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Empire is an American musical drama television series created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong for Fox. It is a joint production by Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television. Although it is filmed in Chicago,^[2][3] the show is set in New York. The series centers on the fictional hip hop music and entertainment company, Empire Entertainment, and the drama among the members of the founders' family as they fight for control of it.

The pilot was shown to be a success, garnering praise for Taraji P. Henson's portrayal of Cookie Lyon. The series premiered on January 7, 2015 to nearly 10 million viewers while the first season finale was watched by 17 million viewers.

On April 30, 2019, Fox renewed the show for a sixth and final season. It will premiere on September 24, 2019.^[4][5][6][7]

• 4Production
  • 4.1Casting
  • 4.2Music
• 6Reception

Premise[edit]

Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) is a hip hop mogul, former drug dealer, and CEO of Empire Entertainment. Informed of his own imminent early death from a certain medical condition, Lucious is forced to choose from amongst his progeny, a successor who will control his dynasty after his demise. He begins working to groom one of his three sons to take over the family business – Empire CFO Andre (Trai Byers), R&B singer-songwriter Jamal (Jussie Smollett), and rapper Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray). In the process, Lucious pits them against each other.^[8] Lucious' ex-wife Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson) is released from prison after serving a 17-year sentence, and also pulls for control of both the company and of her sons.

Cast and characters[edit]

• Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyon, né Dwight Walker

A former drug dealer turned hip-hop mogul and the founder and long-time CEO of Empire Entertainment,^[9] his life begins to cave in around him after his past sins come back to haunt him when he is diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He loses his memory during an assassination attempt (season 3) but regains it (season 4).

• Taraji P. Henson as Loretha 'Cookie' Lyon, née Holloway

Lucious' outspoken wife and mother of his three sons. She serves a 17-year prison sentence for drug dealing and sees herself as the sacrificial lamb for Empire Entertainment, which she built with Lucious, but then took the fall for him while running the very drugs that financed Lucious' early career. Upon her return from prison, she is determined to bring the Lyon family back together and reclaim her share of Empire Entertainment.^[10][11] In the second season, Cookie leaves the Empire group and starts her own record label, Lyon Dynasty. After allowing Empire Entertainment to acquire Lyon Dynasty, she returns to Empire as co-CEO and Head of A&R. Cookie's lovers were Malcolm Deveaux (season 1), Laz Delgado (season 2), Angelo DuBois (season 3)

• Bryshere Y. Gray as Hakeem Lyon

Lucious' fame-obsessed youngest son and his favorite child, who is a hip hop star on the rise.^[12] Initially combative towards his mother Cookie, Hakeem starts to become friendlier towards her, and has a great relationship with his older brother Jamal. He has had romantic relationships with Tiana, Camilla, Anika, Valentina, and Laura.

• Jussie Smollett as Jamal Lyon (seasons 1–5)

The middle son of the Lyon family, he is a talented gay singer-songwriter who despises the corporate aspect of the music industry. Jamal is estranged from his father, who considers him the black sheep of the family.^[10] Jamal is Cookie's favorite and has a strong relationship with his brother Hakeem. Lucious appoints Jamal as his successor at the end of the first season, and later as interim CEO when Lucious is arrested. Jamal later relinquishes control of Empire back to Lucious. After being accidentally shot by Freda Gatz in Season 2, Jamal begins to present symptoms of PTSD and a reliance on painkillers. His addiction ultimately leads to a visit to rehab. Smollet's character was removed from the last two episodes of the fifth season after Smollett was indicted on charges of staging an assault against himself.^[13]

• Trai Byers as Andre Lyon

Rhonda Ferguson Union Pacific

The eldest son of the Lyon family^[14] and CFO of Empire Entertainment. He is Wharton educated, power hungry, and has bipolar disorder. He is married to his college sweetheart, Rhonda. He plans to run Empire, but is in a battle for the head chair with his younger brothers. In the second season, Andre initially helps Cookie and Hakeem set up Lyon Dynasty, but returns to Empire. Lucious later promotes Andre to President of Gutter Life Records, a sub-division of Empire Entertainment consisting of mainly urban rappers, such as Freda Gatz. In Season 3, 4 & 5, he loses his wife and becomes involved with Nessa, Charlotte, Pamela and Teri.

