Leaving Identity Issues to Other Folks: A "This I Believe" Essay

Written by Phyllis Allen

Narrated by Phyllis Allen

Phyllis Allen reflects on tumultuous decades and the changing vocabulary of race in "Leaving Identity Issues to Other Folks", her contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The pieces that make up the program compel listeners to re-think not only what and how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

Featuring a star-studded list of contributors that includes John McCain, Isabel Allende, and Colin Powell, as well as pieces from the original 1950's series including Helen Keller and Jackie Robinson, the This I Believe collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer, a woman who sells yellow pages advertising in Fort Worth, and a man who serves on the state of Rhode Island's parole board. The result is a stirring, funny and always provocative trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of Americans whose beliefs, and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them, reveal the American spirit at its best.

This short audio essay is an excerpt from the audiobook edition of the This I Believe anthology.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Oct 3, 2006
• ISBN: 9781427203359

Phyllis Allen

Phyllis Allen has sold Yellow Pages advertising for 15 years. She spends about half her working hours in her car covering her territory around Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. When she retires, she hopes to pursue her first passion, writing.