Open: A Memoir of Faith, Family, & Sexuality in the Heartland

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E. Scott Jones’ memoir; Open: A Memoir of Faith, Family, & Sexuality in the Heartland, released September of this year; invites us to examine Jones’ navigation of life as a baptist, a minister, a husband, a father, and an openly homosexual man living and working in the Midwest.

Jones was able to join us in Tulsa from his home in Omaha, where he has resides with his husband and three year old son, to conduct a reading and foster a discussion at the Black Wall Street Gallery on 101 N. Greenwood Ave.

As a Miami, Oklahoma native who spent many of his formative years in Oklahoma City Jones understands the cordial nature of our Oklahoma hospitality can belie a staunch and loud conservatism that has a history of thriving within our institutions even while our populace demands greater liberties.

Open: A Memoir of Faith, Family, & Sexuality in the Heartland is a story that Jones felt compelled to tell; as a man who chose to stay in the church and the ministry, as a man who chose to stay in contact with his family, as a man who chose to stay in the Midwest; as a gay man who chose to live his life in the light and gracefully stepped up to the path before him rather than retreat to a community that is inherently receptive to his sexuality.

Jones’ humor and poise; which has carried him and his family through the tumultuous public and internal struggles of being an openly gay man; creates an ease around the politically and emotionally charged situations detailed in his memoir while allowing you to join the celebration of his open lifestyle.

Jones will be holding another book signing and discussion in his hometown, Miami, at  Chapters Coffee Shop on Thursday, October 18th from 4-6 PM.

E. Scott Jones’ memoir,Open: A Memoir of Faith, Family, & Sexuality in the Heartland, was published by Literati Press and can be purchased on Jones’ website.

Literary Editor

Casey McLerran is the Literary Editor at the Black Wall Street Times. She is a Sooner State transplant from Forest Hills, NY. McLerran arrived in Oklahoma at the age of three shortly after gentrification displaced her and her family out of their home in New York. At first glance, many think they have McLerran figured out. To be frank, she’s a biracial American young woman that unapologetically embraces her half-African identity — a feminist-womanist she is. Her pen operates as her voice as well as her sword. Her accolades include the 2018 Rural Oklahoma Poetry Museum’s Oklahoma Poem Award, a business management degree, and her three beautiful children. Her objective with the Black Wall Street Times is to elevate and amplify the literary art of modern black American culture, pay tribute to African-American literary trailblazers, all while simultaneously linking and introducing children to the world of colorful American writers.