• Grace Byers as Anika Boo Boo Kitty Calhoun (seasons 1–4)

Initially the ambitious head of Empire Entertainment's A&R department,^[14] she becomes engaged to Lucious though they will eventually separate. After leaving Empire, Anika has sex with Hakeem and becomes pregnant. Fearful of Rhonda's pregnancy, as Rhonda's unborn child has claim to being the heir of Empire, Anika pushes Rhonda down a set of stairs, leading to the death of Rhonda's unborn child. Cookie and Anika share an extreme dislike for one another, with Cookie referring to Anika by the derisive nickname 'Boo Boo Kitty'.^[15] She dies in the season 4 finale.

• Malik Yoba as Vernon Turner (season 1)

Lucious's longtime friend and business partner, and chairman of Empire Entertainment. In the season one finale, Vernon is struck and killed by Rhonda, when he attacks Andre, and both end up hiding the body.^[16]

• Kaitlin Doubleday as Rhonda Lyon (seasons 1–2; recurring in season 3; guest in season 4)^[17][18]

Andre's wife is a 'ride-or-die chick' who is extremely fierce and loyal, and sticks by Andre's side as he tries to gain control of Empire. In the first-season finale she finds out that she is pregnant, but Anika pushes her down the stairs in the second season fall finale, and the baby dies in the second-season spring premiere. After her recovery, Rhonda begins to work for Empire's fashion label, 'Antony and Cleopatra', initially run by Camilla Marks-Whiteman. After Camilla's suicide, Rhonda is appointed Creative Director of Antony and Cleopatra. In the third-season premiere, she attacks Anika due to finding out Anika had pushed her down the stairs earlier in the season, causing her to lose her unborn son. As a result, she falls off the building she and Anika were fighting on, lands on a car, and dies. She makes numerous appearances to Andre as a ghost during his hallucinations in the third season.

• Ta'Rhonda Jones as Porsha Taylor (season 2–present; recurring in season 1)

Cookie's executive assistant.

• Gabourey Sidibe as Rebecca 'Becky' Williams (season 2–present; recurring in season 1)

Executive assistant to Lucious at Empire Entertainment. After Jamal's promotion to Vice Chairman, Jamal promotes Becky to A&R at Empire and its sub-label, Gutter Life Records. In season 4, she had taken Anika's position as Head of A&R requested by Cookie.^[14][19]

• Serayah as Tiana Brown—Lyon (season 2–present; recurring in season 1)

An artist at Empire Entertainment who becomes Hakeem's girlfriend for some time.^[20] In season two, she leaves Empire for Lyon Dynasty. She also starts to get jealous of the relationship Hakeem has with Laura. In Season 3, she and Hakeem rekindle their relationship. At the beginning of Season 4 she remains happy being with Hakeem and looks after his daughter Bella whilst Anika is in jail. Halfway through the season she gets manipulated by Eddie Barker and turns down a proposal made by Hakeem. She continues to be manipulated by Eddie and becomes Empire's number one artist. After Hakeem tries to warn her about Eddie she breaks up with him again, but they quickly get back together after Tiana reveals to Hakeem that she's pregnant.

• Bre-Z as Freda Gathers/'Freda Gatz' (season 3; recurring in season 2)

A female rapper, who becomes a surrogate daughter to Lucious after the murder of her father, Frank Gathers. Lucious later sets up Freda to become Hakeem's rival.

• Morocco Omari as Tariq Cousins (season 3; recurring in season 2)

An FBI Agent, who is also Lucious' half-brother.^[21][22]

• Xzibit as Leslie 'Shyne' Johnson (season 3–4; guest in season 2)

A former rival of Lucious Lyon that soon becomes a close ally, described as '100 percent wolf and 100 percent gangsta'.

• Andre Royo as Thurston 'Thirsty' Rawlings, (season 4–present; seasons 2−3 recurring)

Lucious' lawyer/confidant/right-hand man.

• Rumer Willis as Tory Ash, (season 4; season 3 guest)

A singer who fell off as an addict than becomes close friends with Jamal to betray him by working with Lucious.

