Tyre's Day - Chapter 9

Tyre stood there behind the podium in a navy blue, thin-pin stripped suit with a white shirt and a navy-blue silk tie that Phoenix had bought for him. She sat in the front row of the auditorium filled with pride and a sense of trepidation as she hoped that all would go well with Tyre and his long-anticipated speech.

I would like to welcome the President of Boston University, my fellow panelists, the conference attendees and my lovely wife, Phoenix seated there on the first row.” He gestured towards her and her heart skipped a beat as she tried to remain calm and not fidget. “This is my first trip to the Boston area and the other day, Phoenix and I were walking along Commonwealth Avenue on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. We saw many statues of prominent men and women, but my heart accelerated when I approached the statue of William Lloyd Garrison sitting in a chair with a newspaper in his hand,” he continued.

“I felt that we had a spiritual connection as I prepared for this speech on Spirituality and Moral Character in Early American Literature. Today, I will focus on two writers who were both abolitionists like Garrison. As a man of color, I am especially drawn to the writings of those men who spoke to the moral fiber of the nation during times of legal oppression of other human beings.

I will discuss the published writings of John Woolman and James Greenleaf Whittier. Coincidentally, both men were Quakers, humanitarians and each believed that all men had an inner light within them which could guide them into making good, ordered decisions during their lifetimes.

May 30, 2026