essays & open wounds while waiting for The APOLOGY

essays & open wounds while waiting for The Apology is a collection of writing that draws heavily upon author Richard Kenyada’s life experiences as an African American male in the latter part of the 20th Century.

The essays cover a broad range of topics including racism, history, war, entertainment, politics and sports. But the centerpiece of the compilation is Kenyada’s masterwork, The Apology, an essay that has garnered much praise on its own merit, as well as serving as the finalè of The MAAFA Suite ®, a national stage production conceived of, and presented by, St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY.

The Apology is an enraged, piercing demand for contrition that is addressed to the Government of the United States of America. It examines the question of reparations for the 244-year period of Slavery - from 1619, when the first kidnapped Africans arrived here, until emancipation in 1863.

Interwoven throughout the book are “open wounds,” actual letters-to-the-editor that Kenyada has written to various media outlets over the past 15 years. The pieces reflect the rage and frustration of a black man having to deal with racism in America on a regular basis. “Why must prejudice pervade every aspect of a black man’s existence? Why must each day of my life offer a new indignity?”

A native New Yorker, Richard Kenyada was born in Brooklyn and spent his childhood in Jamaica, Queens .  He served four years in the U.S. Air Force, including two tours of duty in Vietnam.  In addition to a 35-year engineering career, Kenyada is the founder and president of a nonprofit organization, Mr. Kenyada’s Neighborhood (www.kenyada.com), which promotes computer literacy and computer ownership in the underserved, predominately African American, communities of Georgia. His award-winning “PCs to the People” program distributes free computers to exceptional disadvantaged students. He also provides free computer training for seniors. Kenyada lives in a suburb of Atlanta with his wife, Patricia.