• Terrell Carter as Warren Hall, (season 4)

Rhonda Ferguson First Energy

An attorney, Diana Dubois' nephew, Angelo's cousin and Jamal's ex.

• Nicole Ari Parker as Giselle Sims-Barker, (season 5–present; season 4 recurring)

Eddie Barker’s trophy ex-wife.

• Chet Hanks as Blake Sterling, (season 5–present; season 4 recurring)

A rapper and Hakeem's friend.

• Rhyon Nicole Brown as Maya (season 5–present; season 4 recurring)

The daughter of Cookie's fellow inmate Poundcake.

• A.Z. Kelsey as Jeff Kingsley (season 5)

Hotshot, Silicon Valley genius turned interim leader of Empire Entertainment. He is Ivy League educated with an edge and a dark secret. Lucious' illegitimate son.

• Vivica A. Fox as Candace Holloway Mason (season 6; season 2-5 recurring)

Cookie's well-behaved but snobby and judgmental older sister. She is a realtor.

Episodes[edit]

Production[edit]

Howard, Henson and Sidibe filmed the pilot episode in Chicago (Cinespace Chicago Film Studios^[27]) in March 2014.^[28] On May 6, 2014, Fox picked up Empire as a series order for its 2014–15 television schedule.^[29][30] On May 12, 2014, Fox announced that Empire would air as a midseason replacement, rather than as a part of the fall schedule.^[31][32] On November 19, 2014, it was confirmed that the pilot episode would premiere on January 7, 2015, following the season 14 premiere of American Idol.^[33]

The executive producers are Brian Grazer, Danny Strong and Francie Calfo. The show is written by Strong while Lee Daniels, who has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, made his television directorial debut with the show.^[14][34] According to Strong, the show is based in part on William Shakespeare's King Lear, and James Goldman's The Lion in Winter; Daniels also acknowledged a strong influence from the ABC prime-time soap operaDynasty.^[34][35]Ilene Chaiken later joined the series as showrunner.^[36]On January 17, 2015, the series was renewed for an 18-episode second season,^[37] which premiered on September 23, 2015.^[38][39] On January 15, 2016, Empire was renewed for a third season, which premiered on September 21, 2016, consisting of eighteen episodes.^{[citation needed]}

On January 11, 2017, Fox renewed the series for a fourth season, consisting of eighteen episodes.^[40] The season premiered on September 27, 2017, and crossed over with another Fox series co-created by Daniels, Star.^[41]

On May 2, 2018, Fox renewed the series for a fifth season with Brett Mahoney taking over as showrunner from Ilene Chaiken.^[42] The season premiered on September 26, 2018.^[43]

On April 15, 2019, The Hollywood Reporter reported that a judge was allowing 300 jailed youth to sue Fox for using their prison facility to film Empire.^[44]

Casting[edit]

Howard was cast in the lead on February 19, 2014.^[9] Henson was named as the female lead on February 26, and Jussie Smollett was announced in a starring role.^[10] Howard and Henson previously starred together as love interests in the film Hustle & Flow, and starred in the 2005 film Four Brothers.^[10] On March 10, 2014, Sidibe, who had previously worked with Daniels in Precious, was cast in a recurring role as Becky, Lucious' assistant. Trai Byers and Grace Gealey were announced in regular roles, while Bryshere Y. Gray and Malik Yoba were announced in starring roles.^[14]Courtney Love was added to the cast on October 23, 2014.^[45]Naomi Campbell was announced in a recurring role on September 29, 2014.^[46]

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On June 2, 2015, it was announced Adam Rodriguez would join the cast in a recurring role in the second season of Empire, portraying Laz Delgado, a potential love interest for Cookie.^[47]

In 2016, Phylicia Rashad was cast as a recurring guest star in the role of Diana DuBois in the third season of Empire.^[48]

In February 2017, Rumer Willis joined the third season of Empire in a recurring role.^[49]

Jussie Smollett[edit]

On January 22, 2019, Jussie Smollett filed a police report about a threatening letter sent to Fox Studios, where Empire is filmed. According to Smollett, the letter contained 'threatening language' and a powdery substance believed to be crushed-up Tylenol.^[50] On January 29, 2019, Smollett reported that he was attacked by two men who shouted 'homophobic and racial slurs' at him and then threw an 'unknown chemical substance' on him. Smollett told police that they wrapped a rope around his neck, yelled 'MAGA country',^[51] which references President Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA) slogan.^[52] Smollett was then hospitalized.^[51]

