Pamela had twenty-five days to promote her play The Unacquainted, a modernized adaptation of the ministry of Jesus Christ, when we met for lunch. Months elapsed before I had time to transcribe our conversation and write about her spiritual journey. The unconventional place where she entered the kingdom of God began a story of living on the fringe.
“I was a young single mother trying to make a living as a waitress,” said Pamela. “One of my coworkers always talked about Jesus and the love of God. I didn’t want her to preach to me, so I eavesdropped on her conversations. My parents and eight siblings were devout Catholics. I’d never heard that we could be forgiven without confessing our sins to a priest, or that we could have a personal relationship with God. I was going through a tough time, and Michelle always seemed so happy. I wanted to know why, so I asked her to tell me about Jesus. She took me into the bathroom to explain the gospel message, and I prayed for salvation.”
Pamela’s salvation experience left her on the fringe of her family. She was, according to her mother, the worst of her eight siblings and now a traitor to the Catholic faith. Her parents were not pleased, and her siblings mocked her. Their attitude changed when they saw Pamela’s behavior change dramatically. When her parents learned through a friend that Pamela planned to be baptized by immersion, they attended the baptism service. Pamela was surprised and pleased to see them in the congregation. After the service, they prayed to accept Christ but remained in the Catholic Church.
“I ended up helping Michelle as much as she helped me,” Pamela continued. “She was amazed at how quickly God answered my prayers. Michelle decided she lacked the childlike faith that I found so easy to embrace. The church we attended taught that God is a Father who loves us, and I believed it. I know if it’s something good for me, and I ask nicely, God will say ‘yes.’ If I’m not supposed to have what I ask for, he will say ‘no.’ I trust God to do what is best for me, and that sums up my walk with God.”
Pamela worked at KZWA radio in Lake Charles when the opportunity arose for her to transfer to a larger market at Houston’s KHYS and KMJQ. She moved to Houston and later left radio to work as a secretary. “I started writing Coffee Colored Dreams before I left Lake Charles. All I wanted to do was write, and I wanted to do something positive. Working an office job left me very dissatisfied,” said Pamela.
Pamela’s wish to make a positive impact began when she paused during her walk home from work to speak with a woman she frequently passed.
“I see you all the time, and I just want to say ‘hi,’” said Pamela.
“I see you all the time, too. My name is Ruth. I’m the pastor of Beulah Land Community Church. What do you do?”
“I’m a secretary.”
“You don’t sound like you like it.”
“I don’t.”
Pamela was unemployed the next time she talked to Pastor Ruth and didn’t hesitate to accept a job as the pastor’s secretary. Her new job led her to the fringe of society in Houston’s Third Ward.
“The Third Ward was called ‘the bottoms’ because the people who lived there were at the bottom—uneducated and living in poverty. I took two illiterate teenage brothers into my home. They couldn’t go to school because they were taking care of their great-grandmother, who was ill. I helped them care for their grandmother and enrolled them in school. I took in many kids that I could not afford to care for, but God always provided. Some are really doing well today, and some not so good.”
After Pamela’s son left for college, she pursued a career in the arts and moved to the city that had become her muse. “Every time I came to New Orleans, great ideas flooded my thoughts. My son was living his own life, and I was single. It was time for me to live my dream. I asked God if he’d take care of me. God said, ‘Yes,’ so I moved to New Orleans. As simple as that may sound, I’ve not had to work an office job since I moved here. Everything I do now pertains to my art, whether it’s promoting my book, producing my plays, working in Artist Relations at the Essence Fest, or offering writers’ workshops. God said I could do it, and I did.”
Pamela signed a contract with S.H.O.P., Inc. (Sweet Hour of Prayer, Inc.) to do five performances of The Unacquainted and unexpectedly found herself on the fringe of her own race. Pam had hired actors and rehearsed for six weeks when she received a tearful phone call from the woman marketing her play in Texas. The play was scheduled to open in two weeks, but they had not sold a single ticket. Local pastors were not returning phone calls. Five police cars blocked the entrance to a park frequented by African Americans on the day a rally to promote the play was scheduled. Finally, a local bishop told the marketing director he was receiving an average of thirty calls daily from African American congregations objecting to a Black Jesus. S.H.O.P., Inc. pulled the play and refused to honor their contract with Pamela.
“The main character in The Unacquainted represents Jesus, and I had cast a Black actor,” said Pamela. “The creative censorship from my race of people devastated me. My work can be controversial because I’m not afraid to deal with prejudice. In The Unacquainted, Pastor Self represents religious people who think they are better than others. Coffee Colored Dreams shines a light on prejudice within the African American community toward dark skin. It makes people uncomfortable because it’s known that lighter skin is favored, but we don’t talk about it. I consider it my ministry to expose prejudice.”
I loved Pamela’s boldness to speak her mind. She ultimately found a home for her talents at Fringe Fest New Orleans. Fringe theater started in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1947 when the annual arts festival excluded eight performing groups. The excluded performers refused to be denied and found inexpensive or free venues on the fringes of the city. The small group birthed a new festival that grew into the largest arts festival in the world—a perfect fit for someone who boldly exposes the injustice of prejudice.
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