolanda Young Fan! Keep us updated!