© 2025 KUNR
Illustration of rolling hills with occasional trees and a radio tower.
Serving Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The threat of catastrophic funding cuts for public media looms, and while we don’t know what the U.S. Senate will do, we do know this: We need your help protecting this vital service.
Learn what you can do to support KUNR and public media today ➡️

A new book excavates the political and personal — to shed light on Black life today

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

Author Honoree Fanonne Jeffers writes about the unique position of Black women in her latest book. She describes what it means to be at the crossroads.

HONOREE FANONNE JEFFERS: You are at a place where trouble meets possibility. For me, the notion of the crossroads is the notion of intersectionality of Black women.

SUMMERS: In "Misbehaving At The Crossroads," Honoree Fanonne Jeffers excavates memories of her childhood, including her father's abuse and her mother's challenges in protecting her from it. She also weaves together history, political commentary and poetry, all centering Black American women. When I spoke with her, I asked her to describe her mother, Dr. Trellie Lee James Jeffers.

JEFFERS: Mama was literally born in an abandoned slave shack. She lost an eye in a tragic childhood accident, and she still went on to graduate as valedictorian of her class. She won a scholarship to Spelman College. When she left Spelman, she came back to her hometown of Eatonton, Georgia, and then she and my father married. It was a troubled marriage. And then after Daddy passed away, she went back and she earned a doctorate. So she was really very extraordinary.

SUMMERS: You also write a good deal about your father and how, as you put it, he could so easily flicker from kind to cruel. And you wrote that up until you were putting together what became this book, that the memory of your father and his emotional, physical and sexual abuse continued to affect both your mental and spiritual health. What allowed you to free yourself from that affecting you?

JEFFERS: I think what began to happen is that I understood that what he did wasn't right, but I knew he had been a wounded person. And there was no space for him to heal because there is this role that Black men are expected to inhabit - stoic, strong protectors. And so when you are forced to inhabit that role, there's no room for your vulnerability. But I remember those horrible arguments, which sometimes were physically abusive, but many times just - Daddy just saying horrible things to Mama and her, you know, screaming back and stuff. And my sisters and I would be gathered around, you know, the vent and we would hear things. And then he would burst into tears. And there would be this rusty aching in his voice. And I didn't want to feel sorry for him as a little girl, but I did.

SUMMERS: Yeah. Your book ends with some journal entries from 2023 after you were caring for your mother who had early dementia. And when we read your entries, we learn about how her consciousness and her tether to the world around her sort of ebbs and flows. What was that time like for you stepping into that caregiving role for her?

JEFFERS: It was very difficult. And let me just say this, you know, because there's no halo around my head - Mama and I had been estranged. And what I really wanted to do is to bring her comfort and, like, joy during this time. And so Mama had been a modern dancer when she was in college, so we would watch little snippets of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, and I would remind her that she had been a dancer.

SUMMERS: You also cooked for her, too, I know.

JEFFERS: Oh, yeah. That was something because it was a running joke in my family that I couldn't cook collard greens. But I prayed over it. I prayed real, real strong. And then I went on Facebook and I asked some of the sisters, you know, the Black women. And then one afternoon, I just took the whole afternoon and I made those collard greens, and I made corn bread to go along. And then when I brought it to her, she said, this pot liquor is excellent. That's the broth of the...

SUMMERS: Yeah.

JEFFERS: ...Collard greens. And, oh, then I sat - when I left her, I sat in my car and I cried. I was so happy because I just wanted to make my mama happy.

SUMMERS: I have to tell you, when I was reading that part of your story, I almost burst into tears 'cause there's nothing that reminds me of home more than eating my mother's greens, and I could never do them justice. So I can imagine the pressure you were feeling to get them right.

JEFFERS: There was so much pressure. It was a lot of pressure.

SUMMERS: You know, it occurred to me as I was reading that at the point that you've published this book and written this and revisited all these memories, your mother, your father had both passed. Did that in any way make you feel more free to explore all of this, to write these truths down?

JEFFERS: At first, no. But when I took over Mama's care, I would run into complete strangers. And it was almost like "The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner." I had to just keep talking about how we had been estranged because I felt so guilty, you know? And then people began to share with me. You know, I hadn't talked to my mama in three years. You know, I was abused as a child. And, you know, it's real interesting. You know, you're sharing the most personal details of your life with complete strangers. And so I began to think about - you know, we have a saying in the Black church - let me encourage you. I don't know if people want to take from my story that, OK, you must reconcile with your parents because if somebody had told me that Mama and I would have come together, I would have laughed in their face. But I know that I have a joy and a peace that I never thought possible (crying). I'm sorry.

SUMMERS: It's OK.

JEFFERS: And it's because of that reconciliation. So, you know, maybe.

SUMMERS: Honoree Fanonne Jeffers - her book "Misbehaving At The Crossroads" is out now. Thank you so much.

JEFFERS: Thank you so much for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Justine Kenin
Justine Kenin is an editor on All Things Considered. She joined NPR in 1999 as an intern. Nothing makes her happier than getting a book in the right reader's hands – most especially her own.
Juana Summers is a political correspondent for NPR covering race, justice and politics. She has covered politics since 2010 for publications including Politico, CNN and The Associated Press. She got her start in public radio at KBIA in Columbia, Mo., and also previously covered Congress for NPR.
Alejandra Marquez Janse
Alejandra Marquez Janse is a producer for NPR's evening news program All Things Considered. She was part of a team that traveled to Uvalde, Texas, months after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary to cover its impact on the community. She also helped script and produce NPR's first bilingual special coverage of the State of the Union – broadcast in Spanish and English.