Article Archives: Words with Woods

Black Men Can’t Swim

July 30, 2026 | by CJ Woods III

In a conversation with an Indianapolis Indiana native, I noted that the high school that I attended in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania had a swimming pool in the basement. That person was surprised, saying that her high school did not have a pool. I told her that I was on the school’s … Read More

Lashes Nails and Beards

July 23, 2026 | by CJ Woods III

The woman on the program I was watching had eyelashes that resembled great black bats; when she raised her hands, she showed fake nails that were inches longer than her own. Not for the first time, I wondered how people were able to negotiate life with window shades that blocked … Read More

Making Community

July 16, 2026 | by CJ Woods III

From the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Sixth Edition: “Community- 7; social intercourse; communion; fellowship, sense of common identity.’ I am a tenor voice in Harmony Collected, a choral group organized by the Irvington Arts Collective. Dr. Webb Parker, the founding artistic and executive director of the group, will often have … Read More

Good Vibes

July 9, 2026 | by CJ Woods III

My friend told me that she had responded to a notification about a house concert that was going to feature one of the musicians that we follow. Paula Nicewanger, co-owner of this publication, said that she included me in the invitation. On Monday, June 29th, we went to a Clear … Read More

Big Game Hunter

July 2, 2026 | by CJ Woods III

I was startled into an impromptu Capoeira dance, whirling and slapping at my face and arms, as if trying to put out little brush fires. A moth had attacked me. It did not live to tell its friends of my demonstration of fear. I stood over the crushed body and … Read More