Events

The protagonist of Ms. Harris’ book, Jasper Beamon, serves in the Navy under the first African American Admiral. Jasper is very much influenced by status, prompting him to join a prestigious fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, and identify himself with an affluent church. He becomes very wealthy, but he also develops PTSD.  Jasper struggles to reconcile status and identity with his African American heritage. Jasper is also forced to re-evaluate his life.  But will he? The book is intertwined with romance, political commentary and current events. One timely chapter discusses the economic crisis, substantiated by Ms. Harris’ research — including an interview with Associate Professor of Economics at Howard University, Dr. Gamine Meepagala.