You Gotta Dance
by
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December 19, 1987
One more week before Christmas break. The midterms were in session. While everyone else was preparing to leave campus for the holidays, I faced possibly twenty years of prison time and certain expulsion from school. My entire academic future lay in the hands of University Dean Grayson—an old, cold-hearted, by-the-book white man who reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock. The black students always felt his antipathy was so obvious he almost wore it on his sleeve. Nevertheless, I was permitted to write my exams. I recall the embarrassment. I felt like the most dangerous criminal in history pulling into the main campus parking lot, Cedar Hall. It wasn’t much different from that night I left in a cop car after of my attack.
The only way I could return to school was in handcuffs and a police escort. As I walked down the halls, people pointed at me in whispers; some even laughed. The black students applauded, as if I was some sort of hero. It was all so overwhelming. The cops brought me inside an empty closed-in room with nothing but a desk. It smelled stale. On top of the desk was my ten-page psychology exam, a pencil and two sheets of scrap paper.
One of the officers removed the cuffs. I sat down. It wasn’t easy concentrating with two policemen standing over me, but somehow I pulled through. I completed the exam in less than half the allotted time. One thing about me, regardless of what I might have turned into, in or out of the streets, I’ve always had intelligence. But I still couldn’t believe I’d gotten myself into such a mess. With all the wrongs I had committed while growing up and never got caught for, my life lay in ruins because I had simply decided to protect myself.
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About the Book
In 1987, Michael Daluz, a black U.S. Army veteran and college student with a 3.6 GPA, is nearly beaten to death by a mob of white men as he and his friends leave a local off-campus bar. His act of self-defense, and the arrest and imprisonment that follow, will change his life forever.
Harboring a hate, Daluz enters prison in 1988. During his incarceration, he witnesses a miracle and experiences an inner transformation. But his misfortunes are not behind him, and his faith in God prepares him for life-altering battles. A near-fatal, work-related accident leaves him severely injured. Daluz challenges his employer in a civil lawsuit while he fights for custody of his young daughter, Bella, and he doggedly pursues his doctorial education.
During a time in his life, Daluz had done it all. He lived the champagne-popping lifestyle, visited fancy night clubs, owned a nice house, and drove expensive cars. But during his twenty-year journey, he realizes what is important. Based on true events, You Gotta Dance is one man’s story of spiritual awakening in the face of crushing hardship.
About the Author
Bryant K. Daluz resides in New Haven, Connecticut, where he works with kindergartners through sixth graders at Hamden Public Schools. Daluz has written novels and screenplays and is also a songwriter and recording artist.