2024-12-09
41 分钟Jerald Walker grew up in the predominantly white, Worldwide Church of God – a doomsday cult that convinced its followers the world would end in 1972. Raised by blind, African American parents and under the cult's strict teachings, which preached racial segregation and an imminent apocalypse, Jerald’s life was dominated by fear, isolation, and the belief that his future didn’t exist. When the promised doomsday never came, Jerald and his family were left grappling with shattered beliefs. As his life unravelled, Jerald fell into addiction and crime, struggling to escape the mental and emotional grip of the cult. But through education, an extraordinary teacher and a passion for writing, he found a path to redemption. Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Thomas Harding Assinder Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784
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There was a great deal of anxiety leading up to that night, and I do recall that as the night wore on, I would rise from bed and just peek out the window and see if there's something happening in the sky.
My twin brother and I were grow quiet and listen to see if we could detect some sound of something, some indication that things had begun.
Gerald Walker was 8 years old, and on that night, on New year's Eve of 1971, as he peered anxiously out of his bedroom window into the dark, he was convinced that the world was about to end.
Spoiler alert.
The world didn't end.
But Gerald's upbringing and the belief system which had led him to wholeheartedly think it would, had a profound impact on the course of his life.
From the BBC World Service, I'm Assia Fuchs and this is Lives Less Ordinary.
Gerald was raised on the south side of Chicago in the us.
He was one of six children and his parents were both blind, something he didn't fully understand as a child.
In the beginning, it was completely normal because we assumed all parents were blind, that everyone else's parents couldn't see either.
I mean, when you're raised with something you don't know, it's unusual until you meet other people whose situations are different.