Books

I am the author of the novel, Danger Song, co-author of entertainer Cab Calloway’s autobiography, Minnie the Moocher and Me, and a second novel, Vera Pilgrim and the Ritual of the Dolphins. Shirley and I have co-authored numerous articles on race relations and human differences. We have worked in domestic and international environments. 

My forthcoming memoir, The Slave in My Mirror, will be published later this year.

Vera Pilgrim and the Ritual of the Dolphins

2013

Available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.

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Click here to learn more about the book on my website

"The novel tells the rich and complex stories of compelling, relatable characters whose journeys of interpersonal and spiritual growth are woven across the historical stage of the Civil Rights Movement, from the intense battles of the 1960s, through the present day. Rollins reminds us that race relations in America were not magically fixed 50 years ago, and that skin color and culture continue to be powerful, often divisive, forces that we all live with today.

He writes beautifully about the joy and pain of humanity, skillfully blending metaphor and tradition with hard historical facts that should never be forgotten, exploring mythology and metaphysics while remaining solidly rooted in the very real struggles that all of us face.”

- Abraham Schroeder

Of Minnie The Moocher & Me

The Autobiography of Entertainer Cab Calloway

Co-authored by Bryant Rollins

1976

"Of Minnie the Moocher and Me is a combination autobiography-documentary collage by the erstwhile bandleader and his collaborator, Bryant Rollins, ... His personal narrative is comfortable conversational and evocative of bygone times."

Mel Tormé - New York Times Book Review

"The book, written in collaboration with former Boston Globe writer Bryant Rollins, includes not only Calloway's own extensive reminiscences of the famous black musicians who play in his big bands, and other greats of the entertainment business of the time, but also his candid comments on his private life, and revealingly written commentaries on him by his children and others close to him."

- Anson Smith - The Boston Globe

"A warm visit with a beautiful and elegant man."

- Los Angeles Times Book Review

"A mostly loving record of the Big Band era."

- Publishers Weekly

"Minnie the Moocher and Me tells Cab Calloway's life story straight-on, honest and infectious."

- Kirkus Review

Danger Song

 

1967

"Originally published in 1967, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Danger Song is the story of a young African American who attempts to reach beyond his surroundings, which have always been the black community in Boston.

His efforts bring him briefly, poignantly, in touch with the seeminly gentler white world and into contact with a new and more threatening danger than the danger he faced on the streets and in the alleys of the tough neighborhood where he grew up. In the end he discovers that he can only be who he is. Here, unforgettably, are the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the explosive emotions that even today continue to shape black communities in all our cities. It is a story you will long remember."

- From the original book jacket

Danger Song - French Translation 

Les rues de la violence

1968

Translated by Jean-Gérard Chauffeteau and published by Stock Publishers in Paris.