Raising the Bar

Raised in Leland, Mississippi, by her enlightened and encouraging grandmother, Rochell Staten knew from a young age that she could do and become anything she wanted. “My grandmother wanted nothing but the best for me, and she made sure that education was a priority,” Rochell says. “Her believing in me […] made me believe in myself even more.” As a senior in high school, earning good grades and with only one year of track and field under her belt, Rochell landed a full four-year athletic scholarship to Mississippi Valley State University.

Tilling For Grace

I was born in Jackson thirty-two years ago to an African-American father and a Hispanic mother. Our city was a very different place back then. In fact, it was less of a city and more a small town, with a far less diverse population. Growing up I didn’t have many friends that looked like me, and it was made abundantly clear by my peers that I was going to have to choose a side. But choosing was never really an option for me.

Stay 731: Roots

I got my first tattoo when I was twenty-three years old. I worked for it, too. I was married at the time, and it took me two years to convince my wife that I should have one. I guess the compromise was that it would be a cross, which was hard for her to argue against. I picked the cross off of a poster-sized print hanging in the tattoo shop. The design was “flash,” which is a stereotypical design of a tattoo, but I didn’t know that at the time. I knew I wanted a tattoo, so I picked one out.

Stay 731: Acceptance

After my divorce I almost left Jackson to live on the Appalachian Trail, expecting to leave for six months and return somehow different, new, and with a long beard. I also contemplated living in my Subaru, hopping from town to town like a wandering nomad. I even considered becoming a farmer, finding friends among the crops and pigs.