Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope

In this debut, writer and blogger Holmes shares a series of letters to her young son Wynn exploring African American culture and evangelical Christianity in particular. Some letters are beautiful expressions of hope and love; others are sad reflections of America’s mistreatment and murder of black people. One key theme is the need for balance and transcendence above stereotypes and talking points. In sharing her thoughts, Holmes hopes to spark dialog within the church. “These letters are less about offering a systematic approach for how to think about difficult topics than extending what I hope is a refreshing vision for how to speak about them.” As an example, she pens one letter to explain to her son that he is more than his ethnicity, but that his ethnicity definitively matters. Holmes writes with a passion, as well as hopefulness, to both her young son and to the church.