On February 13, Chicago police arrested two 'persons of interest'. However, on February 14, 2019, it was revealed that police were investigating whether Smollett and the two men staged the attack because Smollett believed he was being written off Empire.^[53] Interrogations revealed that both men, the Osundairo brothers, were allegedly paid off by Smollett to stage the attack.^[50] On February 20, 2019, Smollett was indicted for filing a false police report.^[54] He faces a maximum of three years in prison.^[55]

Subsequently, Smollett was removed from the last two episodes of the fifth season. In a written statement, the show's producers said that 'While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays... We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of 'Jamal' from the final two episodes of the season.'^[56]

On March 26, it was announced that the charges against Smollett had been dropped, although he remains under federal investigation regarding a hate letter that is believed to have been written by Smollett himself. The fate of Smollett's character 'Jamal' currently remains unclear.^[57][58]

On April 30, 2019, it was announced that although Fox Entertainment had extended Smollett's contract for season six of Empire, there were no plans for the character to appear during the season.^[59][60]

On June 4, 2019, series co-creator Lee Daniels officially announced that Smollett would not be returning for the sixth and final season.^[61]

Music[edit]

After finding his lead actors, Lee Daniels set out to find a producer to craft the music for the series. Because he felt his own musical tastes and desires would be a little too dated for the show, Daniels consulted with people he thought could give him a little more insight, his children. At the urging of his son and daughter, Daniels contacted super producer Timothy 'Timbaland' Mosley, known for scoring hits with some of pop's biggest artists including Missy Elliott, Madonna, Brandy, Destiny's Child, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Nelly Furtado, Ginuwine, and Aaliyah.^[62]

As executive music Producer, Timbaland, co-songwriter/producer Jim Beanz, and a team of other musical collaborators took their cues from the writing team, which gave them an idea of where the plot is headed, and craft songs to fit those themes. However, the musical aspect of the series is very reality based, unlike Fox's last musical series, Glee, performances come with the organic development of the characters as artists, much like the performances featured in the ABC prime-time country musical drama Nashville.^[35][63]

Any licensed songs and composer Fil Eisler's score are added after the episodes are filmed. The pilot itself consists of 12 songs.^[64]Columbia Records releases weekly soundtracks of Empire on the iTunes Store, the same strategy used with Glee.^[65] In May 2015, Fox announced that Ne-Yo and J.R. Rotem would write music for the show's second season, joining Timbaland.^[38] Timbaland left Empire after season 2, and were replaced for season 3 by Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins and Esther Dean.^[66]

On September 8, 2015, Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi from Pentatonix arranged a medley of songs from the first season of Empire and posted it on their shared YouTube comedy/music channel, Superfruit. The video was sponsored by the Fox Broadcasting Company.

Soundtracks[edit]

Columbia Records released the official soundtrack of Empire’s first season on March 10, 2015.^[67] The soundtrack consists of 11 songs and the deluxe version consists of 18 songs, all performed on the show. As of October 2015, the album has sold 439,000 total copies in the United States.^[68] Additional releases have followed for subsequent seasons.

Broadcast[edit]

Empire was set to premiere in Australia on February 19, 2015 on Network Ten,^[74] however a week out from this date it was dumped from the schedule and pushed back. It ultimately premiered on March 1, 2015,^[75] to a disappointing 377,000 total viewers, although it fared better with viewers in younger demographics.^[76] The second season was broadcast on Eleven from September 29, 2015.^[77]

In Canada, the series was simulcast on Omni Television (Omni 2).^[78][79] The fourth episode and the season finale would also air on City, a sibling broadcast network.^[80][81] Sibling cable network FX Canada would also air a marathon of the show on March 14 and 15, 2015.^[82] The show moved to City starting in the 2015–16 season,^[83] but was dropped from their lineup after the first half of the second season due to low ratings; Fox affiliates are widely available on pay television as well as over-the-air in some areas. Shomi, a subscription streaming service co-owned by City's parent company Rogers Communications, began to add new episodes following their U.S. premiere on Fox. A representative of the service stated that Empire was among its ten most popular programs.^[84]

