Awards & Recognitions
“More Than I Imagined” was selected as a winner in the 2024 Christopher Awards. The award celebrates books, TV, and films that encourage audiences to see the better side of human nature.
“More Than I Imagined” was selected as a gold medal winner in the Memoir/Inspiration category for the 2024 Illumination Book Awards.
The Nonfiction Authors Association awarded my memoir “More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew,” a first-place Gold Award in its 2024 book awards. One described the book as, “well written and heart-warming, this is a can’t-put-it-down book,” and another said, “It will help bring healing to readers who grew up under the yoke of having a parent suffering from a serious mental illness.”
“More Than I Imagined” was selected as a gold medal winner in the 2024 Nautilus Book Awards, which celebrates books that promote social justice and spiritual growth.
I was awarded the 2024 Georgia Author of the Year Award for “More Than I Imagined.”
The Georgia Center For the Book selected my memoir, “More Than I Imagined,” for their “Books All Georgians Should Read 2024” list.
Scot McKnight, historian, scholar, author, and podcaster selected my memoir, “More Than I Imagined,” as one of the best books of 2023.
First-place winner in Digital Media/Commentary Weblog category for “Race in America” commentary, National Association of Black Journalists 2020 Salute to Excellence Award.
Honored by Bustle Digital Group: Essay “There’s One Epidemic We May Never Find a Cure For: Fear of Black Men in Public Spaces,” selected as one of the 11 best essays on racism and police violence. Other authors on that list included Ta-Nehisa Coates, Ibram X. Kendi, and Roxane Gay.
First-place winner of the 2019 Sigma Delta Chi Awards for Excellence in Journalism for online columns on race, religion and politics.
First-place winner 2017 Salute to Excellence Award from the National Association of Black Journalists for, “How Racial Amnesia Helped Trump Win.”
First-place winner in the 2016 Wilbur Award, given by the Religion Communicators Council for excellence in communicating religious themes and issues. The winning article: “How the Ultimate Scandal Saved One Pastor.”
First-place winner in 2015 Excellence in Feature Writing contest, Society for Features Journalism. Winning article traced the parallels between the nation’s first Black elected senator elected during Reconstruction and the backlash former President Obama encountered in office.
First-place winner in the 2013 Wilbur Award, given by the Religion Communicators Council for excellence in communicating religious themes and issues. The winning article: “Two Preaching Giants and the ‘Betrayal’ That Tore Them Apart.”
First-place winner for the 2011 Best In-depth Newswriting on Religion Award, given by the American Academy of Religion Awards.