Walter Pryor, a native of Arkansas, joined Democratic sensation Stacey Abrams at the Clinton Presidential Center on Wednesday to talk about his biography, in which he uses his family’s multigenerational struggles and victories in the Arkansas Delta to tell a powerful story of history, hope, and resiliency.
Pryor’s grandmother wrote him numerous letters as he started his own journey through Georgetown Law, followed by his lengthy career in law, public service, education, and now at Southern Bancorp in Little Rock. These letters gave rise to the book This Leaves Me Okay: Race, Legacy, and Letters from my Grandmother. Because he now sees many of the same struggles for equality and dignity being played out again, Pryor said that he wrote the book after preserving the letters for so long in order to understand how his grandmother endured so much racial strife and lack of opportunity during the civil rights era. However, he also recognizes in her writings the dreams and ambitions for a brighter future for coming generations, and he believes that these should be emphasized equally in the protracted fight for advancement.
My grandmother used to write, “This leaves me okay,” in my letters. And when I began writing, I had no idea what the title would be, so I simply told Abrams, “This will be my working title,” in front of a group of eager Arkansans in a room at the top of the Clinton Center. I merely wanted to respect my grandmother; I didn’t start writing with a specific theme or idea in mind. As I gained more knowledge about her, I began to feel really affected. It’s a unique line, and I found myself wondering where she got it. Therefore, I view it as a goal and a way to support both her and me in case I wasn’t feeling well. Additionally, I interpreted it as an act of defiance against craft and a way to achieve happiness in her current location.
Lucille Mama Ceal Hatch Eldridge, Pryor’s grandmother, worked as a maid and only completed the eighth grade. She wrote to Pryor and several other members of his family once a week. Pryor’s book was workshopped with Abrams, a successful novelist, who led the conversation about how Pryor’s grandmother’s experiences mirror contemporary struggles for racial justice and equity.
Abrams and Pryor’s family had apparently been friends since they were both much younger, and their chumminess was evident in the conversation on Wednesday. While both of them attempted not to reveal too much, the two joked around as Abrams took a photo with the audience and elicited information from Pryor about the book-writing process.
Abrams lost both of his prior attempts to become governor of Georgia to Republican Brian Kemp. She conducted significant voter registration and turnout campaigns that have been credited with increasing Georgia’s competitiveness, and she was the first Black woman to be a major party’s nominee for governor of a state. Even though he was attractive, Pryor quipped at the start of the event that he knew most people wouldn’t be there if Abrams wasn’t moderating it. Following the discussion, attendees waited in line to get autographed copies of the memoir.
Abrams told Pryor, “I have the utmost respect for what Mama Ceal did and for what your mother was able to do with what she did.” We must view the harm as a call to action and avoid becoming mired in it. That starts with the slogan, “Yes, you may visit these things on me, you may visit voter suppression on me, or you may kidnap people off the streets and deport them to foreign countries, or you may decimate the social safety net because you don’t think poverty should be fought, but that it’s a given.” However, I respond to that by saying that I’m fine and prepared to defend the next generation.
It’s dragon-slaying time!
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