Empire started broadcasting in the UK on E4^[85] with the first episode airing on April 28, 2015.^[86]5Star have since taken over the rights as of Season 4. The series premiered in India on STAR World Premiere HD on April 24, 2015 (only in high-definition). Later, on July 14, 2015, Empire also premiered on FX India (both in standard and high definition) with the Season 1 finale airing on July 29, 2015. Empire premiered on June 24, 2015 in Germany on Pro Sieben, with the Pilot reaching 930,000 viewers.^[87] In Finland, the show premiered on Sub on December 2, 2015.^[88]In South Africa, the show premiered on e.tv on February 3, 2016. In Serbia series start January 23, 2016 on Fox it aired Thursdays at 10pm.

Reception[edit]

In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that Empire 'is most popular in the Black Belt and in parts of the country with a high percentage of Native Americans'.^[89]

Ratings[edit]

Critical response[edit]

Empire has received positive reviews from critics. The praise has gone towards the cast, particularly Howard and Henson.^[102]On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a rating of 84%, based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 7.24/10.^[103] The site's critical consensus reads, 'Though heavy on melodrama, Empire elevates the nighttime soap with its top-notch cast, musical entertainment, and engrossing plots.'^[104] On Metacritic the show has a score of 72 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating 'generally favorable reviews'.^[105] For the second season, the score rose a few points higher, further praising the performances of Henson and Howard, the character development, plot development, and the show's self-awareness for being a soap opera. On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a 87% 'Certified Fresh' with an average rating of 7.54/10 from critics and a score of 77 from Metacritic, indicating 'generally positive reviews'.

David Wiegand wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle: 'Almost nothing about Empire, created by Lee Daniels (The Butler), feels original, but after a few minutes, you will stop caring'.^[106]50 Cent stated via Twitter that he feels that Empire is being marketed by FOX in a way that resembles the marketing for the 2014 Starz series that he produces called Power.^[107]Michael Logan of TV Guide described Empire as a 'sudsy retooling of King Lear with hip hop as the backdrop and praised Henson for her portrayal of the character Cookie.^[108]

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The show's premiere ranked as Fox's highest-rated debut in three years. Viewership has increased continuously; Empire is the first primetime broadcast series in at least 23 years to have its viewership increase week to week for its first five episodes.^[109] The show continues to increase its viewership with further episodes.^[110] Episodes of the show have also been heavily watched on Video on Demand and other streaming services.^[111] As of its first season finale, Empire has now surpassed The Big Bang Theory as the highest rated scripted program in the 2014–2015 television season. The first season finale is also the highest rated debut season finale since May 2005, when Grey's Anatomy ended its first season. Empire's season one finale grew 82 percent from its series premiere, making it the show that has grown the most over the course of its first season since Men in Trees during the 2006–2007 season.^[112]

Awards and nominations[edit]

See also[edit]

• 'The Great Phatsby' – a parody of the show on fellow Fox program The Simpsons.

References[edit]

1. ^'Jim Beanz, Empire's Musical Mastermind'. Empire BBK. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
2. ^'Empire'. IMDb. January 7, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
3. ^Julious, Britt (February 6, 2015). ''The Empire economy': how the hit Fox show is making Chicago swing'. The Guardian. London. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
4. ^Patten, Dominic (April 30, 2018). ''Empire' Renewed For Season 6 By Fox; 'No Plans' For Jussie Smollett's Role To Return, Yet'. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
5. ^Bell, Amanda (May 13, 2019). 'Empire to End After Season 6'. TVGuide.com. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
6. ^[1]
7. ^Petski, Denise (June 24, 2019). 'Fox Sets Fall Premiere Dates: Emmys Kick Off The Week, '9-1-1', 'The Masked Singer', 'Empire', More'. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
8. ^West, Kelly (July 9, 2014). 'Terrence Howard Rules Hip Hop And Family In Fox's Empire Trailer'. cinemablend.com. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
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Further reading[edit]

• Koblin, John (March 18, 2015). ''Empire', the Meteor That Never Fell to Earth'. The New York Times.
• 'FAQ for 'Empire' (2015)'. IMDb.

