At the Alter of Men

By: Ricardo Fleshman

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In the autumn of 1974, sixteen-year old Race Fulton finds himself suddenly fatherless and in the reluctant care of his Aunt Dwayne. Fraught by a mélange of emotions at the death of his father, and because of the strained relationship with Dwayne, Race steals away with his cousin Eddie to Philadelphia. Race's naive hope for a better life in Philadelphia is short-lived as he discovers that Eddie has been living in a row-house with a group of black liberation militants led by the overbearing and criminally minded Clarence. Unable to relate to Clarence and his so-called justice, Race soon finds himself at odds with Eddie. He abandons the group altogether.The young man wanders through the city alone, destitute and homeless until he meets a young white hustler. Danny introduces Race to a life of fast money, illicit drugs and white elites who quickly become obsessed with the young black man. For all of his aspirations in the city, Race finds himself without an identity, without a purpose and the dwindling possibility of a future. His only hope may be back in Virginia and the one place he so desperately tried to leave behind. AT THE ALTER OF MEN is a compelling, unadulterated and emotionally provocative journey of one young black man's search for normalcy. In the style of James Baldwin and Zora Neale Hurston, this tale explores issues of race, sexuality, religion and the needs for love and acceptance.