Author . Historian . Elder

Clarence V. Matthews

Heartfelt concern for family and community coupled with his desire to be an effective and influencing male presence in the home, church and community, fueled Clarence Matthews’ adamant ambitions to educate himself and others as it relates to our heritage. He believes wholeheartedly that if we obtain knowledge of who we are, where and what we come from, than we can leverage that knowledge and apply it across various genres of life; fostering growth and fulfillment personally, spiritually and economically.

Jacob’s Rite of Passage was this author's first published work. It was his way of sharing the unique, often unshared and unspoken journey of a male child from boyhood to manhood. Jacob’s curiosity about life — his successes and failures, the ups and the downs, the why and the why not, the good and the not-so-good, the seeking and the finding — and life’s ultimate lessons, though some costly, helped a young man discover the true meaning of “manhood."