External links[edit]

• Empire on IMDb
• Empire at TV.com
• Empire at Metacritic
• Empire at Rotten Tomatoes
• Empire at epguides.com
• Empire at The Futon Critic
• Empire at TV Guide

Robert Morgan appears in The Girl Who Raised Pigeons

Robert Morgan is not the protagonist in the story but he is one of the major characters that presents a marked contrast to many of the other principle male characters presented in the collection of stories. He is a black man with a daughter. His wife and her mother died from wasting disease shortly after delivering Betsy Ann. Robert married when he was just eighteen and within ten months was a father and within two further months was a single father. His initial reaction was understandably feeling overwhelmed and incompetent. However, his family and friends assisted him to transition into the role of father. He has raised Betsy Ann while living in a rented apartment in the home of Jenny and Walter Creed. Jenny has become something of a mother figure to Betsy Ann. Robert supports his daughter by working long hours each day. He sees in her his own hope for the future and is a very protective and able father. Robert allows Betsy Ann to adopt some pigeons. He builds a coop and for the next several years, he rises very early every morning to check the coop for dead birds so he can spare Betsy Anne's feelings.

The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed

Robert's relationship with Betsy Ann becomes strained and then fundamentally changes however. Betsy Ann is caught shoplifting and Robert is aghast at her behavior, correctly demanding that he raised her better than shoplifting. Although Betsy Ann does indeed reform, her father partially withdraws from her. She attributes this solely to her shoplifting but there is undeniably an element of her impending maturity involved in the distance that grows. When the story opens, Betsy Ann is fifteen and Robert is thirty-three. At the end of the story, Robert discovers that rats have invaded the pigeon coop and maimed many of the birds. He tells Betsy Ann to stay inside while he euthanizes the maimed animals and collects the dead.

Cassandra G. Lewis appears in The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed

Cassandra G. Lewis, the protagonist of The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed, is a foul-mouthed and bad-tempered teenage girl in the process of flunking out of high school. She smokes heavily. The boys that she knows have nicknamed her Tank and Mack Truck, describing both her physicality and exceptionally forceful personality. Cassandra dislikes school and hopes that one day a teacher will give her some pretense of an excuse to start a physical altercation. Cassandra appears to be more-or-less homeless, although she frequently stays with her sister and brother-in-law. Her relationship even with these caregivers is quite strained and she drives a car that she stole from her brother-in-law. Cassandra idolizes Rhonda Ferguson, her friend and a neighborhood celebrity. Rhonda has recorded a song that is becoming a hit on the radio. Cassandra mistakenly believes that Rhonda has found a way to escape the crushing poverty of the neighborhood. Cassandra has several friends although she treats them poorly. She is at least marginally attractive on some level because a young man she meets asks her to the movies. Her natural suspicions prevent her from fully accepting. Cassandra gets quite exasperated with her friends who always talk about men and sex because she feels the constant chatter is demeaning and insipid. While Cassandra is quite abrasive and refuses to apologize, she does understand the subtle complexities of friendship.

Caesar Matthews appears in Young Lions

Caesar Matthews is a twenty-four-year-old black man living with a woman of recent acquaintance. Caesar has spent the past six years living a life of escalating criminal involvement. He specializes in confidence cons or outright burglary. During a recent store robbery, Caesar murdered the store clerk for no apparent reason. Caesar occasionally does odd jobs for Manny Soto, a local fence. In the past, Caesar worked closely with an older confidence man named Sherman Wheeler. Sherman took Caesar in when he was a youngish teenager and taught him the methods of successful crime. Under Sherman's tutelage, Caesar first burglarized his own father's home and then moved on to opulent homes in the metropolitan area. Sherman seemed to prefer to specialize in scams taking prolonged setup and some measure of skill. Sherman eventually overdosed and thereafter disappeared from the criminal life, taking a job as a security guard in a museum. Caesar views Sherman's defection as a minor affront but is determined to continue being a criminal on his own merits.

