Some say that I am a prolific writer.  I am a successfully and blissfully self-published author, public servant, entrepreneur, and educator.  My book, “Chief Cook & Bottle Washer, the UnConquerable Soul Of Wilkie Clark, is a biography that details the life of my father, the late Wilkie Clark.  It was released in February, 2005 marking the 36^th Anniversary of the business he started in Roanoke, Alabama.

In this book, in great detail I describe and analyze the inordinate spiritual, racial and economic struggles he experienced as a black man trying to improve and liberate himself against the backdrop of racism and Jim Crow in Alabama.  Not only do I deal with the racial and economic theme, I also claim for my father the true historical distinction that I believe he deserves, having played a pivotal role in the civil rights struggles in Randolph County, Alabama.   Drawing upon my father’s philosophies regarding black social and economic progress, this book is a call for black men and women to seize the reins of their own economic destiny.

I was raised as a United Methodist, but have recently joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

I have a Master’s Degree in Education.  I teach in the private sector.   I am also an elected member of the Board Of Education in my County School District  [The Randolph County (Alabama) Board of Education].  In addition, I hold a technical degree in Applied Science in Funeral Service.

My lifelong interest in writing was inspired under the observation of both my mother and father, both astute civil rights activists who learned how to use their constitutional right of free speech and the free press to raise community awareness about critical issues affecting black folks in their local community. 

With the help of my children and other individuals I have mentored, I continue to operate the Clark business to honor my dad’s racial and economic struggles in Randolph County, Alabama.  You can visit here:  www.clarkmemorial.biz

With the release of my book in Februray, 2005, and with the help of MANY MANY friends and family I also was successful in co-founding and organizing the Wilkie Clark Memorial Foundation, Incorporated, a Non-Profit Corporation organized for the purpose of encouraging and promoting black economic development throughout East Alabama and West Georgia. 

In August of 2005, The Wilkie Clark Memorial Foundation, Incorporated began publishing The People’s Voice Black Weekly News, as one of the foundational pillars upon which to build a viable black economy.   The Foundation Board Of Directors devoted the majority of 2005, working diligently to establish The People’s Voice on sound financial footing, and are continuing to work to meet this objective.   The Clark Memorial Foundation has numerous other economic development interests and projects in view, which also include the building of an African-American Archives Center in the East Roanoke Community.  More info here:  http://www.wcmf.citymax.com.

After the inauguration of the People’s Voice Black Weekly, I began to sense a need to develop an editorial column of my own design.  So, I did, and I call it “Sober Thoughts.”  I chose this title to capture the mood of the column, recalling how mama used to describe the rantings and ravings of an alcoholic.  She would often remark that drunken rages are a reflection of the alcoholic’s “sober thoughts.”  So, I think of my column as my own “drunken rage,” over the apathetic conditions that have infected black minds and communities.  Thus, the name “Sober Thoughts.”

Although I love to write, I must admit that my life is a one-woman side-show…a juggling act.  Imagine trying to run a NEW newspaper, work outside my home (in ANY teaching field), and co-manage a family funeral home business.   Although writing is my passion, there are sometimes weeks that I don’t even get a chance to write my own column for The People’s Voice.  But, I’m determined to see it through.

If you care to read my previous columns that have appeared in The People’s Voice, you will find many of them posted on this blog at http://www.caclarkfrieson.edublogs.org. 

I post when and IF I find the time. 

To learn more about my writing or to purchase my book, please visit http://www.wilkieclarksdaughter.net

Peace, Love, Prosperity, and Power To YOU and YOURS