INSIDE VOICES

INSIDE VOICES

Robert Gwaltney and Jeffrey Dale Lofton introduce Jeffrey Blount

Jeffrey Blount is the award-winning author of four novels. Almost Snow White, winner of the 2013 USA Best Book Awards, Hating Heidi Foster, winner of the 2013 Readers Favorite Book Award for young adult literature, The Emancipation of Evan Walls, winner of the 2020 National Indie Excellence Award for African American fiction and other awards, and Jeffrey's latest novel is Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way, winner of the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards for African American Fiction.

He is also an Emmy award-winning television director and a 2016 inductee to the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. During a 34-year career at NBC News, Jeffrey directed a decade of Meet the Press, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and major special events.

He was also a contributor for HuffPost and has been published in The Washington Post and other publications, commenting on issues of race, social justice and writing.

Jeffrey/WellRead: Without giving anything away, will you set up the story of Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way?

James Henry Ferguson is an African American billionaire who lives in Washington, DC. A famous humanitarian, he is well-liked because of his philanthropic nature. He makes a self-destructive choice and suffers a very sudden, severe and highly publicized fall from grace. In an attempt to outrun the unending traditional and social media attention that follows, he buys a house, sight unseen, in the small town of Ham, Mississippi. He arrives to find that he is neighbor to a community mired in abject poverty.  An emergency draws him, quite unwillingly, into the lives of his impoverished neighbors. As he attempts to find redemption for his own failings, he must find a way to empower his neighbors or watch them collapse alongside him.  Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way is a story about failure, self-discovery, empowerment, and the possibility of redemption. 

Robert/WellRead: What was your inspiration for this story of redemption and salvation?

It was actually a three-part inspiration. First, throughout my career in the news business, I began to feel strongly about the struggle of Americans suffering in poverty. It was an issue I’d planned on publicly addressing somehow when I retired from NBC. Second, Jeanne Meserve, my wife and former CNN anchor and correspondent, was in Louisiana to work on a story about storms. She and her crew got lost and in the process of finding their way, she passed through a community living in a kind of poverty that one rarely sees in the United States. She was horrified and transferred that feeling to me. I began to do research based on her experience. Third, for many years I had considered writing about the notion of redemption. In part, because I wanted to investigate whether or not in the age of social media a person could actually find redemption after a tragic and public fall. My daughter and I went to see Bryan Stevenson speak and during his speech he said this: “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” At that point, I knew I had the basics for the work that would become Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way. I knew I had the vehicle to take on and publicize these issues that I felt so strongly about.

Jeffrey/WellRead: I heard you talk about the Activism of Kindness, and you mentioned this as a guiding tenet. For our gentle listeners, will you expound upon this notion?

When the word activism comes up these days, many folks think of violence in the streets. I feel, however, that we all participate in activism almost daily. We just don’t think of it that way. For instance, if you have ever advocated in a medical situation for a loved one, then you have been an activist for better medical care. If you have helped to feed the hungry or clothe the partially clothed, then you have been an activist for humanitarianism. If you have shopped for your ill neighbor, you have been an activist for a better community. I coined the phrase The Activism of Kindness as I wrote my novel. It was in my heart with every keystroke. It really means that we see the pain around us and that with kindness as our guide and rule, we step into our neighbor’s pain with the hope of easing it. At the core of this kind of kindness is the recognition of each other’s humanity. Part of the United Nations’ mission statement is “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The Activism of Kindness is one way we can achieve that mission.

Robert/WellRead: It sounds like you are purposeful in your writing. For example, the cycles of poverty within communities, lack of education. What do you want your readers to take away from this story?

I want people to close the book and be moved toward action. I want them to be inspired to make a difference in the lives of others. One of my readers wrote, “I have never had a fictional book strike such a call to action in my soul before.” With that, I knew that I had at least partially achieved my goal.

Jeffrey/WellRead: Mr. Jimmy is a well-known figure, which means the media is aware of him. You have spent your entire career in the media as a renowned director. How did your career shape the portrayal of the news media in your story?

I am in a period of great concern for journalism in the United States. Even in the entire free world. Sensationalism and opinion have replaced facts for many and there is no doubt I wanted to point that out in the book. I wanted to illustrate the kind of damage it can create in the world. Also, at the same time, I wanted to show what hard-nosed, old-fashioned journalism looked like. So, there are two versions of journalism in the novel. Much more for the reader to think about.

Robert/WellRead: You’ve spoken about the idea of “Air Pressure, Water Pressure, and Blood Pressure.” Will you tell us more about this intriguing idea and why it’s important?

This is a treasured phrase in my relationship with my oldest and best friend, Perry Bell. He coined it to explain how he dealt with periods of struggle in life. In time, each of us began to use it to remind the other what we needed to do in order to deal with the tough moments. Over the years, it got to the point that when we said it to each other, it spurred an instant reality check. That was usually followed by smiles and chuckles as we were reminded about how blessed we were to be alive and to have our friendship. As long as we woke up every morning with air pressure, water pressure and blood pressure, we had enough life and time to work through our issues in the days to come. When I developed the character Miss Septima, I called Perry and asked permission to share this phrase in the novel and he was quite pleased. 

Jeffrey/WellRead: Who are your literary heroes? 

James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, John Irving, Richard Wright and Alice Hoffman.

Robert/WellRead: What’s next for you?

I am back at the keyboard creating a new world. Stay tuned!