Caesar tracks a retarded woman that he has marked and then forces his girlfriend to trick the retarded woman out of her paycheck. After Caesar's girlfriend gets the money, he takes it from her, beats her severely in a public park, and then leaves her on the ground. His last thoughts are where he can find a place to sleep for the night. Caesar is easily the least sympathetic character in the collection of stories in the book.

Marvella Watkins appears in An Orange Line Train to Ballston

Marvella Watkins Velle is a single mother of three children that includes two sons and a daughter. She has a full-time job and spends much of each morning riding the metro subway to take her children to school and then to go to work. The main train Marvella takes with her children is the Orange Line to Ballston, although her particular journey allows her to take a Blue Train if it arrives first as the Orange and Blue lines parallel each other along her trip. One day, Marvella's children strike up a conversation with a man who is also riding the train. The man has dreadlocks, apparently has a job with somewhat irregular hours, and is quite friendly but typically reserved. Over several weeks, Marvella and her kids see the man several times and each time her children engage him in conversation. Marvella comes to find the man attractive and begins to plan her comings and goings to maximize her chances of riding on the same line and same train as the man. She spends a lot of time thinking about the man and wondering how she can catch his eye. The man likes Marvella's children but seems oblivious to her flirting. Eventually the man's presence on the train becomes less frequent and then one day Marvella realizes that she has not seen him for many weeks.

Madeleine Williams appears in The Sunday Following Mother's Day

Madeleine Williams is the protagonist in The Sunday Following Mother's Day. The story follows her progression from a six-year-old girl to an adult woman with a child of her own. Madeleine spends the first six years of her life in an apparently normal family situation, living with her older brother Samuel Jr. and her parents, Samuel and Agnes Williams. There is no hint of dysfunction in the family and they appear to be a normal middle-class black family living in an urban center of Washington D.C. When Madeleine is six years old, however, her father murders her mother one night while the children are sleeping. Samuel stabs Agnes repeatedly and then calls his sister, Madeleine's aunt Maddie, and tells her what he has done. Maddie calls the police who arrest Samuel. He does not attempt flight and does not resist arrest. During his trial, he offers no defense and no explanation. Samuel is sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. Madeleine and her brother go to live with their aunt Maddie. When Samuel Jr. turns thirteen, he refuses to visit his father in prison, but Madeleine keeps up sporadic visits and communications. Madeleine grows up and at age twenty, takes Curtis Wallace as a lover and about a year later, delivers a son whom she names Samuel.

Madeleine's son is severely mentally handicapped and is placed in a government home. Madeleine visits him routinely but he does not know who she is. When Madeleine is twenty-six years old, her father is released from prison. He continues to write her and he gets a job as a short order cook. Madeleine has become very successful in her profession and is wealthy. Her father stops in to visit one day, unannounced, and Madeleine is caught off-guard. They spend time together visiting her son and Madeleine feels very estranged from her father.

Lydia Walsh appears in Lost in the City

Download The Night Rhonda Ferguson Was Killed Pdf Writer Free

Lydia Walsh is a very successful professional woman who lives in her own home in a plush gated community. She dresses sharply, attends numerous professional functions, and enjoys picking up strange men for sexual liaisons. Lydia is a heavy cocaine user and drinks often. Lydia wakes one night to an incessantly ringing telephone. Somehow knowing the telephone call brings bad news, Lydia waits for many rings before answering it. The telephone call informs her that her aged mother, Cornelia, has died in hospital. The news does not come as a surprise. Lydia dresses and calls a cab. Instead of going to the hospital, however, she tells the cab driver to simply drive around and get lost in the city. She shoves a handful of cash at him and he drives through various back streets in poor neighborhoods, assuming Lydia will be unfamiliar with the areas. nstead, Lydia recognizes every street and remembers her early life of poverty, growing up in the very areas the cab driver takes her to.

