Sin Against the Race

Alfonso Rutherford Berry III--son of a city councilman grandson of the states first African American legislator--believes that history has ordained for him but one life and it aint his first love: dancing. But after a series of tragedies starting with the death of his fierce out cousin Carlton his assumptions explode in his face along with his closet door.Alfonso emerges into the life on a blanket of the jazz and blues he shared with Carlton. He hangs on Carver Street the queer Northside of his largely black neighborhood. There he is befriended by Carltons familiars: Sammy a local storekeeper and neighborhood den mother Bingo a leather queen and nurse practitioner Vera a transgender activist and photographer and Charlotte his fathers political rival. At college he becomes tight with two freshmen: Roy an aspiring actor and acquaintance from high school and Bill a new member of his church. He also finds love (and peril) in the form of Jameel a long-time crush. His new life sets him on a collision course with his father his church and the family legacy established by his revered late grandfather.Written in taut prose steeped in history and current events--and seasoned with the blues--Sin Against the Race follows the coming-of-age journey of a young black gay man as he progresses from an invisible councilmans son to a formidable presence in his community.