Interview with Author MeShorn Daniels
Emerging author MeShorn Daniels is a force to be rectoned with. In his debut memoir “I Am Not Your Black America.” Daniels challenges the idea of labels put on people and how it can affect a person and their life. Through his own personal story, Daniels, who goes by the moniker "Uncle Meshorn," attempts to debunk every label by which he and others have been branded. His mission is to create a paradigm shift in America away from color and labels towards accepting all humankind. This is a fascinating read for anyone who has every been labeled because of race,
As a former US Army officer turned surgical technologist, MeShorn Daniels has a unique perspective on life. And he is very excited to share his book with readers.
Continue reading for an exclusive interview.
Tell us a bit about your background.
I am a descendant of American Slaves. I was raised in Miami , Florida, in a poor, uneducated family by my mom and several step dads. She discouraged us from being indoctrinated in traditional religions. I did not graduate high school and my mom got me to sign up for the Army. I was trained as an Army nurse officer, a surgical technologist.
What was the impetus for you to write I'm Not Your Black, America?
I wrote it as a form of therapy, reflection, and self-empowerment to discover my true identity and purpose, healing both from my family’s and slave ancestors' traumas.
What was the most challenging part about writing this book?
I had to face my lack of confidence in writing, due to lack of higher education. Most of my life, when it comes to writing, I have been looked at as illiterate. I discovered that my difficulties were also due to having dyslexia. So to write this book, I had to hire a ghostwriter to help me finish it.
Why was this book so important for you to write?
To reveal what has kept us Americans from knowing our true identity and purpose. I discovered the main obstacle has been an underlying paradigm that I call “color construct”, a fabricated paradigm that classifies Americans into a few arbitrary races based on very basic physiognomy such as color of skin, ignoring vast variety of unique ancestry and ethnicities; all has been has kept us from discovering our true purpose and identity.
What did you learn from writing this book?
Many things, but what stands is that, it was is so therapeutic to reveal the skeletons in my family of origin. I see transparency about the dark secrets of the past as the only way out of the generational cycles of dysfunction in myself and my people.
What is the primary message you want readers to walk away with?
Get out of your way to see that you matter, and most of all forgive yourself! Do not allow the lack of ideal parenting (“parent-god”), box your life in hopelessness. Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions about your true identity and purpose. Know that you can reinvent yourself; that you can parent yourself to be the unique gift that you are to yourself and to this world.
For more information on MeShorn Daniels: https://www.unclemeshorn.com/