Joyce Moses appears in His Mother's House

Joyce Moses is a single mother of three children, Santiago, Taylor, and Clovis. The children have different fathers and Joyce is living with Ricky, another man. oyce routinely promises Ricky that she will soon get pregnant and have another child with him but in fact she has been medically sterilized. Her deception of Ricky is typical of her outlook on life in which morality at best is dubious and always circumstantial. Joyce has spent most of her life in abject poverty but recently her oldest son, Santiago, a teenager, has becomes something of a figure in the criminal underworld of the city. Santiago has become very wealthy and has purchased for Joyce a large home in an upscale neighborhood. The home has been filled with all sorts of brand new furniture and things, much of which is still boxed up in closets or cupboards. Joyce is fully aware that her son deals in drugs and that her newly acquired wealth derives from illicit drug deals and other criminal activities but she is not concerned by this. Joyce's close friend Pearl is a lifelong acquaintance. Pearl's son, Humphrey, is the same age as Santiago and at first the two young men entered into the criminal life together. Yet while Santiago has become successful if cold-blooded, Humphrey has become a drug addict and is nominally homeless. Both men view each other's mother as a sort of surrogate mother so that Humphrey calls Joyce 'Mama Joyce' and Santiago calls Pearl 'Mama Pearl.' Joyce's own mother is very estranged from Joyce and her children by their attitude toward crime and illegal money. When Santiago eventually murders Humphrey over some unspoken infraction, Joyce calls Pearl and consoles her but after hanging up the telephone, she surveys her home with pride.

Woodrow L. Cunningham appears in A New Man

Woodrow Cunningham is fifty-two years old, married, employed, and average n nearly all respects. He lives in an apartment with his wife and teenage daughter and spends his time working long hours to maintain a lower middle-class lifestyle. Woodrow returns home from work on day to find his daughter Elaine entertaining several strange boys in the home. He objects and tells the boys to leave. Elaine is antagonistic and openly defies her father's authority. The scene is familiar to any parent, but Elaine's defiance is well beyond normal. She is openly hostile and a brief but intense argument ensues. Woodrow appears used to Elaine's moods but is stymied by her sudden extreme hostility. hat night Woodrow and his wife Rita go to sleep as usual and in the morning Elaine is gone. Woodrow files a police report but gets little support. The police assume Elaine has run away from home and Woodrow rather tends to agree. He spends the next eighteen months canvassing an ever-expanding area, knocking on doors, showing photographs, and searching for his daughter. Elaine never returns home. Meanwhile, Woodrow continues an erratic communication with his father and seven years after Elaine's disappearance Woodrow's father dies.

Carmena Boone appears in A Dark Night

Carmena Boone lives in an apartment complex near several other women. She is presented as a middle-aged black woman who is typical of her economic status and is obviously charitable to her neighbors. She enjoys the companionship of various other women in her apartment complex. Carmena's situation suggests that she is living somewhere near the poverty line and her employment status is not clarified in the story. Carmena has had a close and lengthy relationship with a neighbor named Ida Garrett for many years. Over the past few years, however, Ida's incessant criticism and harping has driven a significant wedge between the two women and during the period discussed by the story, they do not spend much time together. During one violent altercation, Carmena invites several neighbors into her apartment where they pass the hours of the storm in conversation. Ida joins them because she is afraid of the noise and flashes. Later in the evening, the other neighbors return home but Ida and Carmena retreat into Carmena's bathroom, which is the quietest room in the place. They sit in the dark and stuff towels under the door to seal out the storm's sounds. The two women sit in a strained semi-silence as Carmena contemplates their estranged friendship.

Marie Delaveaux Wilsonappears in Marie

Marie Wilson is an aged black woman who is nearly blind. She lives alone although is apparently well liked by neighbors. Marie's neighborhood was once family-oriented and safe but has now become blighted with crime. She lives in an urban center that shows much decay. Marie habitually carries a serrated knife with her whenever she leaves her apartment, and she has used it on one occasion to slash a would-be purse-snatcher's hand. Marie subsists on her Social Security disability payment and lives in constant fear that the Social Security people will cut her off. She knows that any disruption in payments would be financially difficult and almost impossible to rectify. During the story, Marie is repeatedly summoned to the Social Security office to meet with various administrative officials. Every visit entails difficulty and expense for Marie but she always goes. She also always spends hours in a stuffy waiting room and often is not seen before the office closes. Meanwhile, Marie has been contacted by a young university student who is pursuing an oral history project. He tape records Marie as she reminisces about her childhood. At the end of the project Marie receives a set of tapes. After listening to a few seconds of one tape, she packages them up and puts them away, horrified at the sound of her own voice.